(318) How saju relates ill luck with taboo
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By Janet Shin
No matter how we want to disregard certain queries associated with superstition, it is hard not to be tempted by the words of occultism. It doesn’t always involve God or any other types of supernatural power. Its practice may simply refer to your habits, what you take, who you meet and where you go. There were certain things we were told by our parents and grandparents, spreading by word of mouth. We can’t deny all of them as some are part of our culture. It is also true that they form an important source of our psyches.
As a fortune teller, I am asked by many people about the cause of various inscrutable experiences. For instance, one woman bought a flowerpot, and since that day she went through a series of misfortunes. Our mothers used to tell us to be careful when we bring wooden items home. They also gave us a warning when we had to attend funerals. We were told to refrain from eating there or bowing to the deceased when facing an important event in our own lives. We still have a simple ritual to sprinkle some salt on those who return from the condolence call. It was believed to exorcise any evil spirits from the funerals.
Wooden items, glass and other items like toys, especially human-shaped dolls, were considered to possess their own spirits. Wood, one of the five elements in Oriental philosophy, symbolizes activation energy, as green shoots come up in spring. Both green and spring represent the element of wood.
They may animate our life with their growing power. Glass, on the other hand, indicates a metal element, which has the tendency of declination and convergence. Glass objects are often utilized as feng shui items to improve our living environment, the former to vitalize positive energy and the latter to expel poisonous energy. But at the same time they should be adopted with special vigilance as they are often accompanied by certain unwanted spirits. Especially mirrors, one type of glass item, cast invisible psychic images from the reflections of the many people who have looked in them. As I’ve said many times, used goods hold various stories from the previous owners and they usually convey resentment and sorrow.
Other folk beliefs about funerals are related with wandering spirits. A man complained of a serious shoulder pain after attending a funeral. He had his shoulder examined by many doctors but none could find the source of his pain. He finally heard from a shaman that a ghost from the burial was sitting on his shoulder. Believe it or not, after an exorcism he was released from his unbearable pain.
Although these anecdotes sound unreasonable, they are also part of saju theory structure. They are called ‘gods and devils’ or sinsal in Korean. This concept is said to originate from China around 1200 years ago. There are dozens of sinsal, and most of them are not applicable to contemporary situations. Nevertheless, some are quite accurate and many saju experts still read them to make inferences regarding a significant event.
The sinsal is also used to estimate an unlucky direction. Direction is very important in our lives when we choose where to move and where to live. It can be an office, school or even bank. When multiple options are available, it is highly recommended not to go with the bad direction. For example, ill luck arises in the west in the year of sheep, 2015. When it comes to the globe, that could mean Europe or the Americans. From the perspective of us in the Far East, it is more likely to be Europe.
In order to understand it better, you can utilize a feng shui compass that contains the zodiac signs, five elements and cardinal points. Other than the basic direction of each zodiac sign, they combine with one another to form a trine of great energy.
* Monkey + Rat + Dragon à Water trine (North)
* Pig + Rabbit + Sheep à Wood trine (East)
* Tiger + Horse + Dog à Fire trine (South)
* Snake + Chicken + Cow à Metal trine (West)
For example, the trine years of pig, rabbit and sheep indicate wood as an element and east as a representative direction. Accordingly they conflict with the energy of metal and the west. This is called the sinsal of ‘sangmun and joga다,’ which indicates a higher chance of being bereaved or attending a funeral and bodes misfortune.
Are you interested in learning more about the
ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars
of Destiny”? For further information, visit
Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com,
contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@
hotmail.com. The writer is the author of
“Life’s Secrets.”