(97) Is tragedy inevitable or just an accident?

By Janet Shin

Sometimes, we wish the prophecies told by saju will not happen, because it might bring us grief. Good fortunes are always welcome, but even unwanted fortunes can be avoided or prevented. The problem lies in that people do not listen to saju’s warnings and will even neglect the fortune in many cases.

As a saju master who reads hundreds of peoples’ fates a month, I found it undeniable that there is a certain pattern every year. Last year, people who had earth letters (dog and sheep) in their saju were saddled with more gloomy worries, while those with yang metal (monkey) and yang fire (snake) were prone to collisions, surgery, or other unexpected situations.

Although there are some variances in our lives to differentiate them from what is written in one’s saju, people still seem to live within the lines of their destiny.

Earlier this year, I received a call from a mother whose son had been discharged from his military service for mental disorder.

Her son was born in 1989 and his day master is yang water. Saju tells us that his day master, water, is surrounded by earth and fire, which serve to weaken its energy. The earth blocks the water while fire exhausts the water’s strength.

The only element that can nourish water is metal, which was in his time branch.

The boy was a bright student who had entered a top-ranking university in Korea. However, he was dissatisfied and joined the army. When he started to show symptoms of a mental disorder this year, he was discharged.

The mom wanted her son to return to university but, unfortunately, his saju did not align with her wishes. In fact, “clashes and penalties” among his yang metal (monkey), yin fire (snake) and yang wood (tiger) showed that his symptoms would worsen. It was painful reading his saju, knowing the circumstances of the boy. Eventually, he stopped studying and was sent to a psychiatric hospital last month.

The clashes in his saju are a result of his three elements: the metal chops down the wood, the fire melts the metal and the fire burns the wood. The stimulated energies conflict with one another, causing ruptures and pain; as one branch clashes with another, both are broken, losing their strength and elements.

The idea of “penalties” is created when clashes occur, because when something loses its balance, it leads to damage.

Certain terrestrial branches respond to each other and those branches react to one another, causing their conflicts. When this phenomenon occurs, it creates unusual or unexpected accidents. Here is another example.

Hallyu actor and singer Park Yong-ha was found dead at home. While he apparently seemed to commit suicide, the exact reason has yet to be reported. It is unfortunate to find in his saju the three aforementioned branches, which caused clashes and penalties within his saju, on top of the energy for the year 2010.

Park had a day master of yin metal (jewelry) in his saju. The branches of his year and month pillars are yin fire (snake) and yang metal (monkey), respectively, and they clashed with the coming year’s branch (yang wood, or tiger).

His career worries, money, father and self-confidence were all related to his physical and mental difficulties suffered this past year.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars.” For more, visit her website at www.fourpillarskorea.com.