(117) Prince William and Kate Middleton

Marriage is one of the most important events in one’s life. It is a sacred union between two people, as well as between two families. In marriage, people carry on their family lineage through an integration of culture and customs. Through their children, they are also combined biologically and mentally, creating a new generation.

As marriage is such a critical moment in one’s life, the marital harmony (``gunghap’’ in Korean) between the couple is always reviewed beforehand. It is a practice that dates back to the ancient days of Korean history and there are many records of gunghap for royal marriages from the Joseon Dynasty.

During the reign of King Myeong-jong (the 13th king of the Joseon Dynasty), his mother, Queen Munjeong, held actual ruling influence. This was due to the fact that Myeong-jong was only 12 years old when he ascended to the throne. The queen’s brother, Yoon Won-hyeong, also enjoyed political power and was afraid of losing his influence if any change occurred in the royal family. Thus, he encouraged the king’s marriage of a princess, who gave birth to a son _ the son was born frail and died at a young age.

Though not in every case, saju has been used to ensure healthy and prosperous marriages in Eastern culture. A person’s saju is reviewed to make sure that the union between two people is complementary in terms of the five elements, yin and yang.

It was announced last month that Prince William, the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, will marry Kate Middleton next year.

Middleton had been a longtime girlfriend, whom William first met while attending university in Scotland. The overall public reaction to their marriage has been positive, and we will review their marital compatibility.

This is the saju of Prince William.

He was born with the energy of yin wood that is represented by trees or flowers. While the wood element itself denotes growth and expansiveness, yin wood people are careful and thoughtful.

While people with wood tend to be showy, yin woods are more introverted.

When the day master of a yin wood is accompanied by yang fire and yang water, we call it a ``noble saju.’’ This is because when the elements are transferred into an image of nature, the elements comprise a scene of a beautiful lake decked with flowers, and the sun shining above. For a yin wood day master, the water represents the knowledge star (which implies mother, intelligence and respect). The fire represents the expression star (denoted by grandmother and talents).

The person with this saju composition is intelligent, charming and respected by others. We can also see that his day branch depicts the sadness of a mother, while his grandmother emits a fire-like influence (in this case, Queen Elizabeth II).

From a different standpoint, he is pursuing his own happiness as well as a good reputation. As seen in the 5 element diagram, the day master circulates from the water resource to fire expression. This resource energy shows that he cares about what other says. On the other hand, the expression cycle denotes self-contentment. The career cycle, which means power, does not show in William’s saju, though we would need more information about his exact time of birth to be accurate.

Now looking at the saju of Kate Middleton, we see that she was born with the energy of yang water with a strong influence from earth energies. The earth denotes her husband or power. Having strong metal in the year branch, shows that she is intelligent and able enough to restrict the earth element. The overall fortune cycle is from career to knowledge star, so she will have a more reputable life after marriage.

The strong fire energy in William’s saju will supplement the lacking of warmth in Kate’s, while the strong metal energy in Kate’s saju will supplement the lacking of power in William’s.

Info: Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teachings of the “Four Pillars of Destiny”? Saju, or the Four Pillars of Destiny, and face reading workshops will be held this month in Itaewon, central Seoul. For more information, contact Janet at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars.” Visit www.fourpillarskorea.com.