(279) Peach blossom, Dohwa-sal

By Janet Shin

At this time of the year, you will see florescent peach blossom in the field. Have you ever heard an amusing story about it or dohwa as it is called in Korean? What do you associate with the word “peach blossom”?

Peaches are one of the fruit cultivars, colored pink with velvety skin. They have delicate and luscious flesh and flavor. Blossom implies abundance and prosperity on top of its literal meaning.

Spring reaches its peak with the blooming of many flowers. While people usually think of cherry blossom when talking about spring festivals, peach blossom has a special affection in many Asian countries.

Peaches are highly regarded as a lucky plant to protect people from evil influence and a symbol of vitality and immortality. In addition, they are believed to expel the souls of the dead. That is why they don’t have to be put on an ancestral rites table in Korea.

Mureung-dowon, literally meaning source of the river with peach blossom or a legendary scenic spot in China signifies paradise in Asia.

Meanwhile, they have interesting indications in saju, feng shui and even face readings. Peach blossom implies romance, love and marriage. It is because of the shape of peaches — they look like hips and feel like the soft and fluffy skins of a woman. Depending on which culture we are in and our different needs of the time, it was considered sometimes positively or other times negatively.

When it comes to saju, four out of 12 zodiac signs are the peach blossom letters. They are rabbit (myo), horse (o), rooster (yu) and rat (ja). You may simply get your saju with the help of computer. But even without browsing a perpetual calendar, you can easily figure them out.

Most of you are aware of your birth zodiac year. The year 2014, for instance, is the year of the horse as you know, so it is a peach blossom year. The others can be calculated in sequence as in the chart below. They fall in every four years.

Those who were born in the lunar months of February, May, August and November, and the hours of 5-7, 11-13, 17-19 and 23-1 have the energy of peach blossom too. They are called “Dohwa-sal” in Korean.

People with many dohwa-sal in their saju are considered to be pretty (or handsome), popular and romantic. On the other hand, they were often viewed unfavorably as unfaithful and philandering in the past.

Nowadays, this negative interpretation has become so blurred. Many of them are seen in the field of entertainment, they include artists and celebrities who receive public attention.

According to feng shui, southwest direction or top right corner of your place are regarded to be peach blossom. These are the locations to emit the energy of love and marriage. In order to escalate the fortune of romance, you are encouraged to pay more attention to them.

In your face, double eyelids, slightly bulgy flesh below eyes and full lips are indications of dohwa.

There are some districts in Korea which were named peach blossom, Dohwa-dong or Boksa-gol in the old days. Dohwa-dong in Seoul, for example, was named because it had many peach trees there long time ago.

Many pubs and red-light districts were established there during the period of the Japanese colonial rule, which was the result of its name. It is not a place of adult entertainment any more. Boksa-gol in Bucheon is famous for various festivals of culture, art, music, performance and movie films.

It is interesting to watch that places and people tread along the paths as destined by certain symbolic energies.

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.”