Symbolic Stars Calculator
Symbolic stars — 신살 (sinsal) in Korean, 神煞 (shen sha) in Chinese — are small markers that readers look for on top of the four pillars. Enter your birth details to see which of the five best-known stars sit in your chart: the Peach Blossom, Sky Horse, Flowery Canopy, Heavenly Nobleman and Academic Star.
What are symbolic stars in Bazi and Saju?
A symbolic star is a rule of thumb: “if this branch meets that branch, read this theme.” They are not stars in the sky. Classical manuals list well over a hundred of them; modern Korean and Chinese readers mostly use a handful that are easy to check and easy to talk about. They add color to a reading — charm, travel, study, helpful people — but the main story still comes from the Day Master, the five elements and the Ten Gods.
How are the five stars found?
Three of them come from your year branch or your day branch. Each branch belongs to one of four trine groups — Water (Monkey, Rat, Dragon), Fire (Tiger, Horse, Dog), Metal (Snake, Rooster, Ox) and Wood (Pig, Rabbit, Goat) — and each group has its own Peach Blossom, Sky Horse and Flowery Canopy animal. The star counts as “in your chart” when that animal appears in another of your four pillars. The Nobleman and the Academic Star come from your Day Master instead, and count wherever their animals appear among your branches.
Peach Blossom, Sky Horse and Flowery Canopy by branch
| Year or day branch | Peach Blossom | Sky Horse | Flowery Canopy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat 子 | Rooster 酉 | Tiger 寅 | Dragon 辰 |
| Ox 丑 | Horse 午 | Pig 亥 | Ox 丑 |
| Tiger 寅 | Rabbit 卯 | Monkey 申 | Dog 戌 |
| Rabbit 卯 | Rat 子 | Snake 巳 | Goat 未 |
| Dragon 辰 | Rooster 酉 | Tiger 寅 | Dragon 辰 |
| Snake 巳 | Horse 午 | Pig 亥 | Ox 丑 |
| Horse 午 | Rabbit 卯 | Monkey 申 | Dog 戌 |
| Goat 未 | Rat 子 | Snake 巳 | Goat 未 |
| Monkey 申 | Rooster 酉 | Tiger 寅 | Dragon 辰 |
| Rooster 酉 | Horse 午 | Pig 亥 | Ox 丑 |
| Dog 戌 | Rabbit 卯 | Monkey 申 | Dog 戌 |
| Pig 亥 | Rat 子 | Snake 巳 | Goat 未 |
Nobleman and Academic Star by Day Master
| Day Master | Heavenly Nobleman | Academic Star |
|---|---|---|
| 甲 Jia · Yang Wood | Ox 丑 and Goat 未 | Snake 巳 |
| 乙 Yi · Yin Wood | Rat 子 and Monkey 申 | Horse 午 |
| 丙 Bing · Yang Fire | Pig 亥 and Rooster 酉 | Monkey 申 |
| 丁 Ding · Yin Fire | Pig 亥 and Rooster 酉 | Rooster 酉 |
| 戊 Wu · Yang Earth | Ox 丑 and Goat 未 | Monkey 申 |
| 己 Ji · Yin Earth | Rat 子 and Monkey 申 | Rooster 酉 |
| 庚 Geng · Yang Metal | Ox 丑 and Goat 未 | Pig 亥 |
| 辛 Xin · Yin Metal | Tiger 寅 and Horse 午 | Rat 子 |
| 壬 Ren · Yang Water | Rabbit 卯 and Snake 巳 | Tiger 寅 |
| 癸 Gui · Yin Water | Rabbit 卯 and Snake 巳 | Rabbit 卯 |
Which symbolic stars matter most?
Korean readers talk about the trio 도화 (Peach Blossom), 역마 (Sky Horse) and 화개 (Flowery Canopy) the most, and treat 천을귀인 (the Heavenly Nobleman) as the most welcome star of all. Having none of them is common and says nothing bad about a chart; having several simply adds more themes to reflect on.
Peach Blossom 桃花 · 도화살
Peach Blossom is a symbolic star in Bazi and Korean Saju that points to charm, attraction and visibility. Koreans call it 도화살 (dohwa-sal). It is found by matching your year or day branch to one of four animals: the Rat, Rabbit, Horse or Rooster. When that animal turns up elsewhere in your chart, readers say people tend to notice you, whether you are trying to be noticed or not.
Sky Horse 驛馬 · 역마살
Sky Horse, also called the Traveling Horse, is the star of movement in Bazi and Korean Saju. Koreans know it as 역마살 (yeokma-sal). It is found from your year or day branch and always lands on the Tiger, Monkey, Snake or Pig. With it in your chart, readers say life rarely stays in one place for long: trips, moves, new posts and a restless curiosity.
Flowery Canopy 華蓋 · 화개살
Flowery Canopy is the Bazi and Korean Saju star of inward talent: art, spirituality, scholarship and time alone. In Korean it is 화개살 (hwagae-sal). It always sits on one of the four Earth 'storage' branches, the Dragon, Dog, Ox or Goat. When it appears in a chart, readers picture someone who does their best thinking in a quiet room.
Nobleman 天乙貴人 · 천을귀인
The Heavenly Nobleman is the helper star of Bazi and Korean Saju, widely treated as the most auspicious of the symbolic stars. In Korean it is 천을귀인 (cheoneul-gwiin). It is found from your Day Master, the heavenly stem of your day pillar, which points to two animals. When either sits in your chart, readers say the right help tends to arrive when you need it.
Academic Star 文昌貴人 · 문창귀인
The Academic Star, 文昌貴人 or Wen Chang Gui Ren, is the Bazi and Korean Saju star of study, writing and clear thinking. Koreans call it 문창귀인 (munchang-gwiin). Each Day Master points to exactly one animal. If that animal sits in one of your four branches, readers say learning comes a little more naturally and words tend to flow.
What happens when a star’s animal year comes around?
Readers also “switch on” a star when a year or month carries its animal, even if the star is missing from your birth chart. That is why the calculator lists the next year of each star animal. 2026, the Fire Horse year (from February 4, 2026), is a Peach Blossom year for people whose year or day branch is a Snake, Rooster or Ox; 2027, the Fire Goat year, is a Flowery Canopy year for the Pig, Rabbit and Goat group. See the full 2027 forecast.
Do I need my birth time to find my symbolic stars?
It helps. Without a birth time we cannot check the hour pillar, so a star that sits there would be missed. The year and day stars themselves only need your date of birth, unless you were born close to midnight or to a solar-term change.
Why does my Peach Blossom differ from another website?
Some sites check only the year branch, some only the day branch. We check both and show which one each star comes from. A few sites also use slightly different Nobleman verses for the Geng and Xin Day Masters; we follow the table most Korean almanacs use.
Are symbolic stars good or bad?
Neither on their own. Older manuals gave several of them a gloomy reputation — Peach Blossom for scandal, Sky Horse for restlessness — but modern Korean readers usually reframe them as charm, mobility and focus. They describe tendencies to reflect on, not events that must happen.
Is this the same in Korean Saju and Chinese Bazi?
Yes. The rules for these five stars are shared. Korean readers attach the word 살 (sal, a sharp influence) to the first three and 귀인 (gwiin, a noble helper) to the last two, which is why the Korean names sound a little more dramatic than the Chinese ones.
Rules follow standard Korean almanac (만세력) tables; see Four Pillars of Destiny (Wikipedia). Checked against an independent implementation on 3,000 random charts. Updated October 8, 2026. For entertainment and self-reflection only.