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Daeun calculator
Calculate the stem-branch pairs of the big rhythm that changes every 10 years. It also shows how your Daeun starting age was worked out, down to the number of days to the solar term.
Used only to set the direction of Daeun. Men born in a yang year and women born in a yin year move forward.
10-year cycles
The highlighted row is the Daeun you're in now.
How will these cycles touch your birth chart?
This tool goes as far as the stem-branch pairs. What those characters become when they meet your Eight Characters is in Mutal Unnie's 10-year rhythm map.
Get the app for iPhone & AndroidWhat is Daeun?
It's the big rhythm that changes every 10 years. It starts from your month pillar — the pillar of the month you were born — and is built by moving one step at a time through the sixty Gapja.
If your birth chart (the Eight Characters at your birth) is the ground you were born with, Daeun is closer to the change of seasons that ground sits in. The same seed grows differently depending on whether it's planted in spring or winter. The concept is explained in Daeun — the big rhythm that changes every 10 years.
Forward and backward
| Heavenly Stem of your birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Yang — Gap, Byeong, Mu, Gyeong, Im | Forward | Backward |
| Yin — Eul, Jeong, Gi, Sin, Gye | Backward | Forward |
Forward moves ahead through the sixty Gapja from the month pillar, and backward moves back. For someone whose month pillar is Gimyo (己卯), forward runs Gyeongjin, Sinsa, Im-o, while backward runs Muin, Jeongchuk, Byeongja.
How the Daeun starting age is worked out
It's the number that sets the age at which your Daeun begins. It's calculated from the distance to a solar term.
- Forward: to the next jeolCount the days from your birth time to the moment the next jeol (節) begins.
- Backward: from the previous jeolCount the days from the moment the previous jeol began to your birth time.
- Divide by 33 days equal 1 year. Drop a remainder of 1 day and round up a remainder of 2. If the quotient is 0, it's taken as 1.
So someone born just after a solar term has a small starting age if their cycle runs backward, and someone born just before a solar term has a small starting age if it runs forward. This tool shows that day count as it is.
This is where schools differ. Some convert the leftover days more finely, down to one day = 4 months and two hours = 10 days. Whether the starting age is written in international age or Korean counting age also varies, so a one-year difference is common. It also depends on whether solar-term times are taken in Korea Standard Time or China Standard Time. So it's not strange for your starting age to differ by about 1 from another manseryeok. More details are in Why manseryeok apps give different results.
What this tool doesn't do
This tool goes as far as the stem-branch pairs of your Daeun. Which part of your birth chart those characters touch, and what kind of period that makes, belongs to a reading, so it isn't covered here.
FAQ
What is Daeun?
It's the big rhythm of a Saju chart that changes every 10 years. It starts from the month pillar — the pillar of the month you were born — and is built by moving one step at a time through the sixty Gapja. If your birth chart is the ground you were born with, Daeun is closer to the change of seasons that ground sits in.
How is the Daeun starting age calculated?
If your cycle runs forward, count the days from your birth time to the next jeol (節, a month-opening solar term); if it runs backward, count the days from the previous jeol to your birth time — then divide by 3. 3 days equal 1 year. The common rule is to drop a remainder of 1 day and round up a remainder of 2 days; if the quotient is 0, it's taken as 1.
How are forward and backward determined?
Men born in a year whose Heavenly Stem is yang (Gap, Byeong, Mu, Gyeong, Im) and women born in a year whose stem is yin (Eul, Jeong, Gi, Sin, Gye) move forward; the opposite cases move backward. Forward moves ahead through the sixty Gapja from the month pillar, and backward moves back.
Why does the Daeun starting age differ between manseryeok apps?
Because schools differ in how they handle the leftover days and how they count age. Some convert more finely, treating one day as 4 months and two hours as 10 days, and some write the starting age in international age while others use Korean counting age, so a difference of one year can occur. It also depends on whether the solar-term times are taken in Korea Standard Time or China Standard Time.