Seasons, Solar Terms, and the Month Branch
Learn how the Month Branch sets a Saju chart's season, why Saju months begin at solar terms, and how to find the correct boundary in Qiora.
Short answer: The Month Branch (월지, 月支) is the lower character of the Month Pillar. It gives a Saju chart its seasonal setting. Saju does not change months on the first day of a Gregorian month or on a lunar new moon. Its month boundaries follow the sun through the Solar Terms (절기, 節氣).
The calendar on your wall says March 1. The Saju calendar may calmly reply, "Still Tiger month."
The Month Branch is the season marker
Find the column labeled Month or 월주. The upper character is the Month Stem. The lower character is the Month Branch.
| Part | Position | Job on this page |
|---|---|---|
| Month Stem | upper card | completes the Month Pillar pair |
| Month Branch | lower card | identifies the Saju month and seasonal phase |
The Month Branch does not replace the rest of the chart. It tells you the environment in which the Day Master and every other element must operate.
Practitioners give this seasonal influence special weight. You may see it called the Month Command (월령, 月令). Depending on context, wollyeong can refer to the Month Branch itself or to the seasonal force it governs. It is not a ninth character hiding behind the chart.
Solar Terms follow the sun, not the moon
The traditional calendar divides the sun's yearly path into 24 Solar Terms. Each term marks another 15 degrees of solar longitude, so a new term arrives roughly every 15 days.
The 24 terms alternate between:
- a sectional term, called jeol (절, 節)
- a mid-term, called junggi (중기, 中氣)
Only the twelve sectional terms open new Saju months. Ipchun opens Tiger month; the following mid-term, Usu, does not open another month. Then Gyeongchip opens Rabbit month.
That distinction matters. "Saju uses the 24 Solar Terms" does not mean a new Month Branch appears 24 times a year.
Solar Terms also sit inside Korea's traditional lunisolar calendar, but their astronomical basis is solar. A lunar birth date can be converted for input; the Month Branch is still selected by the relevant solar-term boundary.
You do not need to calculate solar longitude. Qiora handles the chart; this section only explains why the Month Branch may not match the month number on a birthday.
The twelve Saju months begin at these terms
These dates are approximate. The exact transition has a time, not just a date, and it shifts slightly each year.
| Seasonal arc | Month Branch | Korean reading | Month begins near |
|---|---|---|---|
| spring | Tiger 寅 | In (인) | Ipchun, Feb 3 to 5 |
| spring | Rabbit 卯 | Myo (묘) | Gyeongchip, Mar 5 to 7 |
| spring | Dragon 辰 | Jin (진) | Cheongmyeong, Apr 4 to 6 |
| summer | Snake 巳 | Sa (사) | Ipha, May 5 to 7 |
| summer | Horse 午 | O (오) | Mangjong, Jun 5 to 7 |
| summer | Goat 未 | Mi (미) | Soseo, Jul 6 to 8 |
| autumn | Monkey 申 | Sin (신) | Ipchu, Aug 7 to 9 |
| autumn | Rooster 酉 | Yu (유) | Baengno, Sep 7 to 9 |
| autumn | Dog 戌 | Sul (술) | Hanro, Oct 7 to 9 |
| winter | Pig 亥 | Hae (해) | Ipdong, Nov 7 to 8 |
| winter | Rat 子 | Ja (자) | Daeseol, Dec 6 to 8 |
| winter | Ox 丑 | Chuk (축) | Sohan, Jan 5 to 7 |
The four Earthly Branches Dragon, Goat, Dog, and Ox mark the end of their seasonal arcs. Their primary element is Earth, even though the table places each one at the end of spring, summer, autumn, or winter. Season and primary element answer different questions.
If the birth date falls inside one of these ranges, do not use the approximate table to overrule or confirm the calculator. Check the exact year, time, birthplace, and transition moment.
Saju season is a calendar phase, not today's weather
Ipchun is translated as Start of Spring even when Seoul still needs a winter coat. The name marks a point in the traditional solar cycle, not a promise about the afternoon temperature.
The same rule matters for international births. Qiora uses the standard Solar Term sequence and does not ask you to swap Tiger month for Monkey month because the local weather feels like autumn. Do not reverse the Branches by hand. If a particular lineage uses a different Southern Hemisphere method, it should state that method clearly.
A Solar Term occurs at a precise astronomical moment determined by solar longitude. Birthplace matters when the recorded local time is converted and compared with that moment. Qiora's true-solar-time correction is a separate setting that can also affect Day or Hour boundary calculations. None of this turns the twelve Branches into a weather app.
Why season changes the reading
An element does not have the same support in every season. Wood is at home in spring, Fire in summer, Metal in autumn, and Water in winter. Earth is closely associated with the transition Branches at the end of each seasonal arc.
This does not mean:
- a spring Wood Day Master is automatically strong
- a winter Fire Day Master is automatically weak
- an in-season element is always helpful
- an out-of-season element is always harmful
Season matters, but it does not work alone. Roots, support, drainage, control, combinations, and the rest of the chart still matter.
A single Wood character in spring may carry different weight from the same visible Wood character in autumn. That is why counting colored boxes cannot replace seasonal analysis.
The Month Branch does not finish the chart
The Month Branch is one of the first places a practitioner looks when assessing the Day Master, but it is not a verdict. It cannot decide personality, career, health, or luck by itself.
The Month Branch also contains Hidden Stems, forms relationships with other Branches, and sits inside a complete Month Pillar. Those layers will arrive later. For now, use it to answer one question:
What seasonal environment does this chart begin in?
If the answer is "Tiger month, spring," you have found the setting. You have not finished the plot.
Find your Month Branch and season on Qiora
Open Four Pillars · 四柱 on your Qiora result.
- Find the column labeled Month.
- Read the lower large character. That is the Month Branch.
- Tap the lower card. Qiora's Branch detail gives you the Branch, animal, polarity, and primary element.
- Qiora does not currently show the seasonal arc or starting Solar Term in that detail panel. Find the same Branch in the twelve-month table above.
- Record the seasonal arc and starting Solar Term from the table.
- If the birth date falls anywhere inside the approximate date range shown in the table, mark the Month Branch boundary check needed until the exact transition time is verified.
Write:
Month Branch: ___ · Animal: ___ · Primary element: ___ · Season: ___ · Starting term: ___ · Status: confirmed / provisional
If birth time is unknown and the birth date falls inside a boundary range, treat the Month Branch as provisional. Qiora's current unknown-time flow may use noon as a placeholder and may not collect the birthplace needed for a boundary check. A filled Month card is not proof that the exact side of the Solar Term has been confirmed.
Do not substitute the Gregorian birth month. A March birthday can still be in Tiger month before Gyeongchip.
Next, What the Five Elements Chart Can—and Cannot—Tell You uses a Qiora result screen to show why five colored bars are not a complete balance reading.
Related:
Sources and editorial notes
- The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture confirms that the 24 Solar Terms track solar longitude at roughly 15-day intervals and alternate between sectional terms and mid-terms.
- Korea.net confirms Ipchun as the traditional Start of Spring and the first of the 24 Solar Terms.
- Saju month boundaries use the twelve sectional terms. A source-book sentence that could be read as making all 24 terms into month boundaries was narrowed accordingly.
- Approximate Gregorian dates are lookup aids, not calculation rules. Exact boundary times vary by year and must be converted to the birth location's time setting.
- The page does not teach manual Month Stem calculation, year-boundary detail, or Day Master strength. Those belong to other nodes.
Saju readings are for self-reflection and personal growth. They are not a substitute for professional medical, legal, or financial advice. Your choices shape your life more than any chart can.