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Your Big Three and your Day Pillar

Your Sun, Moon and Rising signs are the three points people mean by "the Big Three". This page explains how we work them out and how each one lines up with the animal of your Day Pillar in Korean saju.

Find your Big Three
In this article
  1. What the Big Three are
  2. How we calculate them
  3. Each sign and its Earthly Branch
  4. Reading them with your Day Pillar
  5. Questions

What the Big Three are

PointWhat it shows
SunThe sign the Sun was in when you were born. It is the sign most people know, read as your core character. It changes about once a month.
MoonThe sign the Moon was in. It is read as your inner side: moods, comfort and what you need from the people close to you. It changes every two to three days.
RisingThe sign coming up over the eastern horizon at your birth time and place, also called the Ascendant. It is read as the first impression you give. It changes about every two hours.

How we calculate them

All three use the tropical zodiac, the one most Western astrology sites use, where Aries starts at the March equinox.

The Sun comes from its apparent longitude, the same calculation this site uses for the 24 solar terms. The Moon follows chapter 47 of Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, which is good to about 10 arcseconds. The Rising sign comes from the local sidereal time at the city you pick and the tilt of the Earth's axis.

City coordinates are city-center values. If you were born far from the city you pick and your Rising sign sits near the edge of a sign, it can come out as the neighboring one.

Each sign and its Earthly Branch

Old Chinese astronomy split the sky into twelve stations, and each station carries an Earthly Branch. Matching the stations to the signs by name gives every sign a branch, and through it an animal. The table shows which day animals meet each sign in each way.

SignBranchThree HarmonySix HarmonyClash
Aries戌 DogTiger, HorseRabbitDragon
Taurus酉 RoosterOx, SnakeDragonRabbit
Gemini申 MonkeyRat, DragonSnakeTiger
Cancer未 GoatRabbit, PigHorseOx
Leo午 HorseTiger, DogGoatRat
Virgo巳 SnakeOx, RoosterMonkeyPig
Libra辰 DragonRat, MonkeyRoosterDog
Scorpio卯 RabbitGoat, PigDogRooster
Sagittarius寅 TigerHorse, DogPigMonkey
Capricorn丑 OxSnake, RoosterRatGoat
Aquarius子 RatDragon, MonkeyOxHorse
Pisces亥 PigRabbit, GoatTigerSnake

Reading them with your Day Pillar

In saju the Day Pillar stands for you, and its branch gives your day animal. Set each of your three signs next to it:

  • Same animal: the sign and your Day Pillar point to the same animal, so that side of you feels familiar.
  • Three Harmony: the two face the same direction and back each other up.
  • Six Harmony: a quiet pair where each fills in what the other lacks.
  • Clash: they sit opposite each other, so that side of you pulls a different way from your Day Pillar.
  • Resentment, Punishment or Harm: smaller frictions that ask for some give and take.

A Moon that sits well with your day animal tends to read as inner ease. A Rising sign that clashes with it can mean people see you differently from how you feel inside.

Questions

I don't know my birth time

You still get your Sun and Moon signs. If either one changed signs on your birth day, we show both options. The Rising sign needs the time. Even a rough hour helps if your birth record lists one.

My city isn't on the list

Pick the nearest listed city in the same time zone. The Sun and Moon barely move; the Rising sign can shift if it sits near a sign boundary.

Is this a full birth chart?

No. We only work out these three points and line them up with your Day Pillar. Houses, planets and aspects are not included.

Do you keep my birth details?

No. Your date, time and city are worked out in your browser and are not sent to us or saved.

Find your Big Three

The sign-to-branch pairing follows the names of the twelve Chinese stations, which start 15° away from the Western signs. The readings here are for fun and reflection.