No animal is more Korean than the tiger. It appears in folk paintings (민화 minhwa) with a magpie, often looking more comic than fierce, in countless children's stories that open with the line from the days when tigers smoked pipes, and as a guardian of mountains and villages.
In Saju the Tiger is the branch 寅 In. It is wood, the first month of spring, and the hours from 03:00 to 05:00, just before dawn. The Saju year itself begins in the Tiger month at Ipchun, so the Tiger carries a sense of new starts and forward push.
Your animal is your year branch, one of eight characters. The Tiger also appears as a month branch (early February to early March) and in day and hour pillars. Because the Saju year starts at Ipchun, a person born on 1 February is still counted in the previous animal year.
- Bold
- Protective
- Independent
- Energetic
The five Tigers of the sixty year cycle
Every twelve years is a Tiger year, and each one wears the colour of its heavenly stem. The same colour comes back every sixty years. Each card opens the day pillar with the same two characters.
Harmonies
The Tiger's six harmony partner is the Pig 亥, read as turning toward wood. Its three harmony partners are the Horse 午 and the Dog 戌, the fire trine, read as passionate and loyal.
Clash and wonjin
The Tiger clashes with the Monkey 申, wood against metal, and forms a punishment with the Snake and Monkey. Its wonjin is the Rooster 酉. These are read as sources of friction and energy that ask for patience.
- Six harmony: Pig
- Three harmony: Horse and Dog
- Clash: Monkey
- Wonjin: Rooster
The Tiger with each animal
How the tradition reads the Tiger branch meeting each of the twelve, as it would in gunghap between two year or day branches. One pair of branches is a small part of two charts; compare the full charts for the whole picture.
| Rat 子 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Ox 丑 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Tiger 寅 Same animal The same branch twice, read as a familiar rhythm: easy to read each other, easy to get stuck in the same place. | |
| Rabbit 卯 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Dragon 辰 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Snake 巳 HarmPunishment A subtle mismatch, read as small misunderstandings that grow if nobody names them. | |
| Horse 午 Three harmony Two branches from the same trine, read as shared purpose and working well as a team. | |
| Goat 未 No named pattern A neutral pairing: nothing in the tradition pulls these two branches together or apart. | |
| Monkey 申 ClashPunishment Branches from opposite points of the year, read as movement and contrast that ask for give and take. | |
| Rooster 酉 Wonjin 원진 The resentment pair of Korean gunghap: read as irritation without an obvious cause, eased by talking it through. | |
| Dog 戌 Three harmony Two branches from the same trine, read as shared purpose and working well as a team. | |
| Pig 亥 Six harmony A pair of branches that bond easily, read as comfort and a natural fit. |
Tiger years and when they start
Each Tiger year begins at Ipchun, shown here in Korea Standard Time. If you were born before the start time, your year pillar belongs to the previous animal.
| Year | Pillar | Color animal | Starts (KST) | Ends (KST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 丙寅 Byeong-in | Red Tiger | 4 Feb 1926, 22:38 | 5 Feb 1927, 04:30 |
| 1938 | 戊寅 Mu-in | Yellow Tiger | 4 Feb 1938, 20:14 | 5 Feb 1939, 02:10 |
| 1950 | 庚寅 Gyeong-in | White Tiger | 4 Feb 1950, 18:20 | 5 Feb 1951, 00:13 |
| 1962 | 壬寅 Im-in | Black Tiger | 4 Feb 1962, 16:17 | 4 Feb 1963, 22:07 |
| 1974 | 甲寅 Gap-in | Blue Tiger | 4 Feb 1974, 14:00 | 4 Feb 1975, 19:59 |
| 1986 | 丙寅 Byeong-in | Red Tiger | 4 Feb 1986, 12:07 | 4 Feb 1987, 17:51 |
| 1998 | 戊寅 Mu-in | Yellow Tiger | 4 Feb 1998, 09:56 | 4 Feb 1999, 15:57 |
| 2010 | 庚寅 Gyeong-in | White Tiger | 4 Feb 2010, 07:47 | 4 Feb 2011, 13:32 |
| 2022 | 壬寅 Im-in | Black Tiger | 4 Feb 2022, 05:50 | 4 Feb 2023, 11:42 |