Why does zodiac compatibility consider the year branch?

Saju consists of four pillars: year, month, day, and hour, with each pillar containing one heavenly stem and one earthly branch. The year branch is the one that carries the animal we call the zodiac sign.

The point at which the zodiac changes is neither January 1st of the solar calendar nor Lunar New Year. The standard for changing the year in saju is Ipchun. Therefore, those born in January or early February may have a different zodiac year than the one on the calendar.

The calculation of zodiac compatibility is simple. It compares the year branches of two people to determine whether the relationship is harmonious, a clash, or a quiet discord, and uses that score as is. Since there is only one item, there is no need to distribute weights.

The scores for each relationship are all listed in the Twelve Branches Relationship Table. The day branch compatibility uses the same table.

Zodiac compatibility accounts for 30% of the final matching rate. While saju compatibility looks at all four pillars, the zodiac only considers one character, so they cannot be weighted equally.

However, there are two reasons why it is not excluded.

• It is the most intuitively understandable item. Even without knowing the vocabulary of the tradition, 'the tiger and the monkey clash' makes sense.
• It is the only axis that does not fluctuate even if the birth time is unknown. If you do not know the time, the hour pillar is missing and the strength of the five elements changes, but the year branch remains the same.

On the results screen, we show the scores for both saju compatibility and zodiac compatibility separately. If only the final matching rate is presented, it is unclear where that number comes from. If the two values are significantly different, that in itself is worth noting.