What is the 60-year cycle?
Saju counts years in a 60-year loop. Each year pairs one of 10 stems (the five elements, each in a yin and a yang form) with one of 12 animals. 2027 is 丁未 (Jeong-mi), the Fire Goat. The last time this pair came around was 1967.
Ten stems and twelve animals, turning together
The 10 Heavenly Stems (Cheongan) stand for the energy of the sky: the way all things sprout, grow, ripen, are gathered in, and rest, then begin again. They give a year its element.
Each of the five elements appears twice. The yang stem is its big, outgoing form, and the yin stem its smaller, inward form, like a great tree and a vine.
- Gap · Yang WoodA great treeA fresh start, the first push forward
- Eul · Yin WoodA climbing vineFlexible, finds a way to spread
- Byeong · Yang FireThe sunBright, warm, full of passion
- Jeong · Yin FireA candle flameA small, steady light in the dark
- Mu · Yang EarthA mountainSolid, broad ground that holds steady
- Gi · Yin EarthGarden soilA fertile field that takes things in
- Gyeong · Yang MetalRaw metalUnworked ore, firm and decisive
- Sin · Yin MetalA jewelPolished metal, precise and refined
- Im · Yang WaterThe oceanGreat water, deep and wise
- Gye · Yin WaterDew and rainGentle water that feeds new life
The 12 Earthly Branches are the animals you know from the zodiac.
- 子Rat
- 丑Ox
- 寅Tiger
- 卯Rabbit
- 辰Dragon
- 巳Snake
- 午Horse
- 未Goat
- 申Monkey
- 酉Rooster
- 戌Dog
- 亥Pig
Outlined: 丁 Jeong + 未 Mi, the pair for 2027.
Every animal meets every element once
Each wheel moves one step a year. Ten and twelve only line up again after 60 steps, so the same pair returns once every 60 years.
Yang stems only pair with yang animals, and yin stems with yin. So each animal comes in exactly five versions: a Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water Goat, each 12 years apart.
All 60 years, 1984–2043
The current cycle began in 1984 with 甲子 (Gap-ja), the Wood Rat, and ends in 2043. Each row is one animal; read left to right to move forward in time. The same animal returns every 12 years, each time with the next element.
- Wood
- Fire
- Earth
- Metal
- Water
Filled: 2027, the Fire Goat. Shaded: 2026, the Fire Horse.
Each year begins at the Start of Spring, in early February.
Find your birth year's pair
- Last time
- 1907
- Your year
- 1967
- Comes back
- 2027
2027 is your 60th birthday year — the year you come full circle.
Born between January 1 and early February? In saju, your pair is the one for the year before.
The 60th birthday: Hwangap
When the cycle brings back the exact pair you were born under, you've lived one full loop. In Korea this 60th birthday is called Hwangap, “the return of the cycle,” and families celebrate it as a fresh start rather than an ending.
Born in 1967? 2027 is your Hwangap year
1967 and 2027 are both 丁未, the Fire Goat. Born between the Start of Spring in early February 1967 and the next one in early February 1968? Then 2027 brings your birth pair back.
See all Goat birth yearsYour sign is just two of the eight characters in your birth chart
The other six — from your birth month, day, and hour — are what really shape your 2027. Share your birth date and time, and I'll lay them out for you.
Your birth year — the other six are still hidden
Time of birth
24-hour time — 7:30 PM is 19:30.
Place of birth
Includes a preview of your core self — the “you” in your chart
Your full four-pillar chart, read in depth and told as an illustrated story by Yeou.
Read my Saju in full
Questions about the 60-year cycle
A loop of 60 year names made by pairing 10 Heavenly Stems (five elements, each yin or yang) with 12 Earthly Branches (the animals). After 60 years the same pair comes back.
2027 is 丁未 (Jeong-mi), the Fire Goat: pair 44 of the cycle that began in 1984. It last appeared in 1967 and returns in 2087.
At 60 your birth-year pair returns for the first time. Korea calls it Hwangap and celebrates it as completing one full cycle of life and beginning another.