What Is Tojeong Bigyeol — Joseon's New Year Fortune and Its 144 Hexagrams
When the new year comes, the first fortune Koreans think of is Tojeong Bigyeol. Named after Tojeong Yi Ji-ham, a scholar of the mid-Joseon period, this New Year fortune method has long been loved because it reads the flow of the year clearly from just a few numbers, without the complex chart a Saju requires.
Tojeong Yi Ji-ham and Its Origins
Tojeong Bigyeol takes its name from Tojeong Yi Ji-ham (1517–1578), a scholar and eccentric known in the reign of King Myeongjong of Joseon. Whether he actually wrote it himself is unclear, but it has been handed down as a book meant to comfort the hearts of ordinary people, and from the late Joseon period it became a seasonal custom enjoyed across the whole country each new year. Its defining trait is that it is a popular fortune, letting anyone read their own luck without knowing difficult theories of fate calculation.
A Hexagram from Three Numbers
Tojeong Bigyeol calculates a three-digit number from the year's celestial stem-and-branch (the 'taese') and your lunar birth date by a set method. The first digit is derived from the year's stem-and-branch and your age, the second from the month you were born, and the third from the day you were born. The combination of these three numbers points to a single hexagram, and the reading attached to that hexagram becomes your fortune for the year. So, just as with a Saju, an accurate lunar birthday matters when consulting Tojeong Bigyeol.
The World of 144 Hexagrams
The hexagrams that three numbers can point to total 144 in all. Each hexagram carries a poetic verse drawn from nature — such as 'the ice melts in the east wind, and the withered tree meets spring' — conveying the year's broad flow and the right frame of mind in symbolic terms. Whether a hexagram is auspicious or one to be cautious of, it usually holds both warning and encouragement, so the proper way to use it is to take the result not as an absolute prophecy but as a guide for the attitude with which to meet the year.
Overall Fortune and the Monthly Flow
Tojeong Bigyeol reads not only the overall fortune for the whole year but also the flow of each month from the first to the twelfth. Because it points out which months bring opportunity and which call for care of body and wealth, it serves well as a reference for laying out the year's plans. Modern Tojeong Bigyeol services add fortunes by area — wealth, health, movement, and more — for even finer guidance.
How It Differs from a Saju
If a Saju reads a lifetime's temperament and the broad frame of fortune from the eight characters of the moment you were born, Tojeong Bigyeol is a New Year fortune focused solely on 'this one year.' Its materials are simpler than a Saju's, so it is well suited to lighthearted enjoyment. The good way to enjoy both is to view the grand picture of a lifetime through your Saju and the flow of the new year through Tojeong Bigyeol.
Tojeong Bigyeol is New Year wisdom that has kept company with ordinary people for centuries. If you are curious about your overall fortune this year and the flow of each month, draw your own hexagram from your lunar birthday and see.