Glossary

Plain-English definitions for the Saju, Chinese zodiac, astrology, and tarot terms Mystica’s readings use — each grounded in exactly what the reading behind it computes.

• Ascendant (Rising Sign)The ascendant is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at your exact birth time and place — a different calculation from your sun sign, and from what Mystica's birth-chart reading covers today.
• AspectsAspects are the angles between two planets in a birth chart — conjunction, opposition, square, trine, sextile — each read as a different kind of relationship.
• Chinese Zodiac ElementEach of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals carries one fixed element — wood, fire, earth, metal, or water — distinct from the element that changes year to year.
• Day MasterThe day master is the heavenly stem of your day pillar in a Four Pillars (Saju) chart — the fixed point every other stem and branch is read against.
• Earthly BranchesThe twelve earthly branches (地支) pair with the heavenly stems in a Four Pillars chart, and are also the branches behind the twelve Chinese zodiac animals.
• East-West Element MappingHow Mystica maps a Western sun sign's element (fire, earth, air, water) onto the five-element system so it can be read against a Chinese zodiac animal.
• Five ElementsWood, fire, earth, metal, and water — the five elements (五行) that structure Saju, Chinese zodiac, and Mystica's East-West reading, connected by fixed generating and overcoming cycles.
• Four PillarsFour Pillars of Destiny (Saju / Bazi) reads a birth date and time as four stem-branch pairs — year, month, day, and hour — computed from the lunar calendar.
• Generating & Overcoming Cycles相生 (generating) and 相剋 (overcoming) are the two fixed loops that connect the five elements — the logic behind Mystica's East-West reading.
• Heavenly StemsThe ten heavenly stems (天干) are the building blocks of a Four Pillars chart — each one a yin or yang form of wood, fire, earth, metal, or water.
• Astrological HousesThe twelve houses divide a birth chart into life areas — home, career, relationships — based on your exact birth time and location, which Mystica's current birth-chart reading does not take as input.
• Luck PillarsLuck pillars (대운 / 大運) are the 10-year periods that overlay a Four Pillars chart, each with its own stem-branch pair and ten-god theme.
• Lunar New Year CutoffThe Chinese zodiac follows the lunar new year, not January 1 — a birth date in January or early February can belong to the PREVIOUS animal year.
• Major ArcanaThe 22 major arcana are the tarot deck's named, numbered cards — The Fool through The World — each standing for a significant life theme rather than an everyday event.
• Minor ArcanaThe 56 minor arcana split into four suits — wands, cups, swords, pentacles — each covering a different area of everyday life, unlike the major arcana's big themes.
• Natal ChartA natal chart is a map of where every planet sat in the zodiac at the moment of your birth — and a guide to what Mystica's birth-chart reading covers versus a full ephemeris chart.
• RetrogradeA retrograde is when a planet appears to move backward through the zodiac from Earth's point of view — an optical effect of orbital speed, not literal reversal.
• Reversed CardA reversed tarot card is drawn upside down and read with a distinct, related meaning — not simply the opposite of its upright meaning.
• Ten GodsThe ten gods (十神) classify every stem in a Four Pillars chart by its relationship to your day master — peer, output, wealth, authority, or resource.
• Three-Card SpreadThe three-card spread is tarot's most common layout — three positions, most often read as past / present / future — and one of the spreads Mystica draws.