Heaven Net and Earth Net (천라지망) in Saju Charts

Heaven Net and Earth Net (천라지망 天羅地網 cheonra jimang) are a pair of harsh stars tied to the feeling of being caught in a net: delays, entanglements and situations that are hard to get out of. Heaven Net is formed by the Dog and Pig branches; Earth Net by the Dragon and Snake. The Korean phrase 천라지망 is also an everyday idiom for being surrounded with no way out, which gives the stars more weight in popular imagination than most readers give them in practice.

What it means

The image comes from the circle of twelve branches laid over the compass. Dog and Pig sit in the northwest, the "gate of heaven"; Dragon and Snake sit in the southeast, the "door of earth." Classical texts treated these corners as places where movement stalls, so a chart touching them was said to meet obstacles, red tape or slow progress.

Modern readers keep the theme but read it more usefully. The stars are often linked with an awareness of rules, systems and limits, and with work that deals with them directly: law, administration, religion, counseling, research and any field built on careful procedure. Korean practice treats them as double-edged: the same sensitivity to constraints that feels like being held back can become a strength in a structured role. A star alone never decides a chart.

How it is found

Orienteller's engine follows the traditional gender split:

• For a male chart it flags Heaven Net wherever Sul 戌 (Dog) or Hae 亥 (Pig) appears among the four branches.
• For a female chart it flags Earth Net wherever Jin 辰 (Dragon) or Sa 巳 (Snake) appears.

Worked example: a man whose day pillar is Gye-hae has the Pig on his day branch, so the engine flags Heaven Net in the day pillar. A woman born in a Dragon year has the Earth Net in her year pillar.

Schools differ on several points, and it is worth knowing them. Many teachers require both branches of the pair to be present before calling it a net, which makes the star much rarer than the single-branch rule. Some apply both nets to everyone, and some tie them to the sound element (납음 nabeum) of the birth year. Orienteller uses the single-branch, gender-based version, so it will flag these stars more often than a strict reader would.

How it shows up in a reading

The pairs face each other across the circle: Dog clashes Dragon, and Pig clashes Snake. A chart that holds both a Heaven Net branch and an Earth Net branch is therefore a chart with a clash, and readers look at the clash first. When a luck pillar or annual pillar brings one of these branches, especially into a clash, readers describe a period where paperwork, approvals or plans move slowly.

Pillar placement adds detail. In the month pillar the theme is usually work and institutions; on the day branch, a personal tendency to feel boxed in or to carry responsibilities quietly; in the hour pillar, plans that take longer than hoped. The Ten Gods on the branch shape the theme, and helper stars such as Heaven Virtue are said to loosen the net.

Related harsh stars include the Disaster Star, also linked to restriction. Use the free day pillar calculator to see your branches, and the glossary index for other terms.

FAQ

What does 천라지망 mean in Saju?

It names two harsh stars, Heaven Net (Dog and Pig) and Earth Net (Dragon and Snake), traditionally linked with delays and feeling held back. Their effect depends on the rest of the chart.

Why does Orienteller show Heaven Net for men and Earth Net for women?

That follows the traditional split in older manuals. Some modern teachers apply both to everyone or require both branches of the pair.

Is having a Dog or Pig branch a bad sign?

No. One branch on its own is a mild indication at most, and many teachers would not count it without the second branch.

How it is found

The lookup rule Orienteller's chart engine uses.

Harsh stars and special pillars (흉살)