Void (공망) in Saju Explained, with the Six Decade Rule

Void (공망 空亡 gongmang) refers to two branches that are "empty" for your chart, based on which ten-day decade of the sixty-pillar cycle your day pillar belongs to. Whatever sits on a Void branch is traditionally read as weakened, delayed or less concrete. It is one of the oldest ideas in the system, and it can soften bad influences as easily as good ones.

What it means

空亡 means "empty and lost." The image is of a seat at the table with no one in it. Classical readers said that a star, relative or Ten God sitting on a Void branch has trouble showing up in practical life: help that does not quite arrive, effort that does not pay in the expected form.

Modern readers frame it more neutrally. A Void placement often shows where life is less material and more inward, idealistic or delayed. Old texts themselves note that Void is good news when it lands on a harmful star, because the harm is emptied too, and that Void is often associated with spiritual, artistic or philosophical interests. It is a modifier, not a verdict.

How it is found

The sixty pillars run in six decades of ten. Each decade pairs the ten stems with ten of the twelve branches, so two branches are left over. Those two are the Void branches for every day pillar in that decade.

The first decade, from Gap-ja (甲子) to Gye-yu (癸酉), uses every branch from Rat to Rooster and skips the Dog and Pig. The last decade, from Gap-in (甲寅) to Gye-hae (癸亥), skips the Rat and Ox. Worked example: the day pillar Jeong-myo (丁卯) is the fourth pillar of the Gap-ja decade (Gap-ja, Eul-chuk, Byeong-in, Jeong-myo), so its Void branches are Sul 戌 (Dog) and Hae 亥 (Pig). A second example: Im-in (壬寅) belongs to the decade that starts at Gap-o (甲午), so its Void branches are Jin 辰 (Dragon) and Sa 巳 (Snake).

Orienteller's engine takes the Void branches from the day pillar and then marks every pillar whose branch is one of them. Some practitioners also compute a second Void from the year pillar and use it for family and ancestry questions; Orienteller does not report that one.

How it shows up in a reading

What matters is what the Void touches. If the month branch is Void, readers often describe a career that takes an unusual or delayed shape. If the hour branch is Void, old texts linked it to later life or children arriving later. The day branch cannot be Void for its own pillar, so the spouse palace is never emptied by this rule.

Readers then check the Ten Gods and stars on the Void branch. A Void Wealth star might suggest money that comes and goes; a Void Heavenly Noble suggests help that is less dependable; a Void Robbery Star is read as a threat that loses its force.

Void can also be "filled." Many readers hold that a clash or combination with the Void branch, or a luck pillar that brings the Void branch itself, activates it for that period. That is why a Void reading is always tied to timing. Find your day pillar and its decade with the free day pillar calculator, learn how the 60-cycle works in the four pillars guide, and see related terms in the glossary.

FAQ

Is 공망 bad?

Not in itself. It weakens whatever it touches, which is unhelpful for a good star and helpful for a harsh one. Readers treat it as a modifier.

How do I know my Void branches?

Find which decade of the 60-cycle your day pillar belongs to. The two branches that decade skips are your Void branches.

Can Void be cancelled?

Many readers say a clash, a combination, or a luck pillar bringing the Void branch fills it for a time. Schools differ on how strongly this applies.

How it is found

The lookup rule Orienteller's chart engine uses.

Harsh stars and special pillars (흉살)