Great Cycles (Da Yun): the seasons of your life

The Great Cycles (大運, Da Yun in Chinese; Daeun in Korean) divide life into ten-year stretches. Each has its own stem-and-branch pillar and changes the symbolic “climate” in which your chart is read.

A metaphor: the seasons

Your natal chart would be your basic character, like the soil of a garden; the Great Cycles are the seasons passing over that garden. There are stretches of sowing, growth, harvest and rest. No season is “bad”: what changes is which kind of work comes most naturally in each.

How they are calculated

The system starts from your Month Pillar and moves forward (or backward) one pillar every ten years.

• Direction: it depends on the polarity (Yang/Yin) of your year stem and your gender: in some combinations it moves forward and in others backward in the cycle of 60.
• Starting age: the days between your birth and the nearest solar term in that direction are counted; every three days equals one year.
• Length: each great cycle lasts ten years, with its own stem (which weighs more in the first five) and branch.

How they are read in our calculator

We compare each cycle’s element with your Day Master’s:

• Favorable: the cycle shares your element or nourishes it; described as a time of support, learning and reinforcement.
• Dispersion: your energy flows outward; a good time to create and express, mindful of tiredness.
• Challenge: the cycle sets limits or pressure on your element; usually read as a stretch of growth through demand.
• Depletion: your element takes on a lot of management; prudence with money and relationships is advised.

How to make use of this idea

• Use each cycle as a theme for reflection, not as a prophecy: “what kind of work is this stage asking of me?”.
• Notice moments of transition: when the cycle changes, it is natural to feel your priorities shift.
• Combine the reading with your own experience: nobody knows your life better than you.

You can see your cycles in the free calculator: when you calculate your chart, the “Da Yun” section appears with your ten-year cycles and a description of each.