Do names influence our destiny?

“Do I have to change my name?”

This is one of the questions I am asked most frequently when a saju reading foretells misfortune. Many people tell me that they have already changed their name upon advice from other fortune tellers. Some of them say they benefit from the new name, while others moan that it brings no better luck. They even accuse some fortune tellers who suggested the name change of giving wrong advice.

People may feel the need to change their names when they experience unwanted incidences or continuous failure. Some famous figures appear on television shows claiming that they became more popular after changing their name. Are some names be lucky and others unlucky? If so, what makes an auspicious one?

Even though I usually answer “no” without hesitation, to most questions on whether people should change their name, there indeed are some cases when one should be named carefully so that it is compatible with their destiny. How can we discern good from bad?

The Oriental philosophies, saju, feng shui, face and palm reading and zen are based on the premise that people, places, times and things have connatural energy. It is not something that can be proven by experiments, shown by pictures or observed by any special scopes. They emit certain energy, or “qi,” which has consequences for others. Saju is to read the symbolized letters generated by one’s birth year, month, day and hour as the moment when one is born has inherent energy from the universe to dominate one’s whole life. Likewise, feng shui teaches us that we are profoundly affected by the places and things that surround us. At this month of the year, day of the month and hour of the day, we undergo various interactions with people, things, time and nature.

While we cannot alter our birth, we can change our environment. The same belief can be applied to sound. A vibration of energy is created by how names are spoken and how people perceive the sound. There is lots of evidence of the likeness between one’s name and lifestyle. Not only people’s names, but also those of places wield a strong influence over destiny.

For example, there are two villages, named Biha-ri and Bisang-ri in North Chungcheong Province. In 1997, Cheongju International Airport was built near them. Biha-ri is located near the landing runway and Bisang-ri is near the take-off points. “Bi” in Korean means flying, “ha” stands for down, while “sang” means up. They were given their names before airplanes were invented. The landing strips stretch out between the two villages. Did our ancestors foresee the construction of a future airport and named the villages as “flying up” and “flying down?” Although we cannot prove how and why, it might have been their destiny to have an airport nearby from those names.

There are significances in every name, both Oriental and Western. Especially those who use Chinese characters know the meaning of their names by the individual ideogram. Also, Oriental philosophers assigned yin, yang and the five elements to each letter sound. Numerologists analyzed stroke counts of each character to tell the fortune and how compatible they were with the destiny of a person. While most Chinese characters have embedded five elements, other languages, such as Korean and English, also emanate a certain energy in their sound.

● Velar sound – wood element

● Lingual sound – fire element

● Guttural sound – earth element

● Dental sound – metal element

● Labial sound – water element

Naming is such a crucial job that it can supplement deficient energy and lead to a better life or vice versa. If anyone does not have any wood element in their saju, for instance, it is highly recommended to have a name with wood elements either by the meaning of the letters or by sound of saying it. If the wood element represents one’s wealth, complementing wood in the name would bring priceless fortune to one’s life.

The writer is the author of “Life’s Secrets.” Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny”? For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com, contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com. <The Korea Times/Janet Shin>