Minor Heat (Xiaoshu) 小暑
The solar term
The weather is hot, but not yet at its hottest. There are many thunderstorms and many close, sultry days.
| Year | Minor Heat |
|---|---|
| 2026 | July 7 |
| 2027 | July 7 |
| 2028 | July 6 |
| 2029 | July 7 |
| 2030 | July 7 |
Dates are for China time (UTC+8); in other time zones the term may fall on a different day.
The three pentads
Each solar term lasts about fifteen days and is divided into three pentads of five days, each named after a sign in nature. In 2027:
Warm winds arrive 溫風至from July 7
Every wind that blows is warm.
Crickets shelter in the walls 蟋蟀居壁from July 12
Crickets leave the open fields and shelter from the heat at the foot of the walls.
Young hawks learn to strike 鷹始摯from July 17
Young hawks begin to practise striking their prey.
Hexagrams
In the table of the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar (recorded in the New Book of Tang), the three pentads of Minor Heat belong to three hexagrams:
- first pentad50 Ding (The Cauldron)Marquis
- second pentad55 Feng (Abundance)Grandee
- third pentad59 Huan (Dispersion)Minister
Separately, the twenty-four lines of Kan, Zhen, Li and Dui govern the twenty-four solar terms in turn; Minor Heat belongs to Li, six in the second place.
The hexagram calendar marks the season. It says nothing about fortune and has no bearing on a hexagram you cast. See sources and method.