Rain Water (Yushui) 雨水
The solar term
As the weather warms, snow gives way to rain and rainfall begins to increase, hence the name. It is early spring, when everything is starting to grow and needs the rain.
| Year | Rain Water |
|---|---|
| 2026 | February 18 |
| 2027 | February 19 |
| 2028 | February 19 |
| 2029 | February 18 |
| 2030 | February 18 |
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:
Otters lay out their fish 獺祭魚from February 19
Otters catch fish in plenty and often lay them out on the bank, as if setting out an offering.
Wild geese fly north 候雁北from February 24
The wild geese that migrate with the seasons fly back north from the south.
Plants begin to sprout 草木萌動from March 1
Grasses and trees put out their first shoots.
Hexagrams
In the table of the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar (recorded in the New Book of Tang), the three pentads of Rain Water belong to three hexagrams:
- first pentad53 Jian (Gradual Progress)Duke
- second pentad11 Tai (Peace)Sovereign
- third pentad5 Xu (Waiting)Marquis
The second, Tai (Peace), is one of the twelve sovereign hexagrams (十二辟卦), which trace the waxing and waning of yin and yang through the year. It stands for the first month of the traditional calendar: three yang below and three yin above, heaven and earth in communion.
Separately, the twenty-four lines of Kan, Zhen, Li and Dui govern the twenty-four solar terms in turn; Rain Water belongs to Kan, nine in the fifth 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.