Solar Term for the month of March 2023, month of Wood Rabbit Yi Mao in the year of Water Rabbit Gui Mao.

Solar Terms for the month of Gui Chou / Water Ox in the year of Ren Yin / Water Tiger

Happy New Year 2023 to all readers of this blog. 

While New Year's Day has been celebrated at the stroke of midnight on December 31st 2022, the Lunar New Year celebrated by Chinese people all around the world is yet to come. 

We are in the final month - Lunar Month 12th, month of Gui Chou / Water Ox in the Chinese Luni-Solar calendar. Traditional Chinese Lunar New Year will be celebrated on 22 January 2023, while Spring Begins / Li Chun starts on 4 February 2023. 

Solar Terms for the month of Ren Zi / (Yang) Water Rat / November in the year of Ren Yin / (Yang) Water Tiger 2022.

7th of December, Wednesday is the changeover day, from Hai / Pig month to the month of Zi / Rat. In the Chinese luni-solar calendar, there are 2 months to go before the next year of Gui Mao / (Yin) Water Rat starts. In the international calendar, it is the last month for the year 2022. The social mood of people is focussed on the festive year end period celebrating Christmas Day and New Years Day. 

In 2022 Singapore went from COVID-related pandemic lockdown restrictions to the country fully opening up. Quite a change in circumstances. Singapore citizens are free to travel abroad again, depending on their destination countries' restriction. Air fares for the Christmas festive period in late December and for the Chinese Lunar New Year period in January are already at their highs. 

An important date in the Chinese festive calendar is Winter Solstice or Dōng Zhì that falls on 22 December 2022. Besides being the mid-month Solar Term marker, it also marks a Yin/Yang transition, as Yin reaches its maximum, Yang is born. 

Solar Terms for the month of Ji You Earth Rooster in the year of Water Tiger Ren Yin 2022

The second Autumn month in the Chinese luni-solar calendar starts of 7th of September at 23:32 hours. It is the month of Ji You Earth Rooster. The months rotate on a Yin - Yang - Yin - Yang basis, and this month is a Yin month, with the elements of Earth and Metal only. 

Autumn Equinox will occur on 23rd of September. 

The Chinese Festival for this month is the Mid Autumn Festival that falls on 10th of September. It is also known as the Chinese Lantern Festival and the Mooncake Festival, where as their names imply, there will be lanterns and Chinese mooncakes. 

 

Solar Terms for the month of Wu Shen / Earth Monkey (August) in the year of Ren Yin / Water Tiger 2022

The calendar "Autumn" season started on the 7th of August, 2022 at 20:28 hours. The solar term to mark the beginning of the month is "Autumn Begins" or Li Qiu. 

In this particular month of the Chinese Luni-solar calendar, there are clashes of elements on both the Tian Gan (Heavenly Stems) and Di Zi (Earthly Branches) levels, between the month and the year:

Year Heavenly Stem / Tian Gan : Water

Month Heavenly Stem / Tian Gan : Earth

Water X Earth (clashing relationship)

Year Earthly Branch / Di Zi : Tiger / Yin

Month Earthly Branch / Di Zi : Monkey / Shen

Tiger x Monkey (clashing relationship)

Solar Terms for the month of July 2022, month of Ding Wei Fire Goat in the year of Ren Yin Water Tiger

Note: Apologies for the late posting of this month's Solar Terms. I left for New Zealand in June with a last minute urgent travel for personal matters. Was away for 6 weeks.

Solar Terms for July 2022

Solar Terms for the month of June 2022 - Fire Horse in the year of Water Tiger 2022

Solar Terms for the Month of Ren Yin (February) in the Year of Ren Yin 2022

The year of Ren Yin, Yang Water/Tiger started on the 4th of February 2022 on the Solar part of the Chinese Luni-solar Calendar. The beginning day is marked by the Solar Term "Li Chun" or translated as "Spring Begins". In the analysis of Ba Zi charts, we use the year as marked by the first Solar Term of the year, "Li Chun". There is also a mid point for the month on 19th of February with a Solar Term "Yu Shui" or translated as "Rain Water".  

12 Sexagenary Pairs (Tian Gan and Di Zi) of the 12 months of the year of Ren Yin Water Tiger 2022

(one month of the year of Ren Yin goes into January 2023)

Besides assigning a pair of the 60 Sexagenary Pairs (Jia Zi) to the year, a pair is also assigned to every month of the solar part of the Chinese luni-solar calendar. 

For example, in the year of Ren Yin 2022, all 12 solar months are assigned a Tian Gan Di Zi 天干地支 pair, beginning with Ren Yin 壬寅 (coincidentally the same as for the year this year) for the month beginning with Li Chun (Spring Begins). The following month starting with the solar term Jing Ze (Awakening of Insects) is assigned Gui Mao 癸卯, and so forth, as illustrated in the graphics above drawn up by myself. 

The same 60 pairs of Tian Gan Di Zi are rotated also for the day and for the hour, resulting in 4 Pillars of Year, Month, Day and hour. This is why Ba Zi is also called 4 Pillars. 

As you can tell by now, in a Ba Zi chart, there are actually 4 possibilities for the 12 Di Zi (used for the annual zodiac signs). There is a possibility of up to 4 different zodiac signs appearing in the year, month, day and hour pillars. The annual zodiac signs luck articles that you can read around the Chinese Lunar New Year festive period is based on the concept of Tai Sui (the year) and the related stars. A Ba Zi chart reading is different in that all 4 pillars are included in the analysis, and the technique is heavily based on the 5 Elements Theory, with the reference point shifted to the Day Master element instead of the Year. 

If you like to book your Ba Zi birth chart reading now, it is priced at $150 per hour. It includes strengths and weakness analysis, versus the 10-year trigger influence pillar and the annual year pillar trigger influence. 

壬寅年二十四节气 24 Solar Terms of 2022, Year of Water Tiger / Ren Yin

(C) 2022 Chua Chee Hiang

Here is a chart graphic drawn up by me on the laptop that contains the 24 Solar Terms time and date for the year of Ren Yin Water Tiger 2022. 

You can see that the solar part of the Chinese luni-solar calendar has similar month timing to the Gregorian international calendar, but the start and end dates and times per month differ by 4 to 8 days. Also, note that the month changeover timings are not at 00:00 hours. 

The Chinese 24 Solar Terms were inscribed in 2016 (11.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Link: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/the-twenty-four-solar-terms-knowledge-in-china-of-time-and-practices-developed-through-observation-of-the-suns-annual-motion-00647

Li Chun 2022 - "Spring Begins" 立春 Solar Term for the Year of Ren Yin 壬寅

Did you know that the Chinese calendar system is made up of 2 parts; a lunar calendar and a solar calendar? It is called a luni-solar calendar. 

Many are familiar with the lunar calendar part of the Chinese luni-solar calendar that tracks the shape of the moon in the night sky, with special days for Chinese festivals and events on the 1st and 15th day of the lunar month. Traditionally the older generation of Chinese people celebrate their Chinese lunar birthdays.

The solar calendar part of the Chinese luni-solar calendar corresponds to the orbit of planet earth around the sun, and is systematically divided into 24 parts, called Solar Terms. The first of the Solar Terms is Spring Begins or Li Chun and it falls on 4 February 2022. Although the lunar new year of the Tiger had already started on the 1st of February, the start of the Water Tiger year in the solar calendar part of the luni-solar calender is actually on 4 February 2022. 

For the Ba Zi birth chart, we use the solar calendar part of the Chinese luni-solar calendar, with Spring Begins or Li Chun as the changeover for the year. 

First of Twenty Four Solar Terms for the year of Xin Chou Metal Ox - Li Chun Spring Begins 立春

Hello readers of this blog, advance new year greetings to you for the year of Xin Chou, Metal Ox. This coming OX year's Li Chun falls on the 3rd of February 2021. The timing for GMT +8 is 22:58 hours, or 11.58 PM. 

Someone sent me this video about Li Chun:

It is a Tik Tok video in Chinese, and it describes some common observations for the day of Li Chun:

(1) Do not move house on this day, as the Qi is changing and implies no peace

(2) Do not cut your hair (or nails - added by me) on this day, as this means the new shoots sprouting out in Spring are being cut, i.e. arrested development

(3) Do not idle away at home, go outside to experience new Qi of Spring

(4) Do not quarrel nor get into conflicts on this day, as it will be a bad start for the year. Keep your cool on this day. 

Li Chun Riddle

You may have read my earlier articles about the Li Chun day, and so here is a riddle for this Li Chun day:

If Li Chun starts at 22:58 hours on the 3rd of February (+8 GMT), and 4th of February starts at midnight, how long is Li Chun day?