Start of Autumn (Liqiu 立秋): dates, pentads and the BaZi month change
The start of autumn. Taiwan is usually still very hot, a spell known as the "autumn tiger"; it only really cools down after October.
Start of Autumn dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Date | Time (Taiwan, UTC+8) | Month pillar from this moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | August 7 | 19:42 | Bing-Shen 丙申 month |
| 2027 | August 8 | 01:26 | Wu-Shen 戊申 month |
| 2028 | August 7 | 07:21 | Geng-Shen 庚申 month |
| 2029 | August 7 | 13:11 | Ren-Shen 壬申 month |
| 2030 | August 7 | 18:47 | Jia-Shen 甲申 month |
| 2031 | August 8 | 00:42 | Bing-Shen 丙申 month |
| 2032 | August 7 | 06:32 | Wu-Shen 戊申 month |
| 2033 | August 7 | 12:15 | Geng-Shen 庚申 month |
| 2034 | August 7 | 18:09 | Ren-Shen 壬申 month |
| 2035 | August 7 | 23:54 | Jia-Shen 甲申 month |
Times computed by our calendar code (UTC+8); they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. Between 1901 and 2100, Start of Autumn always falls on August 6–9. Subtract 8 hours for UTC.
The three pentads of Start of Autumn
| Sign of the season | When | |
|---|---|---|
| First pentad | Cool winds arrive (涼風至) | about days 1–5 after Start of Autumn |
| Second pentad | White dew settles (白露降) | about days 6–10 after Start of Autumn |
| Third pentad | Autumn cicadas sing (寒蟬鳴) | about days 11–15 after Start of Autumn |
The ancients split each solar term into three pentads (hou 候) of about five days each, and marked them by changes in birds, animals and plants: seventy-two pentads a year. These follow the standard list in Wu Cheng's Yuan-dynasty Collected Explanations of the Seventy-Two Pentads. They were observed in the Yellow River basin, so they do not always match what you see in Taiwan, let alone elsewhere. Some, like hawks turning into doves, record old beliefs rather than biology.
Start of Autumn in the sky: where the Sun is
The solar terms follow the Sun along the ecliptic: one term for every 15°, and Start of Autumn is the moment the Sun reaches longitude 135°. In 2027, at Start of Autumn the Sun sits against the stars of Cancer (drowned out by daylight, of course).
What Start of Autumn means in BaZi
Start of Autumn is a jie (節, "node") term: from this moment the Shen month (申) begins, the month that roughly matches the 7th lunar month, and the BaZi month pillar switches to a new pillar. The Shen month's element is Metal, so for people born in it, Metal is usually "in season" and strong in the chart.
BaZi months are not counted from the lunar new moon but from the jie terms: Start of Spring, Awakening of Insects, Pure Brightness, Start of Summer, Grain in Ear, Minor Heat, Start of Autumn, White Dew, Cold Dew, Start of Winter, Major Snow and Minor Cold each open a month. If you were born on the day of a jie term, within a few hours of it, your month pillar (and for the Start of Spring, your year pillar too) can shift by one; it depends on the exact time. See solar term boundaries, and for how the month's heavenly stem is worked out, the month pillar.
Look up the solar terms for any year
Pick a year to list the exact time of all 24 solar terms (Taiwan time, UTC+8) and the month pillar each jie term starts. Add a month and day, such as a birthday, to see which solar-term period it falls in and its month pillar. Everything is calculated in your browser.
The times come from the same calendar code our BaZi charts use; for 1901–2100 they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. If you were born within minutes of a term changing, see solar term boundaries.
The terms before and after
The previous term is Major Heat; the next is End of Heat.
A straight word: solar terms are astronomy; luck is something else
The twenty-four solar terms divide the year by the Sun's position on the ecliptic, and their times can be computed to the second. BaZi uses them to change the year and the month; that is a rule of calculation. A solar term carries no good or bad luck of its own, and no term is a "better" one to be born in: a chart is read as a whole, by its Five Elements and Ten Gods. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Born in the Shen month? See your whole chart
The month branch is the most important pillar in BaZi: it sets how strong each of the Five Elements is. Enter your birth date for a free Four Pillars chart.
Start of Autumn: common questions
What date is Start of Autumn in 2026?
In 2026, Start of Autumn falls on August 7 at 19:42 Taiwan time (UTC+8); in 2027 it is August 8 at 01:26.
Why does Start of Autumn move from year to year?
A solar term is the moment the Sun reaches a set longitude, here 135°. A year is about 365.24 days, not a whole number, and leap years reset the count, so the date drifts within a few days. From 1901 to 2100, Start of Autumn always falls on August 6–9.
What are the three pentads of Start of Autumn?
First: Cool winds arrive (涼風至); second: White dew settles (白露降); third: Autumn cicadas sing (寒蟬鳴). They follow the standard Yuan-dynasty list.
What does Start of Autumn do in a BaZi chart?
It is a jie term: from this moment BaZi switches to the Shen month and the month pillar changes.