Frost's Descent (Shuangjiang 霜降): dates, pentads and meaning
It gets colder and frost starts to appear in northern China. Frost's Descent is the last term of autumn. Lowland Taiwan hardly ever sees frost; only the high mountains get a chance.
Frost's Descent dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Date | Time (Taiwan, UTC+8) | Month pillar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | October 23 | 17:37 | still Wu-Xu 戊戌 month |
| 2027 | October 23 | 23:32 | still Geng-Xu 庚戌 month |
| 2028 | October 23 | 05:13 | still Ren-Xu 壬戌 month |
| 2029 | October 23 | 11:08 | still Jia-Xu 甲戌 month |
| 2030 | October 23 | 17:00 | still Bing-Xu 丙戌 month |
| 2031 | October 23 | 22:49 | still Wu-Xu 戊戌 month |
| 2032 | October 23 | 04:46 | still Geng-Xu 庚戌 month |
| 2033 | October 23 | 10:27 | still Ren-Xu 壬戌 month |
| 2034 | October 23 | 16:16 | still Jia-Xu 甲戌 month |
| 2035 | October 23 | 22:16 | still Bing-Xu 丙戌 month |
Times computed by our calendar code (UTC+8); they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. Between 1901 and 2100, Frost's Descent always falls on October 22–24. Subtract 8 hours for UTC.
The three pentads of Frost's Descent
| Sign of the season | When | |
|---|---|---|
| First pentad | Jackals lay out their prey (豺乃祭獸) | about days 1–5 after Frost's Descent |
| Second pentad | Leaves yellow and fall (草木黃落) | about days 6–10 after Frost's Descent |
| Third pentad | Hibernating insects curl up in their burrows (蟄蟲咸俯) | about days 11–15 after Frost's Descent |
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.
Frost's Descent in the sky: where the Sun is
The solar terms follow the Sun along the ecliptic: one term for every 15°, and Frost's Descent is the moment the Sun reaches longitude 210°. In 2027, at Frost's Descent the Sun sits against the stars of Virgo (drowned out by daylight, of course).
What Frost's Descent means in BaZi
Frost's Descent is a qi (氣), or "middle term" (中氣): it falls in the middle of the Xu month (戌), so the BaZi month pillar does not change here; it is the same Xu month before and after. Middle terms matter in the calendar for another reason: a lunar month with no middle term in it becomes the leap month.
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 Cold Dew; the next is Start of Winter.
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.
Solar terms set the month; the month sets strength
Enter your birth date for a free Four Pillars chart and see your month element and the balance of your whole chart.
Frost's Descent: common questions
What date is Frost's Descent in 2026?
In 2026, Frost's Descent falls on October 23 at 17:37 Taiwan time (UTC+8); in 2027 it is October 23 at 23:32.
Why does Frost's Descent move from year to year?
A solar term is the moment the Sun reaches a set longitude, here 210°. 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, Frost's Descent always falls on October 22–24.
What are the three pentads of Frost's Descent?
First: Jackals lay out their prey (豺乃祭獸); second: Leaves yellow and fall (草木黃落); third: Hibernating insects curl up in their burrows (蟄蟲咸俯). They follow the standard Yuan-dynasty list.
What does Frost's Descent do in a BaZi chart?
It is the middle term of the Xu month, so the month pillar does not change. BaZi changes months only at the jie terms.