Minor Heat (Xiaoshu 小暑): dates, pentads and the BaZi month change
The heat is setting in, but it is not yet the hottest time. Taiwan enters high summer, and typhoons start to become active.
Minor Heat dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Date | Time (Taiwan, UTC+8) | Month pillar from this moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | July 7 | 09:56 | Yi-Wei 乙未 month |
| 2027 | July 7 | 15:37 | Ding-Wei 丁未 month |
| 2028 | July 6 | 21:30 | Ji-Wei 己未 month |
| 2029 | July 7 | 03:22 | Xin-Wei 辛未 month |
| 2030 | July 7 | 08:55 | Gui-Wei 癸未 month |
| 2031 | July 7 | 14:48 | Yi-Wei 乙未 month |
| 2032 | July 6 | 20:40 | Ding-Wei 丁未 month |
| 2033 | July 7 | 02:24 | Ji-Wei 己未 month |
| 2034 | July 7 | 08:17 | Xin-Wei 辛未 month |
| 2035 | July 7 | 14:01 | Gui-Wei 癸未 month |
Times computed by our calendar code (UTC+8); they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. Between 1901 and 2100, Minor Heat always falls on July 6–8. Subtract 8 hours for UTC.
The three pentads of Minor Heat
| Sign of the season | When | |
|---|---|---|
| First pentad | Warm winds arrive (溫風至) | about days 1–5 after Minor Heat |
| Second pentad | Crickets shelter by the walls (蟋蟀居壁) | about days 6–10 after Minor Heat |
| Third pentad | Young hawks learn to strike (鷹始摯) | about days 11–15 after Minor Heat |
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.
Minor Heat in the sky: where the Sun is
The solar terms follow the Sun along the ecliptic: one term for every 15°, and Minor Heat is the moment the Sun reaches longitude 105°. In 2027, at Minor Heat the Sun sits against the stars of Gemini (drowned out by daylight, of course).
What Minor Heat means in BaZi
Minor Heat is a jie (節, "node") term: from this moment the Wei month (未) begins, the month that roughly matches the 6th lunar month, and the BaZi month pillar switches to a new pillar. The Wei month's element is Earth, so for people born in it, Earth 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 Summer Solstice; the next is Major 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 Wei 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.
Minor Heat: common questions
What date is Minor Heat in 2026?
In 2026, Minor Heat falls on July 7 at 09:56 Taiwan time (UTC+8); in 2027 it is July 7 at 15:37.
Why does Minor Heat move from year to year?
A solar term is the moment the Sun reaches a set longitude, here 105°. 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, Minor Heat always falls on July 6–8.
What are the three pentads of Minor Heat?
First: Warm winds arrive (溫風至); second: Crickets shelter by the walls (蟋蟀居壁); third: Young hawks learn to strike (鷹始摯). They follow the standard Yuan-dynasty list.
What does Minor Heat do in a BaZi chart?
It is a jie term: from this moment BaZi switches to the Wei month and the month pillar changes.