小暑
Xiǎo Shǔ · Minor Heat
Each year lands around 7/7 in the Gregorian calendar (the exact date shifts slightly year to year).
Three Hou — five days each
- Warm winds arrive
- Crickets move to walls
- Eagles begin to hunt fiercely
The 'three hou' (三候) is the traditional five-day-each observation pattern within a single solar term — fifteen days in all.
What this term marks
Xiao-Shu (Minor Heat). The heat rises but hasn't reached its peak. The 'three fu' (三伏) — the hottest of the hot — are about to arrive.
Folklore & farming
Traditional sequence: 'dumplings for the first fu, noodles for the second, pancakes-with-eggs for the third.' Also 'sun-drying clothes' (晒伏) — airing books and garments before the damp.
What it means in a BaZi chart
Xiao-Shu opens the Wei (Goat) month — Earth strengthens. Charts that rely on Earth as their useful element find this month begins a good stretch.
Guidance, not prophecy. For reflection, not decision.