小雪
Xiǎo Xuě · Minor Snow
Each year lands around 11/22 in the Gregorian calendar (the exact date shifts slightly year to year).
Three Hou — five days each
- Rainbows are hidden away
- Heaven's qi rises, earth's qi sinks
- Sealed and closed — winter is established
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-Xue (Minor Snow). First light snow in the north; the south not yet. The qi of heaven and earth separate — what ascends returns to sky, what sinks returns to soil.
Folklore & farming
After Xiao-Xue: pickling vegetables, stuffing sausages, drying fish for the winter. Jiangnan custom — eating ci-ba (glutinous rice cakes).
What it means in a BaZi chart
Mid-Hai month — Water runs deep. Charts where Water is the unwelcome element should pace themselves; charts where Water is the useful element are in their best stretch.
Guidance, not prophecy. For reflection, not decision.