Chinese Nodes: September 2020
白露 Bai Lu
‘White Dew’
Bai Lu: 15th Solar Term
‘White Dew’
September 7, 2020
Sun = 165°
Bai Lu occurs this year on September 7 and is known as ‘White Dew’. It is the fifteenth of the 24 Solar Terms which divide the year into 24 ‘terms’ or seasonal markers. Based on the 360° passage of the Earth around the Sun, each term is 15° which translates into 15 days per term.
Bai Lu is the time when the metal element begins to take residence along with the dryness and the coming harvest. As the nights begin to get cooler, more noticeable is the white dew on the fields in the mornings. The spider’s webs are very beautiful this time of the year as they glisten with the morning dew. Guard the lungs for they are the ‘sensitive organ’ by avoiding excessive dryness and sudden cold wind.
秋分 Qiu Fen
‘Autumn Begins’
Qiu Fen: 16th Solar Term
‘Autumn Begins’
September 22, 2020
Sun = 180°
Qiu Fen occurs this year on September 22 and is known as ‘Autumn Begins’. It is the sixteenth of the 24 Solar Terms which divide the year into 24 ‘terms’ or seasonal markers. Based on the 360° passage of the Earth around the Sun, each term is 15° which translates into 15 days per term.
Qiu Fen marks a time of equality of day and night but is differentiated from the spring equinox (chun fen -春 分)by directionality: we are now moving from decreasing light into further increasing darkness; from shao yin (小陰)to tai yin (太 陰). Rejoice and give gratitude for your harvest as you prepare for cultivation during the sacred silence of winter.
