Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Chinese Calendar 4 – Knowing the Year, Seasons and Days


A Tropical Year is calculated on the basis of the Earth moving around the Sun. The equinoxes and the solstices demarcating Earth’s distance, nearest or furthest away from the Sun marking the 4 seasons where the extreme Yin begins in Zi and the extreme Yang begins in Wu month. 

Of the 4 seasons, the 24 seasonal nodes are referred to as solar markers. One season governs 6 seasonal nodes. Therefore, each portion governs 3 seasonal nodes, thus vernal equinox in spring becomes an important marker where wood Qi is at its optimum. 

The Stables Qi is at its infancy (growth), the Cardinals Qi is at its peak (prosperous) and the Graves Qi is at its tomb (storage). These are the basis of SanHe’s 12 growth phases, measuring the “HouQi” or vital Qi which implies that influence between 2 gravitational forces at its strongest and weakest. It takes 15 days for a revolution of HouQi. Multiply by 24 seasonal nodes, a year contains 360 days.

But our Modern Day calculation state that it takes about 365 1/4 days for a year. Would such make the Calendar obsolete?

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