I like the concept of the small season. Originally, I think, it came from somebody noticing that in Japan the year traditionally had a rhythm that beat once every two weeks or so; they translated this list of "small seasons" into English and provided the traditional associations for each subdivision.
This is great, as far as it goes, but most of us don't live in Japan (and Japan itself has a diversity of climate regions). The rhythm of the year in Arizona is utterly different from that in Seattle, which is different from Victoria, BC. In fact, among the Coast Salish, the year was traditionally recognized as having thirteen "moons"; but exactly which moons depended on which group you were talking to and what kind of activities their traditional territories supported. Upriver (and inland) Stó:lo had different concerns from the Snuneymuxw of Penelakut Island, and the S'Klallam on the Olympic Peninsula lived differently still.
So: each of us should take the 24 Japanese small seasons as an inspiration, and come up with our own small seasons.
| Season | Name | Meaning | Associations | Approx. Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spring | Risshun | 立春 | Start of spring | Ground thaws, fish appear under ice. | Feb 4 | |
Usui | 雨水 | Rain waters | Snow recedes, mist lingers in the air. | Feb 18 | ||
Keichitsu | 啓蟄 | Going-out of the worms | Bugs surface from hibernation. | Mar 6 | ||
Shunbun | 春分 | Vernal equinox | Sparrows start to nest, cherry blossoms bloom. | Mar 21 | ||
Seimei | 清明 | Clear and bright | Geese fly north, the first rainbows of the year appear. | Apr 4 | ||
Kokū | 穀雨 | Rain for harvests | Reeds sprout by rivers, rice seedlings grow. | Apr 21 | ||
Summer | Rikka | 立夏 | Start of summer | Birds and frogs start the songs of summer. | May 6 | |
Shōman | 小満 | Small blooming | Flowers and plants bloom, wheat ripens. | May 21 | ||
Bōshu | 芒種 | Seeds and cereals | Praying mantises hatch, fireflies come out. Time to seed the soil. | Jun 5 | ||
Geshi | 夏至 | Reaching summer | Longest days of the year, irises bloom. | Jun 21 | ||
Shōsho | 小暑 | Small heat | Warm winds blow, young hawks learn to fly. | Jul 7 | ||
Taisho | 大暑 | Big heat | Summer heat at its strongest, accompanied by great rains. | Jul 23 | ||
Autumn | Risshu | 立秋 | Start of autumn | Cooler winds blow, thick fogs roll through hills. | Aug 8 | |
Shosho | 処暑 | Lessening heat | Rice has ripened, the heat of summer, forgotten. | Aug 23 | ||
Hakuro | 白露 | White dew | Drops of dew on grass. | Sep 7 | ||
Shubun | 秋分 | Autumnal equinox | Day and night are of equal length. | Sep 23 | ||
Kanro | 寒露 | Cold dew | Temperatures begin to drop, crickets stop chirping. | Oct 8 | ||
Sōkō | 霜降 | Frosting | The first frosts, maple leaves turn yellow. | Oct 23 | ||
Winter | Ritto | 立冬 | Start of winter | The ground starts to freeze. | Now | Nov 8 |
Shōsetsu | 小雪 | Small snow | Light snow, the last leaves have fallen from trees. | Nov 23 | ||
Taisetsu | 大雪 | Big snow | Cold sets in, bears hibernate. | Dec 8 | ||
Tōji | 冬至 | Winter solstice | Shortest days of the year. | Dec 22 | ||
Shōkan | 小寒 | Small cold | Temperatures quickly drop. | Jan 6 | ||
Daikan | 大寒 | Big cold | Ice thickens on the streams, hens huddle together. | Jan 20 | ||
