Today is January 18, 2026, and we are entering the last Earth season of the year.
For this Earth season, the last one of the year, we have chosen to talk to you about the Earth season. The Earth season is not a season. It is an interseason. It is unique as it aligns with the last 18 days that conclude the current season, which is the Water season. That's why there are four Earth interseasons per year, with the following dates:
- January 18 to February 4
- April 18 to May 5
- July 20 to August 6
- October 21 to November 7
Last of the year? Aren't we already in 2026?
In reality, the energetic calendar is not a Gregorian calendar. It is a luni-solar calendar that starts the year with the Chinese New Year, which will take place again this year on February 4.
But, you might say, the Chinese New Year, this year, is on February 17, not the 4th? And you are correct. In energetics, the year begins at the start of the Wood season, on February 4, but since the Chinese calendar is luni-solar, it chooses to start the year with a lunar reference and not a solar one: it occurs on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice. "Second new moon" is a lunar reference, while the winter solstice is a solar reference. So, it is indeed both a lunar and solar calendar: luni-solar.
However, in energetics, what interests us is the energy received from the Sun at the surface of the Earth. This energy is primarily dictated by the apparent position of the sun in our sky.
To understand the seasonal variations of this energy (the "energetic seasons"), one must understand the concepts of equinox and solstice. These correspond to the pivotal moments of the year when the inclination of the Earth's rotational axis produces extreme or balanced sunlight conditions for each hemisphere:
- At the solstices (June and December), one of the two hemispheres receives maximum sunlight (longest day, sun at its highest), while the other receives minimal sunlight (shortest day, sun at its lowest).
- At the equinoxes (March and September), both hemispheres are lit equally, marking a transition between seasons.
Did you know that in the city of Kiruna in Sweden (north of the Arctic Circle), the sun disappears completely for more than three weeks around the winter solstice? Imagine the impact of this energetic phenomenon on the body. To compensate, light therapy (10,000 lux lamps) is practiced there, and they adopt an ultra-cozy lifestyle with candles, saunas, and northern lights.
Before satellites, humans were already calculating the seasons by observing solstices and equinoxes. This astronomical knowledge, vital for agriculture, has led to monuments, calendars, and festivals – from Saint John to Nowruz – that still celebrate our link to Earth's cycles.
The Mayan Equinox Anecdote
To announce the equinox in Chichén Itzá, the Mayan priest did not have to guess. His "calculator" was the pyramid itself, calibrated with astronomical precision.
The architects had oriented El Castillo and carved the angles of its balustrades so that, only at the equinoxes, a unique phenomenon would occur. At sunset, triangles of shadow and light align on the north staircase to form the winding body of a giant serpent that appears to descend and join the stone head located at the bottom of the steps.
This spectacle lasted only a few days around the equinox, with perfect clarity on the day itself. Before or after, the shadows would disperse. The stone thus became an unerring seasonal clock: when the serpent of light appeared, the priest knew that the god Kukulkán was "on time," and the ceremonies could begin with full certainty.
It was the public demonstration that their sky science was accurate and that their world was in phase with the universe.
The Energetic Seasons
When we calculate the energetic seasons, which actually vary only by a day or two depending on the years, we first acquire the exact dates and times of the solstices and equinoxes. We then center each of the seasons based on these dates and subtract the last 18 days before a change to give birth to the Earth interseason.
The EARTH interseason is an important concept because it represents a major energy shift at the end of the season, during the transition. It is during this season that the body reacts, and the spleen, the organ of adaptation and change, and the stomach are activated because they prepare for the energy change. This interseason, therefore, has a profound biological reality.
It is also during this season that fasting is recommended, avoiding eating too much meat or taking time to rest.
The Earth interseason, the last of the energetic year, begins today. The entire PHYTO 5 team wishes you a beautiful Earth interseason before the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse, Year of the Unicorn, which starts on February 4, 2026.