QiLifeHow well does your routine fit the season?
Fifteen questions scored against the solar term you are actually in right now, with specific adjustments rather than general advice.
15 questions · about 3 minutes · 1 dimension · no account needed · updated
Chinese medicine treats the year as twenty-four solar terms rather than four seasons, and each term has its own climate, organ emphasis and recommended direction. This check scores your current routine against the term you are in — computed from the actual solar term dates, not a generic season.
It is the most situational of the six assessments. The same person can score well in one term and poorly in the next, because the requirements change as the year turns.
Why solar terms instead of seasons
Four seasons is a northern-hemisphere approximation. The twenty-four terms are closer to what actually changes — the point when warmth returns, when dampness peaks, when dryness sets in. Traditional advice is tied to those transitions rather than to the calendar's three-month blocks.
Each term has an organ emphasis and a direction: what to lean toward and what to reduce. Late summer traditionally emphasises the Spleen against dampness. Autumn emphasises the Lung against dryness. Winter emphasises the Kidney against cold. The term you are in determines what your answers are measured against.
What the result gives you
A fit score between 0 and 100 for how well your routine matches the current term, the specific mismatches found, and adjustments with timings. Most results come back with two or three actionable changes rather than a list.
Because the score depends on which term you take it in, results are not comparable across dates in the way the constitution test is. Retake it as the year turns and you get a different comparison — that is the intended use, not a flaw.
The direction of each term
Spring favours light, fresh and slightly sour foods to support the Liver's upward movement. Summer favours cooling and hydrating choices to avoid leaking Qi through sweat. Late summer favours sweet, yellow and grounding foods to support the Spleen against damp. Autumn favours moistening and lightly pungent foods to protect the Lung from dryness. Winter favours warm, slow-cooked food to anchor the Kidney and conserve essence.
There are also the pentads — five-day divisions within each term — which is where much of the specific practical advice lives. That structure is available here as reference even when a particular pentad has no strongly matched answer for you.
Questions people ask
How is the current solar term calculated?
From the actual solar term dates, precomputed at build time from an astronomical date engine. It is not derived from the calendar month, so the changeover happens on the real astronomical date rather than on the first of a month.
Why does my score change between seasons?
Because the requirements do. The same routine can suit one term and miss another, and the score measures fit against the current term's direction rather than against a fixed ideal. A drop between terms means your routine needs to move with the year, not that something has gone wrong.
Can I take this before travelling to another hemisphere?
Take it before and after. The solar terms follow the calendar, but the food, weather and daylight available to you do not — which is exactly the mismatch the check is built to surface. It is also a useful prompt for adjusting after a long flight.
Is this the same as a constitution test?
No. The constitution test is about who you are and is meant to be stable across seasons. This one is about how your current routine fits the present term, and it is deliberately seasonal. Most people take the constitution test once or twice a year and this one whenever the term changes.
Patterns this assessment connects to
Each pattern page below explains what the pattern is, the signs that suggest it, and which acupoints, foods and teas the library lists against it.
Lung
The Lung governs Qi and respiration, and controls the skin — it is the body's outer defence against cold, wind and dryness.
Spleen
The Spleen governs transformation and transport — turning food and drink into usable energy, and moving what has been transformed.
Kidney
The Kidney stores Jing — the constitutional essence that governs growth, ageing and reproduction — and governs water metabolism.
Liver
The Liver governs free coursing — the smooth movement of Qi throughout the body — and stores blood between uses.
Related assessments
Body Clock Check
20 questions across 1 dimension. About 4 minutes.
Nine Constitution Assessment
27 questions across 9 dimensions. About 5 minutes.