Part of the sophistication and subtlety of Chinese medicine is the understanding of time and season. The San Fu treatment combines medicine with electional astrology in order to harness the seasonal yang qi.
Solar Fortnight 小暑 Xiao Shu (Slight Heat)
Monday July 7th 2025 04:05
Solar Month 癸未 Water Sheep
When we get to Solar Fortnight Slight Heat, it’s time to ask your acupuncturist about San Fu Tian treatments. They can tell you if it would be helpful or not for you. The next Solar Fortnight is Great Heat. The one after that is the Limit of Heat. See where this is going? You want to get the timing correct, that is, do it when the Fire is strong.
The San Fu cold moxa treatment combines Chinese electional astrology with Chinese Medicine, that is to say, it’s efficacy depends upon the proper timing. It’s a once a year opportunity. I’ve noticed some acupuncturists are offering it as a treatment for long Covid and elementally that makes sense to me.
Some Chinese doctors say that the San Fu Cold Moxa reinitiates your growth phase – yes I mean the one that stopped probably in your early 20s. I don’t know if that is true, however I have done this treatment and I can tell you that it has changed the baseline of my health for the better. It fit me.
My Experience of San Fu Tian
This is the third year I am receiving the San Fu treatment. Since late 2019 I have had “mysterious health issues” and in early 2020 I was very ill. I will never know for sure, but logic suggests Long Covid. I attribute the extent of my recovery mostly to Chinese medicine, herbs and acupuncture. San Fu Tian has been one of the most impactful treatments for me.
An interesting side effect of the San Fu treatment (for me) is that it feels like a psychedelic experience. I feel very open and energized. I would attribute that to the effect of the treatment on my natural deficiencies, but also to the use of Mugwort which is known to promote or enhance dreams and lucid dreaming.
The cold moxa is applied as a paste to the appropriate points and taped in place. You leave the paste on until it feels too warm or too itchy or for 6 hours – whichever comes first. An hour or a little more works for me. Everyone has different reactions to the treatment. I get blistering, and it’s very itchy for days afterward. Apparently some who work with this method consider the blister to be a sign of successful treatment.
For Practitioners of Chinese Medicine
Because the San Fu days are determined by particular days within two seasons, there is a calculation you can learn to figure out when the San Fu days occur in any given year. If you want to do it yourself you can use the Hsia Calendar (10,000 year Calendar) or the Tong Shu.
If you’re not comfortable using the Hsia calendar, the Fu days for 2025 are noted in my 2025 Wood Snake Almanac to make them easy for you to identify. I will also be including the 2026 dates in my 2026 Fire Horse Almanac which will be available in the fall.
To do the calculation yourself, you want to find the yang Metal 庚 days in the Hsia calendar within the appropriate time span. In Qi Men Dun Jia, 庚 signals where the trouble is. I find that very interesting since yang Metal is cold and San Fu treatment is like applying Fire for an extended period of time.
Date Selection for San Fu Tian
After the summer solstice, the third 庚 day in the calendar is called 初伏 Chu Fu, meaning Initial Treatment Day. In 2025 Chu Fu is Sunday July 20th.
Because there are 10 Heavenly Stems, the next 庚 day is 10 days later. That’s the 中伏 Zhong Fu or Middle Treatment Day. In 2025 Zhong Fu is Wednesday July 30th.
Mo Fu 末伏 is the third and Final Treatment Day. It is the first 庚 day after Solar Fortnight 立秋 Li Qiu (Autumn begins). Mo Fu in 2025 is Saturday August 9th.
In some years there is an extra Fu day before the final one, but not in 2025.
I’ll just leave you with another reminder that your acupuncturist or herbalist is the one to ask about this treatment. Don’t do it without expert guidance.
Wishing you the best possible health for the future!
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For more information about the San Fu treatment itself, I have found Heidi Lovie to be a great source for information as well as the San Fu herbs.
