Shevat: Tu BiShvat, leap-year order and Aquarius
Shevat is the eleventh month counting from Nisan and has 30 days in the fixed Hebrew calendar. It follows Tevet. The month after it is Adar in an ordinary year or Adar I in a leap year, so Shevat offers a clear view of where the extra month enters the sequence.
Prepared by Mazalogy · Published · Our editorial approach
| Hebrew name | שבט |
|---|---|
| Order counted from Nisan | 11 |
| Days in the fixed calendar | 30 |
| Gra letter | צ · Tsadi |
| Gra zodiac correspondence | Aquarius |
| Gra faculty, concise gloss | Taste |
Watch what comes after Shevat
Compare the final day of Shevat in an ordinary year with the same boundary in a leap year. Shevat keeps its 30 days in both. What changes is the sequence that follows: one Adar or two. An extra month is not an extra day hidden inside Shevat.
This is helpful when reading a birthday record or making a plan that extends toward Nisan. Keep the named months in the plan rather than translating “next month” into a fixed number of civil days. The Hebrew month sequence and the civil date range serve different purposes.
Sources: Chabad · The Jewish Month: order and fixed-calendar lengths
Tu BiShvat and the New Year for Trees
Chabad’s Shevat introduction identifies 15 Shevat, Tu BiShvat, as the New Year for Trees and describes the custom of eating fruit. The phrase “new year” here belongs to a particular calendar and religious context; it does not mean that the numbered Hebrew year changes again in Shevat.
Write “15 Shevat — Tu BiShvat” beside “1 Tishrei — numbered-year boundary” in a study note. The comparison makes room for several beginnings without treating them as one interchangeable event. For a family celebration, locate the civil date and opening evening in the selected year.
Sources: Chabad · Shevat month introduction
Tsadi, Aquarius and the Gra version
In the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah, Shevat is associated with Tsadi (צ) and Aquarius; Mazalogy renders the connected faculty as “taste.” This is a named textual correspondence, not a calculated natal Sun position.
The Gra passage pairs Shevat with Tsadi, Aquarius and taste. As an original exercise, read the Hebrew letter צ beside its transliteration, then find it in a word you can verify. Letter recognition and a faculty association are different kinds of learning; neither supplies a personality assessment of Shevat births.
Sources: Sefer Yetzirah · Gra version, chapter 5:10 · Sefer Yetzirah · Compare another version, chapter 5:1–2
Use it in a calendar or birthday record
A birthday on 30 Shevat illustrates an Adar boundary case: the following month differs in leap years even though Shevat’s own final day remains present. Save the birth date as day, month and year. Compare any coming anniversary under a named convention rather than inferring it from a short month list.
Continue from Shevat
Explore the Hebrew calendar · Find your Hebrew birthday · Study the correspondence system
Sources and approach
Prepared with AI assistance using the linked sources and original reading exercises. Calendar facts, named textual correspondences and contemporary applications are kept distinct. The Gra version is the reference for this table; other versions can assign faculties differently.