China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-12

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
Today's date is marked by the 
asterisk to the right:                  *

This is one in a never-ending series—following the movements of the calendar—in Round and Square perpetuity. It is today's date in the Chinese lunar calendar, along with basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying lunar calendars (and Chinese culture) for many years, you will likely find yourself asking "what does that mean?" I would caution that "it" doesn't "mean" any one thing. There are clusters of meaning, and they require patience, reflection, careful reading, and, well, a little bit of ethnographic fieldwork. The best place to start is the introduction to "Calendars and Almanacs" on this blog. I teach a semester-long course on this topic and, trust me, it takes a little bit of time to get used to the lunar calendar. Some of the material is readily accessible; some of it is impenetrable, even after many years. 

As time goes on, I will link all of the sections to lengthy background essays. This will take a while. In the meantime, take a look, read the introduction, and think about all of the questions that emerge from even a quick look at the calendar.

 

Section One
Solar Calendar Date

十
二

二期星

Twelfth Day

Astral Period Two

(Tuesday, February 12) 

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars

進三歲

神合支

Generational Branch

Three Linkages

Entering Spirit 

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

凶吉吉

酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

凶吉凶
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
09:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

*The hours above are for Hong Kong. It is up to you if you want to recalibrate or to assume that the cyclicality of the calendar "covers" the rest of the world. This is a greater interpretive challenge than you might think.
 

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Section Four
Activities to Avoid

 忌

修時☐＊

倉插種

Plowing and Planting

Timely Injections

Repairing Granaries

 

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 Section Five
 Cosmological Information 

初 
三
己

酉

土

觜

危
Third day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: jiyou (46/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Danger (8/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜 
上 掃 祭
樑 舍 祀
作 修 祈
灶 造 福
成 動 理
服 土 髮
安 竪  沐
葬 柱 俗
兀 下

鷄五積

口虛不

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence, Inquiring into Fortune, Hair Styling, Bathing,
Sweeping Floors, Repairs and Building, Moving Earth, Installing Pillars,
Erecting Beams, Stove Work, Making Clothing, Positioning Graves

Miscellaneous Information
Amputee, Lower
Accumulated Not
Five Vacancies
Chicken Beak   

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白人
White, Person

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

 占
門大

Divination

Gate, Big