China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-17

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
Today's date:                                                                                  *

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
七

日期星

Seventeenth Day

Astral Period "Sun"

(Sunday, February 17) 

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars

天王

貴日

Kingly Days

Heavenly Nobility

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申 辰 子

凶 吉 中

酉 己 丑

吉 中 中

戌 午 寅

吉 中 吉

亥 未 卯

凶 吉 中
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 In-Between

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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

祭開

祀倉
Opening Granaries

Paying Reverence

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初 

八

甲

寅

水
星

建

Eight day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: jiayin (51/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Star (25/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Establish (1/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜 
會

友

裁

衣

交

易

納

畜

重 土

喪 府

復 天

日 刑

Appropriate Activities

Meeting Friends

Cutting Out Clothing

Commercial Transactions

Livestock Payments

 

Miscellaneous Information

Earthly Palace

Heavenly Punishment

Repeat Mourning

Repeated Days  

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白天
White, Heaven

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities
占
爐門

Divination

Furnace, Gate