China's Lunar Calendar 2013 04-26

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT May 1......................................................................................April 24 RIGHT

[a] 24 April - 1 May 2013

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
(top to bottom; right to left)  
廿
六

五期星

Fourth month, twenty-sixth day

Astral Period Five

Friday, April 26

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

天德歲
德日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Heavenly Virtue

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子

凶凶中

酉己丑

中吉中

戌午寅

凶中吉

亥未卯

凶吉吉

23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00  Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

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

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

————————————————— 

Section Four
Activities to Avoid 
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌

伐放開
木水渠

Opening Sluices
Going-into Water
Felling Trees 

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
七

壬

戌
水

牛

破

Seventeenth Day (third lunar month)

Cyclical day: renxu (59/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Ox (9/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)

————————————————— 

Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

食偏月
復食初

圓甚虧

寅寅寅

時時初

正正三

四四時

時時五

廿零十

五八二

分分分

 痕水
俱大月
將耗破

Partial Lunar Eclipse
Eclipse begins at the beginning of the yin hour—3:52 a.m. 
The eclipse reaches its greatest coverage in the yin hour at 4:08 a.m.
The moon returns to roundness in the yin hour at 4:25 a.m.   

Water Pestilence 

Miscellaneous Information 
Lunar Repression
Great Squander
Exactly General

 ————————————————— 

 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
丫 天
Bifurcation, Heaven

————————————————— 

Section Eight 
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

倉

栖 庫

Granary
Perch, Storehouse