China's Lunar Calendar 2013 07-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT July 29.............................................................................................................July 22 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
(top to bottom; right to left) 
廿
四

三期星

Seventh Month, Twenty-fourth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, July 24

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

月天天麒
恩醫喜麟

Unicorn
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician
Lunar Kindness

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

中中中

酉己丑

凶吉凶

戌午寅

吉吉吉

亥未卯

凶中吉

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

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

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

————————————————— 

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

忌

開穿造合
池井酒醬

Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
七
新
卯
木
壁
成

Seventeenth Day (sixth lunar month)

Cyclical day: xinmao (28/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Wall (14/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

上開出祭
樑市行祀
安交嫁祈
牀易娶福
修修納入
倉造采學
安動移會
葬土徙友

痕水

大班刀大
   煞煞砧亡空＊

Appropriate Activities Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairs and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Positioning Beds
Repairing Granaries
Positioning Graves 


Water Scar

Miscellaneous Information 
Great Loss-void*
Knife Anvil
Classified Balefulness
Great Balefulnes
*A non-standard "character" used in almanacs and calendars.

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
丫
Bifurcation

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
門 灶 廚
Gate, Stove, Kitchen