China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-10

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT August 10...........................August 7 RIGHT...Monthly Calendar Information

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) 
十
日
六期星

  Eighth Month, Tenth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, August 10

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

天六歲歲
赦合支德

Generational Virtue
Generational Branch
Linked Days
Heavenly Amnesty

—————————————————

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

吉吉中

酉己丑

中吉吉

戌午寅

中中凶

亥未卯

凶吉中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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.

————————————————— 

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

忌

動安置買
土牀業田

Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Positioning Beds
Moving Soil

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

 初
四
戊
申
氐
建

Fourth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wushen (45/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Foundation (3/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

上理訂祭
樑髮婚祀
安掃納祈
牀舍采福
納醫嫁會
畜病娶友
安豎移裁
葬株徙衣
府土

月五四反
建離耗方支
Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Putting-together Clothing
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Residences
Patterning Hair
Sweeping Rooms
Doctor Visits
Stabilizing Pillars
Erecting Beams
Positioning Doors
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Earth Palace

Miscellaneous Information 

Contrapuntal Branch
Four Squander-squares
Five Leavings
Lunar Establishment

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

丫 鬼
Bifurcation, Ghost

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
爐 牀 房

Furnace, Bed, House