China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-14

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT August 19.....................................................................................................August 11 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) 
十
四
三期星

  Eighth Month, Fourteenth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, August 14

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

月時月歲
恩德德祿

Generational Emolument
Lunar Virtue
Timely Virtue
Lunar Kindness

—————————————————

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

凶吉吉

酉己丑

中吉吉

戌午寅

中凶凶

亥未卯

凶吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
09:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
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.

————————————————— 

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

忌

田問放開
獵卜水渠

Opening Sluices
Putting-into water
Inquiring-into Futures

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

 初
八
壬
子
木
箕
定

Eighth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: renzi (49/60)

Phase (element):Wood

Constellation: Winnowing Basket (7/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

樑開行祭

安市訂祀

牀交婚祈

作易納福

灶修采入

修造嫁學

倉動娶會

安土移友

葬上徙出

死大長

氣亡空星
Appropriate Activities  

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

Miscellaneous Information 

Long Star
Great Loss-Void
Death Vapor

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

人
Person

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
碓 庫 倉

Pestle, Storehouse, Granary