China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-18

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
八
日期星

  Eighth Month, Eighteenth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, August 18

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

十月天
靈空喜

Heavenly Happiness
Lunar Vacancy
Ten Spirits

—————————————————

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

吉凶中

酉己丑

吉吉中

戌午寅

凶中凶

亥未卯

凶中中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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

進新作
水船灶

Stove Work
New Boats
Entering Water

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
二
丙
辰
土
虛

成

Twelfth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingchen (53/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Void (11/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜

築裁祭
提衣祀
安開祈
門市福
入交入
倉易學
除上訂
服樑婚
鳴蟬寒
血月水
忌厭痕

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Erecting Beams
Building Dikes
Positioning Doors
Entering Granaries
Discarding Clothing

Cold Cicada Chirps
(the thirty-ninth of seventy-two five-day micro-periods in the solar calendar)

Miscellaneous Information

Water Scar
Lunar Repression
Blood Taboo

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 地
White, Earth

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
廚
栖 灶

Kitchen
Perch, Stove