China's Lunar Calendar 2013 09-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT September 17........................................................................................September 9 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
二
四期星

  Ninth Month, Twelfth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, September 12

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不天天天
將恩醫喜

Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician
Heavenly Kindness
Not General

—————————————————

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

中中中

酉己丑

凶吉吉

戌午寅

吉吉吉

亥未卯

凶吉凶

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

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

成除遠合
服靈行醬

Mixing Sauces
Distant Journeys
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
八
辛
巳
金
斗
成

Eighth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinsi (18/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Dipper (8/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜

動醫嫁祭
土病娶祀
上開納祈
樑市采福
安交裁入
門易衣學
納修移會
畜造徙友
歸鳥玄
下蛇復重
兀口日喪

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Doctor Visits
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Positioning Beds
Livestock Payments

Swallows Depart
(the forty-fourth of seventy-two five-day micro-periods in the solar calendar) 

Miscellaneous Information

Repeat Mourning
Returning Days
Snake Mouth
Lower Amputee

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 山
White, Mountain

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)
牀 灶 廚

Bed, Stove, Kitchen