China's Lunar Calendar 2013 09-17

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
七
二期星

  Ninth Month, Seventeenth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, September 17

———————————————— 
Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

德歲
日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days

—————————————————

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

吉凶吉

酉己丑

吉吉中

戌午寅

吉中吉

亥未卯

凶中凶

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

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 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

行作
喪灶

Stove Work
Mourning Visits

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
三
丙
戌

土
室
初

Thirteenth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingxu (23/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Pyre (13/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

醫祭
病祀
動出
土行
安理
牀髮
栽掃
種舍
三
喪
血月
忌害

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Hair
Sweeping Rooms
Doctor Visits
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Planting and Cultivating

Three Mournings

Miscellaneous Information

Lunar Harm
Blood Taboo

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白
White

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)
廚

栖 灶

Kitchen
Perch, Stove