China's Lunar Calendar 2013 09-20

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT September 25........................................................................................September 18 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) 
二
十
五期星

  Ninth Month, Twentieth Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, September 20

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

金母三歲
堂倉合支

Generational Branch
Three Unities
Maternal Granary
Golden Hall

—————————————————

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

吉中吉

酉己丑

吉吉凶

戌午寅

中中吉

亥未卯

凶凶凶

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

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

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

產修時栽
室置插種

Planting and Cultivating
Timely Injections
Repairs and Set-up
Family Property

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六
己
丑
火
婁
定

Sixteenth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jichou (26/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Tower (16/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜
上開嫁祭
樑市娶祀
安交納祈
牀易采福
作修移會
灶造徙友
納動理出
畜土髮行
氣死
 俱勾無四
 將陳祿祥不

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Erecting Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Livestock Payments

Death Vapor

Miscellaneous Information 
Four Propitious-nots
Without Emolument
Arousing Narrative
Entirely General

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

丫 林
Bifurcation, Copse
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)
厠 門 占

Toilet, Gate, Divination
————