China's Lunar Calendar 2013 10-09

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT October 17..................................................................................................October 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) 
九
日
三期星

  Tenth Month, Ninth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, October 9

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

(top to bottom, right to left)

天六歲歲
赦合支德

Generational Virtue
Generational Branch
Six Unities
Heavenly Amnesty

—————————————————

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

中凶中

酉己丑

中吉吉

戌午寅

中中凶

亥未卯

凶吉中

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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

除安置買
服牀業田

Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Positioning Beds
Discarding Clothing

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
五
戊
申
土
箕

開

Fifth Day (Ninth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wushen (45/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Winnowing Basket (7/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜
上理出祭

樑髮行祀

穿開嫁祈

井市娶福

修修納入

倉造采學

納動移會

畜土徙友

喪復

上復火月
兀日星忌

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Boring Wells
Repairing Granaries
Livestock Payments

Repeat Mourning

Miscellaneous Information  

Lunar Taboo
Fire Star
Repeated Days
Upper Amputee

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

丫
Bifurcation
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

爐 牀 房

Furnace, Bed, House