China's Lunar Calendar 2013 10-31

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT November 2..................................................................................................October 26 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) 
卅
一
四期星

  Tenth Month, Thirty-first Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, October 31

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不月天天
將恩醫喜

Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician
Lunar Kindness
Not General

—————————————————

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

吉凶凶

酉己丑

吉中吉

戌午寅

凶吉吉

亥未卯

凶吉中

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

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

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

塔苫結經
厠蓋綱洛

Energy Channels
Binding Nets
Thatched Coverings
Building Outhouses

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
七
庚
午
土
角

成

Twenty-seventh Day (Ninth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: gengwu (7/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Running Board (1/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜
土醫行祭
上病嫁祀
樑開娶祈
安市納福
牀交采入
修易裁學
倉修衣會
安造移友
葬動徙出

天班刀天
 刑煞砧廢休

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Doctor Visits
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairs and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Positioning Beds
Repairing Granaries
Positioning Graves

Miscellaneous Information  

Heavenly Discard-rest
Knife Anvil
Classified Balefulness
Heavenly Punishment

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

丫 水
Bifurcation, Water
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

磨 碓 占 
Mortar, Pestle, Divination