China's Lunar Calendar 2013 12-03

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT December 6..............................December 3.......................Monthly Information 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) 
三十
日二
    月
二期星

  Twelfth Month, Third Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, December 3

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

(top to bottom, right to left)

不陰合歲
將德日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Yin Virtue
Not General

—————————————————

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

中中中

酉己丑

凶凶中
戌午寅

吉中吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

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

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

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

栽開穿詞
種池井訟

Litigation
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Planting and Cultivating

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
一
癸
卯
金
尾
定

First Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guimao (40/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Tail (6/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜

樑立采祭
修約嫁祀
倉交娶會
醞易移友
釀修徙出
牧造理行
養動髮訂
安土開婚
葬上市納

龍元死
虎武氣

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Setting-up Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Repairing Granaries
Fermenting Beverages
Raising Livestock
Positioning Graves


Miscellaneous Information  

Death Vapor

Primal Martiality

Dragon Tiger

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 人
White, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

門 牀 房

Gate, Bed, House