China's Lunar Calendar 2014 02-17

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT February 20...........................................................................................February 13 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
日
一期星

 Second Month, Seventeenth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, February 17

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

合歲
日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days

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

凶中凶

酉己丑
中吉凶

戌午寅

中吉吉

亥未卯

凶吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
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

作修
灶廚

Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
八
己
未
火
張
執

Eighteenth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiwei (56/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

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

宜

動祭
土祀
安入
牀學
捕出
捉行
安修
葬造
火
星
債下
不兀

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Entering Study
Going Out (and about)
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Seizing and Apprehending
Positioning Graves

Fire Star

Miscellaneous Information

 Lower Amputee
Debt Not

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 山
White, Mountain
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
占
厠 門

Divination
Toilet, Gate