China's Lunar Calendar 2014 03-13

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT March 14.........................................................................................................March 6 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

三
四期星

Third Month, Thirteenth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, March 13

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陰時六歲
德陰合支

Generational Branch
Six Linkages
Timely Yin
Yin Virtue

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

中中凶

酉己丑
凶吉凶
戌午寅
吉吉吉

亥未卯

中凶吉

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 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between

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
進新針詞
水船灸訟

Lawsuits and Litigation

Injections and Moxabustion

New Boats

Entering Water

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
三
癸
未
木
井
定

Thirteenth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guiwei (20/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Well (22/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)
*A cyclical character in this jianchu pattern occasionally repeats, as it does today.

————————————————— 

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

宜
上開訂祭
樑市婚祀
安交納祈
牀易采福
納修嫁會
畜造娶友
安動移出
葬土徙行
將俱
大血死觸
亡空忌氣龍水

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Beds
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Everything General

Miscellaneous Information

 Encountering Dragon-Water
Death Vapor
Blood Taboo
Great Void-loss

Section Seven
(right to left)

Inauspicious Stars 
白 人
White, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
厠 牀 房

Toilet, Bed, House