China's Lunar Calendar 2014 03-15

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT March 21.........................................................................................................March 15 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

五
六期星

Third Month, Fifteenth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, March 15

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

除玉
神宇

Jade Expanse
Expelling Spirits

—————————————————

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

吉吉凶

酉己丑
凶凶吉
戌午寅
中中吉

亥未卯

中中凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
除栽
服種

Planting and Cultivating
Discarding Clothing

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
五
乙
酉
水
柳
破

Fifteenth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yiyou (22/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Willow (24/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)
*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
破
屋
壊
垣
重月
喪破
復上
日兀

Appropriate Activities

Destroying Rooms
Breaking-down Walls

Miscellaneous Information

 Lunar Destruction
Upper Amputee
Repeat Mourning
Returning Days

Section Seven
(right to left)

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 州
BIfurcation, Landmass
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
碓
門 磨

Pestle
Gate, Mortar