China's Lunar Calendar 2014 04-08

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT April 11 ........................................................................................................April 4 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
八
日

二期星

Fourth Month, Eighth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, April 8

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不進合歲
將神日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Entering Spirits
Not General

—————————————————

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

吉吉凶

酉己丑
中吉凶
戌午寅
凶吉中

亥未卯

凶吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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
行成除動
喪服靈土

Moving Soil
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing
Mourning Visits

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
己
酉
土
觜
執

Ninth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiyou (46/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)

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

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

————
 宜
醞掃嫁祭
釀舍娶祀
捕上裁祈
捉樑衣福
納安理訂
畜門髮婚
安作醫納
葬灶病采
忌楊
重土咸五
喪符池虛

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Physician Visits
Sweeping Rooms
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Doors
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages
Seizing and Apprehending
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Poplar Taboo

Miscellaneous Information

Five Vacancies
Widespread Pond
Earth Charm
Repeat Mourning

————

 Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人
Person
————

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

Gate, Big, Divination