China's Lunar Calendar 2014 07-31

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/7.........................................................................................................................7/31

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
卅

一

四期星

Seventh Month, Thirty-First Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, July 31

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天天母麒
醫喜倉麟
Unicorn
Maternal Granary
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
中中凶
酉己丑

凶中凶

戌午寅
吉中吉
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 In-Between
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 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
取開穿詞
魚池井訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Garnering Fish

—————————————————  
 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
五
癸
卯
金
井
成

Fifth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guimao (40/60)

Phase (element):  Metal

Constellation: Well (22/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜
上開納入
樑市采學
築交嫁會
提易娶友
成修移出
服造徙行
安動醫訂
葬土病婚
煞班
月陽大刀
忌將煞砧

Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Physician Treatments
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Constructing Dikes
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Classified Balefulness

Baleful Astral Influences

Sword Anvil
Great Balefulness
Yang General
Lunar Taboo

————

  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
丫
Bifurcation
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
門 牀 房
Gate, Bed, Edifice