China's Lunar Calendar 2014 12-09

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/12.........................................................................................................................12/5

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
九
日
二期星

Twelfth Month, Ninth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, December 9

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

福時歲歲
德德祿德

Generational Virtue
Generational Emolument
Timely Virtue
Fortunate Virtue

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

吉中中

戌午寅
吉凶吉
亥未卯

中吉中

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
祈祭出開
福祀財倉
Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
八
甲

寅
水

室
滿

Eighteenth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiayin (51/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: House (13/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜

作修醫入
灶造病學
補動開會
塞土市友
成上立出
服樑約行
安安交裁
葬牀易衣
忌歸
五伏暗虎
虛斷金口

————
Appropriate Activities 
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Physician Visits
Opening Markets
Setting Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Patching and Plugging
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Return Taboo

Baleful Astral Influences

Tiger Mouth
Dark Metal
Prostrate Breakage
Five Voids

————

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
白 水
White, Water

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous
爐 門 占

Furnace, Gate, Divination