China's Lunar Calendar 2014 12-11

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
十
一
四期星

Twelfth Month, Eleventh Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, December 11

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十月聖三
靈空心合

Three Linkages
Sagely Heart-Mind
Lunar Vacancy
Ten Spirits

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

吉吉中

戌午寅
凶凶中
亥未卯

吉中中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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
時栽作修
插種灶廚
Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Planting and Cultivating
Timely Injections

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
丙

辰
土

奎
定

Twentieth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingchen (53/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Astride (15/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

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

宜

樑交婚祭
安易納祀
牀 納采祈
安財嫁福
門修娶會
除造移友
服動徙出
安土立行
葬上約訂

木破天死
馬敗牢氣

————
Appropriate Activities 
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Cash Outflow
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Beds
Positioning Gates
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Graves

Baleful Astral Influences

Death Vapor
Heavenly Penitentiary
Destructive Defeat
Wood Horse

————

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
白
White

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous
栖 灶 廚

Perch, Stove, Kitchen