China's Lunar Calendar 2015 02-08

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/9..............................................................................................................................2/2

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

日期星

Second Month, Eighth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, February 8

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

合歲
日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days

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

凶凶凶

戌午寅
吉中吉
亥未卯
吉吉吉

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
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 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious

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
穿栽
井種
Planting and Cultivating
Boring Wells

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
乙
卯
水

昂
除

Twentieth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yimao (52/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Pleiades (18/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

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

宜
掃祭
舍祀
動出
土行
安嫁
牀娶
作開
灶市
陰
將
朱咸
雀池

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Opening Markets
Sweeping Rooms
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Stove Work

Yin General

Baleful Astral Influences

Widespread Pond
Vermilion Bird

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
白 林
White, Copse

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓
門 磨

Pestle
Gate, Mortar