China's Lunar Calendar 2015 02-11

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/18..............................................................................................................................2/10

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

三期星

Second Month, Eleventh Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, February 11

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十時六歲
靈德合支

Generational Branch
Six Linkages
Timely Virtue
Ten Spirits

—————————————————

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
中中凶
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
塔苫置買
厠蓋業田
Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Thatched Coverings
Building Toilets

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
三
戊
午
火

参
定

Twenty-Third Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuwu (55/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Gathering (21/28)

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

—————————————————  

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

宜
動移訂祭
土徙婚祀
上開納祈
樑市采福
作交嫁會
灶易娶友
安修裁出
葬造衣行
痕水
月俱死上
忌將氣兀

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Repairing and Building

Moving Soil

Putting-up Beams

Stove Work

Positioning Graves

Water Scar

Baleful Astral Influences

Upper Amputee
Death Vapor
Everything General
Lunar Taboo

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 火
Person, Fire

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓 牀 房

Pestle, Bed, Edifice