China's Lunar Calendar 2015 02-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/21...................................................2/19...........................Monthly Information

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
廿
一

六期星

Second Month, Twenty-First Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, February 21

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

福守
德日

Protected Days
Fortunate Virtue

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
凶中凶
亥未卯
中吉吉

23:00-01:00 In-Between
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 Inauspicious
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
行置
喪產
Setting-up Production
Mourning Visits

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
三
戊
辰
木

氐
滿

Third Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuchen (5/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Foundation (3/28)

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

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

宜
理祭
髮祀
結祈
綱福
安會
牀友
斷裁
蟻移
龍
口
三水
喪痕

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Cutting-out Clothing

Patterning Hair

Binding Nets

Positioning Beds

Cutting-off Ants

Dragon Mouth

Baleful Astral Influences

Water Scar
Three Mournings

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
丫 地
Bifurcation, Earth

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

方
栖 牀

Edifice
Perch, Bed