China's Lunar Calendar 2015 03-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/10.................................................................................................................3/2

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
四
日

三期星

Third Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, March 4

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

進三歲歲
神合支祿

Generational Emolument
Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Entering Spirits

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

凶中凶

戌午寅
中吉吉
亥未卯
凶吉吉

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 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

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
渡乘開穿
水穿池井
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Riding-in Boats
Passing-through Water

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
四
己
卯
土

壁
除

Fourteenth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Jade Wall (14/28)

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

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

宜
動掃納祭
土舍采祀
安立嫁會
牀約娶友
修交理出
倉易髮行
除修醫訂
服造病婚
池咸
朱大月大
  雀敗忌亡空

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Patterning Hair
Physician Treatments
Sweeping Rooms
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Repairing Granaries
Discarding Clothing

Widespread Pond

Baleful Astral Influences

Great Loss-Void
Lunar Taboo
Great Defeat
Vermilion Bird

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
丫 林
Bifurcation, Copse

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

門 大 占

Gate, Great, Divination