China's Lunar Calendar 2015 03-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/19.................................................................................................................3/11

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
二

四期星

Third Month, Twelfth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, March 12

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不天三歲
將徙合支
Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Heavenly Happiness
Not General

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

凶凶凶

戌午寅
吉吉吉
亥未卯
吉吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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
成除嫁理
衣服娶髮
Patterning Hair
Marriage Alliances
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
二
丁
亥
土

井
成

Twenty-Second Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dinghai (24/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Well (22/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

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

宜

上開出祭
樑市行祀
安交納祈
門易采福
作修移入
灶造徙學
納動醫會
畜土病友
日重
元刀無大
  武砧祿亡空

————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Grain Payments

Moving Households

Physician Treatments

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Repairing and Building

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Gates

Stove Work

Livestock Payments

Doubled Days

Baleful Astral Influences

Great Loss-Void
Without Emolument
Sword Anvil
Primal Martiality

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 
Person

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

牀 庫 倉

Bed, Storehouse, Granary