China's Lunar Calendar 2015 03-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/24.................................................3/20.....................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
四

二期星

Third Month, Twenty-Fourth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, March 24

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天合月
喜日德
Lunar Virtue

Linked Days

Heavenly Happiness

—————————————————

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

凶凶凶

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 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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
行除嫁
喪服娶
Marriage Alliances

Discarding Clothing

Mourning Visits

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
五
己
亥
木

尾
成

Fifth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jihai (36/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Tail (6/28)

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

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

宜

開出祭
市行祀
動納祈
土采福
上裁入
樑衣學
裁移會
種喜友
日重
元月大
 武忌亡空

————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Planting and Cultivating

Doubled Days

Baleful Astral Influences

Great Loss-Void
Lunar Taboo
Primal Martiality

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫
Bifurcation

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

占

牀 門

Divination

Bed, Gate