China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/1.....................................................................................................................4/23

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
七

一期星

Fourth Month, Twenty-Seventh Day

Astral Period One
Monday, April 27

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

除六普
神合護

Universal Protection

Six Linkages

Expelling Spirits

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

中吉凶

戌午寅
凶中吉
亥未卯
中凶凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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
作動詞
灶土訟

Lawsuits and Litigation

Moving Soil

Stove Work

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
癸
酉
金

危
執

Ninth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Danger (12/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

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

宜

安裁祭
    衣祀
捕理祈
捉髮福
內醫訂
畜病婚
安掃嫁
葬舍娶
符土
咸五楊
池虛忌

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Engagements

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing

Physician Visits

Sweeping Rooms

Positioning [blank]

Seizing and Capturing

Livestock Payments

Positioning Graves

Earth Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Poplar Taboo

Five Voids

Widespread Pond

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
人
Person

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

房

門 牀

Edifice

Gate, Bed