China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-30

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
三
十

四期星

Fourth Month, Thirtieth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, April 30

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不天德歲
將喜日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Heavenly Happiness
Not General

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
凶凶中
亥未卯
吉中中

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
進新作修
水船灶廚
Kitchen Repairs
Stove Work
New Boats
Entering Water

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
二
丙
子
水

奎
成

Twelfth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingzi (13/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Astride (15/28)

"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
修交嫁祈
倉易娶福
成修內入
服造采學
安動裁會
葬土衣友
煞班
 天歸大 水
 牢忌亡空痕

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Alliances

Grain Payments

Cutting-out Clothing

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Repairing and Building

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Repairing Granaries

Completing Clothing

Positioning Graves

Classified Balefulness

Baleful Astral Influences

Water Scar
Great Loss-Void
Return Taboo
Heavenly Penitentiary

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 地
White, Earth

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓 灶 廚

Pestle, Stove, Kitchen