China's Lunar Calendar 2015 05-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/29..............................................................................................................5/22

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
廿
二

五期星

Fifth Month, Twenty-Second Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, May 22

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不解四
將神相
Four Facings
Unleashing Spirits
Not General

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

中中凶

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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
修置買
倉業田
Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Repairing Granaries

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
五
戊
戌
木

牛
執

Fifth Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuxu (35/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Ox (9/28)

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

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

宜
動納祭
土采祀
上理祈
樑髮福
安移會
牀徙友
成修嫁
服造娶

忌月

天小無
賊耗祿

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors 

Inquiring-into Fortune

Meeting Friends

Marriage Alliances

Grain Payments

Patterning Hair

Moving Households

Repairing and Building

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Beds

Completing Clothing

Lunar Taboo

Baleful Astral Influences

 Without Emolument
Small Squander
Heavenly Thief

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 地
Bifurcation, Earth

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

房
栖 牀

Edifice
Perch, Bed