China's Lunar Calendar 2015 06-02

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/6..............................................................................................................5/30

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
二
日

二期星

Sixth Month, Second Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, June 2

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天進月四
恩神恩相
Four Facings
Lunar Kindness
Entering Spirits
Heavenly Kindness

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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
中吉中
亥未卯
凶吉凶

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
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
置修穿動
產室井土
Moving Soil
Boring Wells
Repairing Rooms
Setting-up Production

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六
己
酉
土

觜
定

Sixteenth Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiyou (46/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

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

宜
開開納祭
倉市采祀
納交嫁祈
畜易娶福
成上移出
服樑徙行
安醞理訂
葬釀 髮婚
囊地
陰死五上
將氣離兀

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Raising Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Opening Granaries
Livestock Payments
Completing Clothing
Positioning Beds

Earth Duffel

Baleful Astral Influences

 Upper Amputee
Five Separations
Death Vapor
Yin General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 林

Bifurcation, Copse

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

門 大 占

Gate, Great, Divination