China's Lunar Calendar 2015 06-07

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/15..............................................................................................................6/7

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
七
日

日期星

Sixth Month, Seventh Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, June 7

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天天天母
醫喜馬倉
Maternal Granary
Heavenly Horse
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician

—————————————————

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

吉中凶

戌午寅
吉凶吉
亥未卯
中吉中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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
祈祭出開
福祀財倉
Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
一
甲
寅
水

星
成

Twenty-First Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiayin (51/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Asterism (25/28)

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

—————————————————  

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

宜

安交裁入
牀易衣學
栽修理會
種造髮友
內動醫出
畜土病行
安上開訂
葬樑市婚

將陽

白歸八蜜
虎忌專日

————
Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Physician Visits
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Planting and Cultivating
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences

Honey Days
Eight Specialties
Return Taboo
White Tiger

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
人 水
Person, Water

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

爐 門 占

Furnace, Gate, Divination