China's Lunar Calendar 2015 07-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/27................................................................................................................7/21

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

三期星

Seventh Month, Twenty-Second Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, July 22

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陰明德天
德堂合月
Heavenly Lunarity
Virtuous Linkage
Luminous Hall
Yin Virtue

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

中凶凶

戌午寅
中吉吉
亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
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
除進新嫁
服水船娶
Marriage Alliances
New Boats
Entering Water
Discarding Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
七
己
亥
木
壁
定

Seventh Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jihai (36/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Eastern Wall (14/28)

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

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

宜

開交納祭
倉易采祀
醞修裁祈
釀造衣福
栽動移會
種土徙友
納上立出
畜樑約行
痕水
復死火重
日氣星日

————
Appropriate Activities
 Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Opening Granaries
Fermenting Beverages
Planting and Cultivating
Livestock Payments

Water Scar

Baleful Astral Influences

Doubled Days
Fire Star
Death Vapor
Repeated Days

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 人
White, Person

————

Section Eight

牀 門 占

Bed, Gate, Divination