China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-03

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/5................................................................................................................7/28

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
三
日

一期星

Eighth Month, Third Day

Astral Period One
Monday, August 3

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十月陰三
靈恩德合
Three Linkages
Yin Virtue
Lunar Kindness
Ten Spirits

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

凶凶凶

戌午寅
吉吉吉
亥未卯
中吉吉

23:00-01:00 In-Between
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 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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
除嫁造合
服娶酒醬
Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Marriage Alliances
Discarding Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
九
辛
亥
金
張
定
Nineteenth Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinhai (48/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)

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

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

宜

上立出祭
樑約行祀
修交納祈
倉易采福
作修裁入
灶造衣學
納動移會
畜土徙友
日重
招厭死四
 搖對氣祥不

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
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
Repairing Granaries
Stove Work
Livestock Payments

 

Doubled Days

Baleful Astral Influences

Four Fortune-Nots

Death Vapor

Mutual Repression

Rollicking Braggadocio

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 人
White, Person

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

牀 灶 廚

Bed, Stove, Kitchen