China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-16

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/18.........................................................8/14........Monthly Calendar Information

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
十
六

日期星

Eighth Month, Sixteenth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, August 16

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

進時德歲
神德日支
Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Timely Virtue
Entering Spirits

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

中中凶

戌午寅
中凶凶
亥未卯
中吉中

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 Inauspicious
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 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
成除出開
服靈財倉
Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
三
甲
子
金
虛
定
Third Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiazi (1/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Void (11/28)

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

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

宜

安移訂祭
牀徙婚祀
作修納祈
灶造采福
醞動嫁會
釀土娶友
納上裁出
畜樑衣行
不債
復死鼠下
喪氣口兀

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages
Livestock Payments

Debt Not

Baleful Astral Influences

Lower Amputee
Rat Mouth
Death Vapor
Repeat Mourning

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白
White

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓 門 占

Pestle, Gate, Divination