China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-19

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/26.................................................................................................................8/19

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
九

三期星

Eighth Month, Nineteenth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, August 19

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天合月歲
恩日德祿
Generational Emolument
Lunar Virtue
Linked Days
Heavenly Kindness

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

凶中凶

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯
吉吉凶

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 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 Auspicious

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
動開穿理
土池井髮
Patterning Hair
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Moving Soil

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
六
丁
卯
火
壁
危
Sixth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingmao (4/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Eastern Wall (14/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

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

宜

作立嫁祭
灶約娶祀
納交納祈
畜易采福
成上裁會
服樑衣友
安安移出
葬牀徙行
符土
俱朱天五
將雀吏虛

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Livestock Payments
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

 Earth Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Voids

Heavenly Official

Vermilion Bird

Everything General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 林
Bifurcation, Copse

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

庫 倉 門

Storehouse, Granary, Gate