China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-25

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
廿
五

二期星

Eighth Month, Twenty-Fifth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, August 25

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陰四天
德相德
Heavenly Virtue
Four Facings
Yin Virtue

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

中吉凶

戌午寅
中中凶
亥未卯
中凶凶

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

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

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
取田詞
魚獵訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Field Venery
Garnering Piscinity

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
二
癸
酉
金
觜
除
Twelfth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

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

宜

開理祭
倉髮祀
納修祈
畜造福
成動訂
服土婚
安上納
葬樑采
離五
往咸小
 亡池亡空

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Patterning Hair
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Opening Granaries
Livestock Payments
Finishing Clothing
Positioning Graves  
   

Five Separations

Baleful Astral Influences

Small Loss-Void
Widespread Pond
Positioned Loss

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 人
White, Person

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

房

門 牀

Edifice
Gate, Bed