China's Lunar Calendar 2015 09-01

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/3..................................................................................................................8/26

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
一九
日月

三期星

Ninth Month, First Day

Astral Period Two
Thursday, September 1

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天天續歲
醫喜世德
Generational Virtue
Continued Generations
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician

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

中吉凶

戌午寅
凶吉凶
亥未卯
吉吉中

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
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 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
行成除結
喪服靈網
Binding Nets
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing
Mourning Visits

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
九
庚
辰
金
翌
成
Nineteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: gengchen (17/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Wings (27/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

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

宜

作動納祭
灶土采祀
開豎裁祈
渠柱衣福
入上醫會
倉樑病友
栽安修訂
種門造婚
不債
復重血上
日喪忌兀

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Physician Treatments
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Pillars
Raising Beams
Positioning Gates
Stove Work
Opening Sluices
Entering Granaries
Planting and Cultivating

Debt Not

Baleful Astral Influences

Upper Amputee
Blood Taboo
Repeat Mourning
Returning Days

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 地

White, Earth

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous

栖 磨 碓

Perch, Mortar, Pestle