China's Lunar Calendar 2015 09-14

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/17.................................................9/13...................Monthly 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
四

一期星

Ninth Month, Fourteenth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, September 14

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月天鳳歲
恩喜凰馬
Generational Horse

Phoenix

Heavenly Happiness

Lunar Kindness

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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
吉中中

亥未卯
凶凶凶

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
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 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

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
成除遠詞
服靈行訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Distant Journeys
Exorcising Spirits
Completing Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
二
癸
巳
水
危
成
Second Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guisi (30/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Danger (12/28)

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

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

宜
上開嫁祭
樑市娶祀
安交納祈
牀易采福
作修裁入
灶造衣學
納動移會
畜土徙友
口蛇
朱刀重下
雀砧日兀

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Livestock Payments 

Snake Mouth

Baleful Astral Influences

Lower Amputee
Doubled Days
Sword Anvil
Vermilion Bird

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 山
White, Mountain

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous

牀 房 占

Bed, Edifice, Divination