China's Lunar Calendar 2015 10-02

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
10/5...................................................................................................................9/27

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
二
日

五期星

Tenth Month, Second Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, October 2

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天十福
恩靈德
Fortunate Virtue
Ten Spirits
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

凶凶凶
戌午寅
凶吉吉

亥未卯
中吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
嫁造合
取酒醬
Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Marriage Alliances

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
辛
亥
金
亢
滿
Twentieth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinhai (48/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Neck (2/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

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

宜
上理祭
樑髮祀
安移祈
門徙福
安修出
牀造行
捕動裁
塞土衣
日重
復五豬
日虛口

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Moving Households
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Doors
Positioning Beds
Patching and Plugging 

Doubled Days
  
Baleful Astral Influences

Porcine Mouth
Five Voids
Repeated Days

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白
White

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous

廚
牀 灶
Kitchen
Bed, Stove