China's Lunar Calendar 2016 02-15

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/20..............................................................................................................2/12

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
五

一期星

Second Month, Fifteenth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, February 15

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不官天
將日德

Heavenly Virtue
Official Days
Not General

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

戌午寅
中吉凶

亥未卯
吉吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
開穿理
池井髮
Pattering Hair

Boring Wells

Opening Ponds

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
八
丁
卯
火
張
除
Eighth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingmao (4/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Drawn Bow  (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12) 

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

宜

動嫁祭
土娶祀
上納祈
樑采福
安移會
牀徙友
安開出
葬市行
池咸
朱大大
雀敗時

————
Appropriate Activities  
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Positioning Graves

Widespread Pond

Baleful Astral Influences

Great Temporality
Great Loss
Vermilion Bird 

 ———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 林

White, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

倉
門 庫

Granary
Gate, Storehouse