China's Lunar Calendar 2016 03-17

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/20..................................................................................................................3/14

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
七

四期星

Third Month, Seventeenth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, March 17

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

金六吉
堂合神

Auspicious Spirits
Six Linkages
Golden Hall 
—————

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

戌午寅
中吉凶

亥未卯
中吉吉

23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
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 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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
修置買
倉業田
Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Repairing Granaries 

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
戊
戊
木
角
危
Ninth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuwu (35/60)

Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Horn (1/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
社春
————
宜
安立頂
牀約婚
安交納
門易采
作動裁
灶土衣
兀上
陰月無
將煞祿

————
Appropriate Activities
 Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Positioning Gates
Stove Work 

Upper Amputee

Baleful Astral Influences

Without Emolument
Lunar Balefulness
Yin General  

———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

人

Person
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

房
栖 牀 

Edifice
Perch, Bed