China's Lunar Calendar 2016 04-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/19.................................................................................................................4/12

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
二

二期星

Fourth Month, Twelfth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, April 12

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不進天三歲
將神喜合支

Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Heavenly Happiness
Entering Spirits
Not General 

————

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

戌午寅
凶凶凶
亥未卯 

中吉中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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
捕動問出開
垣土卜財倉
Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow 
Divinatory Questioning
Moving Soil
Patching Embankments

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
六
甲
子
金
翌
成
Sixth Day Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiazi (1/60)

Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Wings (27/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
醞上立出祭
釀樑約行祀
牧安交裁祈
養門易衣福
納安納醫入
畜牀財病學
安作竪開會
葬灶柱市友
囊地
天歸四班刀
牢忌忌煞砧

————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Clothing
Physician Treatments
Opening Markets
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Cash Payments
Erecting Beams
Raising Beams
Positioning Gates
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages
Raising Livestock
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves      

Earth Duffel

Baleful Astral Influences

Sword Anvil
Classified Balefulness
Four Taboos
Return Taboo
Heavenly Penitentiary 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

丫 地

Bifurcation, Earth
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

碓 門 占

Pestle, Gate, Divination