China's Lunar Calendar 2016 05-07

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/10....................................................5/7........................................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
七
日

六期星

Fifth Month, Seventh Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, May 7

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月天德歲
恩喜日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days

Heavenly Happiness

Lunar Kindness

————

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

戌午寅
中中凶
亥未卯
凶凶吉

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

07:00-09:00 In-Between
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 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
遠移取詞
回徙魚訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Garnering Fish
Moving Households
Distant Returns

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
一
己
丑
火
柳
成
First Day Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jichou (26/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Willow (24/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Complete (9/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
修交出祭
倉易行祀
栽修訂祈
種造婚福
納動納入
畜土采學
安上開會
葬樑市友
忌歸
厭四上無
對撃兀祿

————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Alliances

Grain Payments

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Repairing Granaries

Planting and Cultivating

Livestock Payments

Positioning Graves

Return Taboo

Baleful Astral Influences

Without Emolument
Upper Amputee
Four Fisticuffs
Mutual Repession
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 山

White, Mountain
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

厠 門 占

Toilet, Gate, Divination