China's Lunar Calendar 2016 06-09

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/17................................................................................................................6/9

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
九
日

四期星

Sixth Month, Ninth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, June 9

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

臨時三普
日陰合護

Universal Protection
Three Linkages
Timely Yin
Entering Days

————

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

戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯
吉吉吉

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
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 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious

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
吃動房開
犬土水渠
Opening Sluices
Putting-Into Water
Moving Soil
Eating Dog

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
五
壬
戌
水
角

定
Fifth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: renxu (59/60)

Phase (element): Water
Constellation: Horn (1/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

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

安移出祭
牀徙行祀
作開嫁祈
灶市娶福
醞上納會
釀 樑采友
囊地
死月楊犬
氣忌忌口

————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages
 
Earth Duffel

Baleful Astral Influences

Canine Mouth
Poplar Taboo
Lunar Taboo
Death Vapor
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

丫 火

Bifurcation, Fire
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

栖 庫 倉

Perch, Storehouse, Granary