China's Lunar Calendar 2016 06-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/26................................................................................................................6/18

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
三
十

四期星

Sixth Month, Thirtieth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, June 30

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不十六麒
將靈合麟

Phoenix
Six Linkages
Ten Spirits
Not General

————

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

戌午寅
吉吉凶
亥未卯
中凶吉

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
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 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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
行成除詞
喪服靈訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing
Mourning Visits

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
六
癸
未
木
井
除
Twenty-Sixth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guiwei (20/60)

Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Well (22/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
安掃訂祭
牀舍婚祀
作修嫁入
灶造娶學
納動移會
畜土徙友
安上理出
葬樑髮行
喪復
三水下債
喪痕兀不

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Patterning Hair
Sweeping Rooms
Repairing and Cultivating
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Repeat Mourning  

Baleful Astral Influences

Debt Not
Lower Amputee
Water Scar
Three Mournings
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

丫 林

Bifurcation, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities
厠 牀 房

Toilet, Bed, Edifice