China's Lunar Calendar 2016 07-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/8....................................................7/4...........................Monthly Calendar

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
四
日

一期星

Seventh Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, July 4

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

五天
富貴

Heavenly Nobility
Five Wealths

————

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

戌午寅
吉吉凶
亥未卯
吉吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
嫁理
娶髮
Patterning Hair
Marriage Alliances

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
一
丁
亥
土
張
執
First Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dinghai (24/60)

Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
安祭
牀祀
捕修
捉造
田動
獵土
結沐
網浴
水
痕
重反
日支

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Bubbling and Bathing
Positioning Beds
Seizing and Capturing
Field Venery
Binding Nets

Water Scar

 Baleful Astral Influences

Opposing Branch
Doubled Days
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 山

White, Mountain
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities
倉
牀 庫

Granary
Bed, Storehouse