China's Lunar Calendar 2016 08-20

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/23...............................................................................................................8/16

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
二
十

五期星

Eighth Month, Twentieth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, August 20

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陽守
德日
Protected Days
Yang Virtue

————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
中凶中
酉己丑
中吉吉
戌午寅 

中凶凶
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
行開
喪倉
Opening Granaries
Mourning Visits

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
八
甲
戌
火
胃
滿
Eighteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiaxu (11/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Stomach (17/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————

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

補會
垣友
塞裁
穴衣
栽理
種髮
牧結
養網
債
不
三火
喪星
————

Appropriate Activities
Meeting Friends
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Binding Nets
Patching Embankments
Plugging Caves
Planting and Cultivating
Tending Livestock    

Debt Not

Baleful Astral Influences

Fire Star
Three Mournings

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 人

White, Water
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

門
栖 碓

Gate

Perch, Mortar