China's Lunar Calendar 2016 09-03

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/5.......................................................9/1.........................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
三
日

六期星

Ninth Month, Third Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, September 3

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

合天三歲
日德合支
Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Heavenly Virtue
Linked Days

————

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

中凶凶
亥未卯
中中吉

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 In-Between

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
田問置買
獵卜業田
Buying Land
Setting-up Production
Divinatory Questions
Field Venery

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初
三
戊
子
火
氐
定
Third Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuzi (25/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Foundation (3/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

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

宜

醞修訂祭
釀造婚祀
安動納祈
牀土采福
作上嫁會
灶樑娶友
安開移出
葬倉徙行
將陽
死小債上
氣亡空不兀
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Opening Granaries
Fermenting Beverages
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Positioning Graves

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences
Upper Amputee
Debt Not
Small Loss-Void
Death Vapor 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白

White
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Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

碓 牀 房

Pestle, Bed, Edifice