China's Lunar Calendar 2016 09-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/30.................................................................................................................9/22

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
廿
八

三期星

Ninth Month, Twenty-Eighth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, September 28

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月母德歲
恩倉日支
Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Maternal Granary
Lunar Kindness

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

吉中凶
亥未卯
中凶凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
取產修詞
魚室置訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
 Repairing and Set-up
Production Rooms
Garnering Piscinity

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
八
癸
丑
木
軫
定
Twenty-Eighth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guichou (50/60)

Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Running Board (28/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

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

宜

安修訂祭
牀造婚祀
作動裁祈
灶土衣福
醞上移會
釀樑徙友
安修開出
葬倉市行
將陽
勾死八四
  陳氣專祥不
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Repairing Granaries
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages
Positioning Graves   
 

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences

Four Fortune-Nots
Eight Specialties
Death Vapor
Narrative Hook  

———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
丫 林

Bifurcation, Copse

———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

厠 牀 房

Toilet, Bed, Edifice