China's Lunar Calendar 2016 10-31

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
11/4......................................................10/31..........Monthly Calendar 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
卅十
一月

一期星

Tenth Month, Thirty-First Day

Astral Period One 
Monday, October 31

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月天歲
德德德
Generational Virtue
Heavenly Virtue
Lunar Virtue

————

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

吉中凶
亥未卯
吉中吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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
行作修
喪灶廚
Kitchen Repairs

Stove Work

Mourning Visits

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初
一
丙
戌
土
心
建
First Day (Tenth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingxu (23/60)

Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Heart-Mind (5/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

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

宜

建嫁祭
屋娶祀
上納祈
梁采福
安移會
牀徙友
安開出
葬市行
府土
三長上
喪星兀
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Establishing Rooms
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Positioning Graves   

Earth Palace

Baleful Astral Influences

Upper Amputee
Long Star
Three Mournings

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Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
天 白

Heaven, White

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

廚
栖 灶

Kitchen
Perch, Stove