China's Lunar Calendar 2017 03-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/27................................................................................................................3/20

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
七

一期星

Second Month, Twenty-Seventh Day

Monday, March 27

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

生三歲
氣合支
Generational Branch

Three Linkages

Engendered Vapor

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

吉中中
亥未卯
中凶凶

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
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 Inauspicious
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
進新詞
水船訟
Lawsuits and Litigation

New Boats

Entering Water

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

三
十
癸
丑
木
危
開
Thirtieth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guichou (50/60)

Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Danger (12/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————

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

宜

醫出祭
病行祀
修訂祈
造婚福
上裁入
樑衣學
作移會
灶徙友
囊地
五上水
虛兀痕
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Physician Visits
Repairing and Constructing
Raising Beams
Stove Work   

Earth Duffel 

Baleful Astral Influences

Water Scar
Upper Amputee
Five Voids

———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 林

White, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

房
厠 牀

Edifice
Toilet, Bed