China's Lunar Calendar 2018 01-02

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
1/8........................................................................................................12/31

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
日

二期星

First Month, Second Day

Tuesday, January 2

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

進歲
神祿

Generational Emolument
Entering Spirits

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

中凶吉
亥未卯
中吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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
出開
財倉

Opening Granaries
Expending Resources

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

六
甲
午
金
室
破
Sixteenth Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiawu (31/60)

Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: House (13/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)

————

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

宜

求

醫

治

病

破

屋

壞

垣
天月
火破
血大
忌耗

————

Appropriate Activities
Seeking Physicians
Treating Illness
Destroying Rooms
Breaking-down Embankments

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Destruction
Great Squander
Heavenly Conflagration
Blood Taboo

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
丫 天

Bifurcation, Heaven
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

占
碓 門

Divination
Pestle, Gate