China's Lunar Calendar 2015 05-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/9.....................................................................................................................5/2

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
四
日

一期星

Fifth Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, May 4

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月歲

恩德

Generational Virtue
Lunar Kindness

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
中吉凶
酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅
凶吉吉
亥未卯
吉吉中

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
行結
喪綱
Binding Nets

Mourning Visits

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六
庚
辰
金

畢
建

Sixteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: gengchen (17/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Net (19/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜

會
友
穿
井
月短
刑星
三土
喪府

————
Appropriate Activities
Meeting Friends

Boring Wells

Baleful Astral Influences

Short Star

Earth Palace

Lunar Punishment

Three Mournings

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 鬼
Bifurcation, Ghost

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓

栖 磨

Pestle

Perch, Mortar

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 05-03

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/9.....................................................................................................................5/2

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

日期星

Fifth Month, Third Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, May 3

———————————————— 

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
中中吉
酉己丑

凶中凶

戌午寅
凶吉吉
亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

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
除穿
服井
Boring Wells

Discarding Clothing

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
五
己
卯
土

昂
閉

Fifteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Pleiades (18/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜

安祭
牀祀
作嫁
灶娶
入裁
倉衣
補開
塞市
重
喪
陽血
將支

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing

Opening Markets

Positioning Beds

Stove Work

Entering Granaries

Patching and Plugging

Doubled Days

Baleful Astral Influences
Blood Branch
Yang General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 山
Bifurcation, Mountain

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

占

門 大

Divination
Gate, Great

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 05-02

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/9.....................................................................................................................5/2

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
(top to bottom; right to left
二
日

六期星

Fifth Month, Second Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, May 2

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

生時陽天
氣陽德赦

Heavenly Amnesty

Yang Virtue

Temporal Yang

Engendered Vapor

—————————————————

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

中吉凶

戌午寅
凶吉凶
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
祈祭置買
福祀業田
Buying Land

Setting-up Production

Venerating Ancestors

Discarding Clothing

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
四
戊
辰
土

胃
開

Fourteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuyin (15/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Stomach (17/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜

上開內入
樑市采學
安交嫁會
牀易娶友
開修醫出
渠造病行
穿動移訂
井土徙婚
喪復
陰復厭月
將日對忌

————
Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Physician Visits
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Commercial Transactions
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Opening Sluices
Boring Wells

Repeat Mourning

Baleful Astral Influences
Lunar Taboo

Mutual Loathing

Repeated Days

Yin General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 火
Bifurcation, Fire

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

爐 牀 房

Furnace, Bed, Edifice

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 05-01

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/1.....................................................................................................................4/23

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
(top to bottom; right to left
一五
日月

五期星

Fifth Month, First Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, May 1

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

德天
合月

Heavenly Lunarity
Virtuous Linkage

—————————————————

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
凶吉中
亥未卯
吉凶凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
整理
甲髮
Patterning Hair
Trimming Nails

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
三
丁
丑
水

婁
收

Thirteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingchou (14/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Mound (16/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜
祭
祀
掃
舍
————
戴
勝
降
于
桑

 ————
牛歲
口破

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors

Sweeping Rooms

Hoopoe Alights in Mulberry

(the eighteenth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the lunar calendar)

Baleful Astral Influences

Generational Destruction
Ox Mouth

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 神
White, Spirit

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

倉
厠  庫

Granary
Toilet, Storehouse