China's Lunar Calendar 2013 03-08

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
Today's date:                                                      * 

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

八

日

五期星

Third month, eighth day

Astral Period Five

(Friday, March 8) 

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars

合歲

日德

Generational Virtue

Linkage of Days

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

吉吉吉

酉己丑

凶吉吉

戌午寅

中中吉

亥未卯

凶凶凶

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
09:00-11:00 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 In-Between
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.

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Section Four
Activities to Avoid 

忌
作詞

灶訟

Litigation

Stove Work

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 
廿

七

癸
酉
金
婁

破

Twenty-seventh day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Tower (16/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Destroy (7/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜

求

醫

治

病

破

屋

壊

垣

火月

星破

鷄債

口不

Appropriate Activities

Going to the Doctor

Managing Illness

Destroying Rooms

Smashing Embankments 

Miscellaneous Information

Lunar Destruction

Debt Not

Fire Star

Chicken Mouth

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Star
丫 州
Bifurcation, Continent

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities 

房

門 牀

Building

Gate, Bed