China's Lunar Calendar 2013 06-17

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT June 21.....................................................................................................June 13 RIGHT

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)  
十
七

一期星

Sixth Month, Seventeenth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, June 17

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

天天天母
醫喜馬倉

Maternal Granary
Heavenly Horse
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子

凶吉凶

酉己丑

吉中中

戌午寅

吉凶吉

亥未卯

凶吉中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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

祈祭出開
福祀財倉

Opening Granaries
Capital Outlays
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
十
甲
寅

水
心
成

Tenth Day (fifth lunar month)

Cyclical day: jiayin (51/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Heart (5/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

————————————————— 

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

修修裁入
倉造衣學
安動醫會
牀土病友
作上理出
灶樑髮行
安醞開訂
葬釀市婚
忌歸
陽大白八
將煞虎專

Appropriate Activities  
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Tailoring Clothing
Doctor Visits
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Repairing Granaries
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Positioning Graves 


Return Taboo

Miscellaneous Information    

Eight Specializations
White Tiger
Great Balefulness
Yang General

 —————————————————  
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
人 水
Person, White

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

爐 門 占

Furnace, Gate, Divination