China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-08

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT August 10...........................August 7 RIGHT...Monthly Calendar Information

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) 
八
日
四期星

  Eighth Month, Eighth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, August 8

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

生時天
氣陽馬

Heavenly Horse
Timely Yang
Engendered Vapor

—————————————————

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

吉凶凶

酉己丑

吉吉中

戌午寅

吉吉凶

亥未卯

凶中中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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

苫作修
蓋灶廚

Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Thatched Coverings

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
二
丙
午
水
角
開

Second Day (seventh lunar month)

Cyclical day: bingwu (43/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Horn (1/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)*
*Occasionally a "personality" is repeated to "reset" the calendar 
(toward various goals). This is one of those times.

————————————————— 

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

宜

動訂祭
土婚祀
安納祈
牀采福
栽移入
種居學
成修出
服造行
不債

陰天班
將火煞

Appropriate Activities  
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Planting Crops
Finishing Clothing

DEBT NOT

Miscellaneous Information 
Classified Balefulness
Heavenly Conflagration
Yin General

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
白 火
White, Fire

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
廚

碓 灶 

Kitchen
Pestle, Stove