China's Lunar Calendar 2013 12-10

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT December 14............................................................................................December 7 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
日
二期星

  Twelfth Month, Tenth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, December 10

———————————————— 
Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

生德歲
氣日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Engendered Vapor

—————————————————

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

吉凶凶

酉己丑

中中吉
戌午寅

凶凶中

亥未卯

凶吉中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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

伐結經
木綱絡
Arterial Lanes
Binding Nets
Felling Timber

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
八
庚
戌
金
室
開

Eighth Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: gengxu (47/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Room (13/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜

上裁祭

樑衣祀

安理入

門髮學

作開會

灶市友

置動嫁

產土娶

將陽
天五小
  刑虛亡空

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Doors
Stove Work
Setting-up Industry

Yang General

Miscellaneous Information  

Small Loss-Void
Five Vacancies
Heavenly Punishment

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

人 火
Person, Fire
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

碓
栖 磨

Pestle
Perch, Mortar