China's Lunar Calendar 2014 06-17

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/17............................................................................................................................6/10

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

二期星

Sixth Month, Seventeenth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, June 17

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

六歲合歲
合支日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Generational Branch
Six Linkages

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

酉己丑

中吉凶
戌午寅
中吉吉
亥未卯

凶吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌
行成除納
喪服靈采

Setting-up Factories
Moving Soil

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
己
未
火
尾
除

Twentieth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiwei (56/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Tail (6/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

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

宜
上立裁祭
樑約衣祀
安交移祈
牀易徙福
作修理會
灶造髮友
安動掃出
葬土舍行
喪三
陰孤八下
將辰專兀

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Patterning Hair
Sweeping Rooms
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Positioning Graves

Three Mournings

Baleful Astral Influences

Lower Amputee

Eight Specializations

Orphan Dawn

Yin General

————

  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 林
Person, Copse
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
厠 門 占

Toilet, Gate, Divination