China's Lunar Calendar 2014 07-14

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/18..........................................................................................................................7/10

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

四

一期星

Seventh Month, Fourteenth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, July 14

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

三歲
合支

Generational Branch
Three Linkages

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
吉凶凶
酉己丑

吉吉凶

戌午寅
吉中吉
亥未卯

吉中吉

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

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

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
動作
土灶
Stove Work
Moving Soil

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
八
丙
戌
土
心
平

Eighteenth Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingxu (23/60)

Phase (element):  Earth

Constellation: Heart (5/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Level (4/12)

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

宜

祭
祀
田
獵
結
綱
取
魚
河月
魁虛
陰土
將符

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Field Venery
Binding Nets
Garnering Fish

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Void
Earth Charm
River Stalwart
Yin General

————

  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
白 鬼

White, Ghost
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
廚
栖 灶

Kitchen
Perch, Stove