China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/7.........................................................................................................................7/31

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
四
日

一期星

Eighth Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, August 4

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

六歲
合支
Generational Branch
Six Linkages

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
中吉中
亥未卯

吉吉凶

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

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 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
動理
土髮
Patterning Hair
Moving Soil

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
丁
未
水
張
建

Ninth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingwei (44/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

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

宜
交祭
易祀
上祈
樑福
建出
屋行
入赴
倉任
土
府
三羊
喪口

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Going Out (and about)
Taking-up Official-position
Trade and Commerce
Putting-up Beams
Establishing Rooms
Entering Granaries

Earth Palace

Baleful Astral Influences

Goat Mouth
Three Mournings

————

  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 神
Person, Spirit
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
倉
厠 庫

Granary
Toilet, Storehouse