China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-10

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/15.........................................................................................................................8/8

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

日期星

Eighth Month, Tenth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, August 10

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

(top to bottom, right to left)

母四天
倉相德
Heavenly Virtue
Four Facings
Maternal Granary

—————————————————

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

吉吉吉

戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯

中凶吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between

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
取田詞
魚獵訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Heavenly Venery
Garnering Fish

—————————————————  
 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
五
癸
丑
木
房
執

Fifteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guichou (50/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: House (4/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

—————————————————  

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

元中
————
宜

動出祭
土行祀
上訂祈
樑婚福
安裁會
葬移友
將陽
歸小牛
忌耗口

Ghost Festival
(the full moon of the seventh lunar month, when all departed souls are about)

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Patterning Clothing
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Graves

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences

Ox Mouth
Small Squander
Return Taboo

————

  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
丫
Bifurcation
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
房
厠 牀
Edifice
Toilet, Bed