China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-12

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
二

二期星

Eighth Month, Twelfth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, August 12

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

五益
合後
Increase Behind
Five Linkages

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

凶凶中

戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯

吉吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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
穿栽
井種
Planting and Cultivating
Boring Wells

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
七
乙
卯
水
尾
危

Seventeenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yimao (52/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Tail (6/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

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

宜

理祭
髮祀
安求
牀嗣
成會
服友
安嫁
葬娶
土
符
朱五
雀虛

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Seeking Inheritance
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Patterning Hair
Positioning Beds
Putting-together Clothing
Positioning Graves

Earth Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Vacancies
Vermilion Bird

————

  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
白 林
White, Copse
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
碓
門 磨
Pestle
Gate, Mortar