China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/24.........................................................................................................................8/16

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
廿
四

日期星

Eighth Month, Twenty-Fourth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, August 24

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天合月鳳
恩日德凰

Rising Phoenix
Lunar Virtue
Collated Days
Heavenly Kindness

—————————————————

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

凶中中

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯

吉吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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.

————————————————— 

Section Four 
Activities to Avoid  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌
動開穿理
土池井髮
Patterning Hair
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Moving Soil

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

廿
九
丁
卯
火
昂
危

Twenty-Ninth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingmao (4/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Pleiades (18/28)

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

—————————————————  

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

宜
安移訂祭
牀徙婚祀
作立納祈
灶約采福
成交嫁會
服易娶友
安上裁出
葬樑衣行
忌楊
俱土朱五
將符雀處
————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Setting-up Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Poplar Taboo

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Voids
Vermilion Bird
Earth Charm
Everything General

  Section Seven

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

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
庫 倉 門
Storehouse
Granary, Gate