China's Lunar Calendar 2015 05-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/17.....................................................................................................................5/10

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
十
二

二期星

Fourth Month, Twelfth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, May 12

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不四德歲
將相日支

Generational Branch

Virtuous Days
Four Facings
Not General

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
中凶凶
亥未卯
凶中吉

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between

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

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
問開置買
卜倉業田
Buying Land

Setting-up Production

Opening Granaries

Divinatory Inquiries

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
四
戊
子
火

翌
危

Twenty-Fourth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuzi (25/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Wings (27/28)

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

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

宜

安理訂祭
牀髮婚祀
作修納祈
灶造裁福
栽動嫁友
種土娶友
安上裁出
葬樑衣行
虛五
俱白天小
  將虎吏亡空

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Engagements

Grain Payments

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing

Pattering Hair

Repairs and Building

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Beds

Stove Work

Planting and Cultivating

Positioning Beds

Five Voids

Baleful Astral Influences

Three Loss-Voids
Heavenly Official
White Tiger
Everything General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 火
White, Fire

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓 牀 房

Pestle, Bed, Edifice