China's Lunar Calendar 2016 03-14

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/20..................................................................................................................3/14

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
四

一期星

Third Month, Fourteenth Day

Astral Period One
Monday, March 14

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陰寶三天
德光合貴

Heavenly Nobility
Three Linkages
Wealth Rays
Yin Virtue 
—————

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

戌午寅
吉中凶

亥未卯
吉中吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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.
                             —————————————————

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

忌
成除動栽
服靈土種
Planting and Cultivating
Moving Soil
Discarding Spirits
Completing Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
六
乙
未
金
張
定
Sixth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yiwei (32/60)

Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

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

上開會祭
樑市友祀
安納出祈
牀財行福
作移頂求
灶徙婚嗣
醞竪裁入
釀 株衣學
囊地
復重血死
喪喪忌氣

————
Appropriate Activities
 Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Seeking Inheritance
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Tax Payments
Moving Residences
Erecting Pillars
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages

Earth Duffel    

Baleful Astral Influences

Death Vapor
Blood Taboo
Repeat Mourning
Return Mourning 

———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 人

White, Person
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

厠 磨 碓

Toilet, Mortar, Pestle