From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Lunar World Preview 2018 04-05

As the Lunar World Turns
Thursday, April 5, 2018
[a] Preview Kitten RF
It's medium-width day column (three-wide), which more resembles a municipal bike path than the homestretch at Daytona Speedway (four-wide). There is plenty of stuff here to keep you occupied, though. On top of it all, it is the beginning of the fifth fortnight-long solar period (fifteen days each). This very famous one is called Qingming (清明), and families will gather to honor their ancestors, clean up tombs, and generally reconnect, all over the Chinese speaking world.

Day Personality
(Section Five—Characters Six and Seven)
Today's "constellation personality" is Well (). Calendrical interpretations stress that it is the widest of the constellations. Even though each one of the twenty-eight count for a day (today), 1500 years ago, it was a different story. Beak of the Turtle (觜) passed in a few hours, and this one took days. 


It's positive, generally, but something this big can't be all good or all bad. It's a good day for working around the home, but not a good day for burials and funerals (in Lunar World, at least).
[b] Well and Good RF

The jianchu "personality" is, again, Closed (閉), which represents a repeat of yesterday's item. Every once-in-awhile, one of the personalities repeats, as it does today. Closed is pretty bleak, of course, and two days in a row make it problematic. Still, it's a hunker-down day that you can use to your advantage. All good.

Lucky Stars
(Section Two)
There are three beneficent asterisms today, including Generational Branch (歲支), Six Linkages (六合) and Unicorn (麒麟).


[c] Haircut RF
Auspicious Times
(Section Three)
There are four inauspicious (凶) two-hour periods, four in-between () times, and four auspicious () times. Stability has returned to Lunar World, and auspicious-time inflation has been checked.



Things to Avoid
(Section Four)
It's a bad day for three big things: haircuts (理髮), trimming nails (整甲), and boring wells (穿井). Think about these. Nothing is said about how best to entertain a well.

Just Plain Counting
(Section Four—Characters 1-4)
It is the twentieth (二十) day of the second lunar month. The cycle of sixty character is #4: dingmao (丁卯). This pattern of days cycle—1, 2, 3, 58, 59, 60, 1, 2, 3...—in perpetuity. Years do, too.
 Elemental (and Phased)
(Section Five—Character 5)
Today's slice of the "Five Phases" (sometimes called the "Five Elements") is Fire (火). Ordinarily, the Five Phases weave their way, two-by-two, through the calendar. Yesterday was Fire. Today is Fire, and tomorrow is Wood.

[d] Rabbit Mouth RF
Appropriate Things
(Section Six) 
It's a solid day for Going Out—and about (出行), Moving Residences (移徙), and Moving Soil (動土), among other things (click the link, below). It is also the beginning of the thirteenth of seventy-two solar micro-periods on the calendar. This one lasts through Monday, and is called "Paulownia Blooms" (桐始華).

Fear Your Unlucky Stars 
(Bottom of Section Six)
The baleful asterisms (the bottom of section six) are diverse. Among them are Blood Branch (血支) and Yang General (陽將). The most memorable is another of the "Zodiacal Orifice" (my term) phrases, in which each of the birth-year animals is combined with "mouth" (口). Today's is Rabbit Mouth (兔口). And remember, these are not cute little bunnies; they are baleful asterisms. Watch out for that rabbit mouth.

Miscellaneous Omens and Activities
(Sections Seven and Eight)

Today's miscellaneous omens are White (白) and Mountain (山). The miscellaneous activities are Gate (門), Storehouse (庫), and Granary (倉). Nobody knows what they mean.

See You Tomorrow
So, take your long journey through the constellation "Well," hunker down (again) for your "Closed" day (read another good book), and I'll see you back here tomorrow night for our Friday preview of the day in Lunar World.
[e] Paulownia Blooms RF

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