Round and Square

[a] Preview RF

Well, folks, we are now fully into the new year. The day columns have grown skinny (unlike the corpulent, six-wide, New Year's wonder that we saw a few days ago). Now, we are the calendrical version of the donkey going—ba-dum, ba-dum—around the pole. Normalcy has returned, so let's take a look.

Day Personality
Constellation Personality (Section Five—Character Six)

Today's "constellation personality" is Well (井). It is the nineteenth of twenty-eight "lunar mansions" (宿) or "constellations." Traditional calendars state that it portends hours and hours of family happiness. It's a good day for marriage, and children born of marriages on this day will fill their pockets with precious stones. On top of it all, the divinity associated with this constellation possesses the recipe for longevity.

[b] Well RF

Jianchu Personality (Section Five—Character Seven)
The jianchu "personality" is Receive (收). It is the ninth of twelve characters in the jianchu cycle. It is the sorta not-bad on the colloquial scale of worst to best. I mean, what isn't great about receiving, right? Well, receiving is complicated. Ever heard of "it's better to give than to receive?" Well, it comes from the same place that this character does. Receiving presents a burden to reciprocate, and so the pressure is on. It's good (you received), but there is work to do. That is the idea of this day personality.

Lucky Stars
(Section Two)
There are two beneficent asterisms today: Five Abundances (五富) and Ten Spirits (十靈). They shine over Lunar World with red-ink wonder.

Auspicious Times
(Section Three)
There are only two inauspicious (凶) two-hour periods, five in-between (中) times, and, yup, five auspicious (吉) times. Having read the calendar for a quarter century, I can say that there is "auspicousness inflation" going on here. Four of each is standard—every day.

Things to Avoid
(Section Four)
It's a bad day for Planting and Cultivating (栽種) and Marriage Alliances (嫁娶). The calendar won't tell you what they "mean." You have to study history, culture, and literature to understand those matters.

[c] Fire RF

Just Plain Counting
(Section Four—Characters 1-4)
It is the third (初三) day of the twelfth lunar month. Yup, the very last day of the (lunar) year. The cycle of sixty character is #12: yihai (乙亥). The days cycle—1, 2, 3, 58, 59, 60, 1, 2, 3...—in perpetuity.

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 Metal. Today is Fire, and tomorrow is Fire.

Appropriate Things
(Section Six)
It's a solid day for eight activities today, including: Venerating Ancestors (祭祀), Meeting Friends (會友), and Raising Beams (上樑). Click the link to see the rest.

Solar Periods

(Section Six—Upper and Middle)

It's New Year's Day, at least for the cycle of solar periods. We are currently in the first of the twenty-four fifteen day solar periods (the 二十四節氣). It is called "Beginning of Spring" (立春) which might seem a bit ironic, since we are many weeks away from the equinox. Still, there is a logic to the Chinese calendar dates that begin the seasons. Pay attention to these posts, and you will begin to see it. In any case, "Beginning of Spring," began on Monday, February 4, and runs through Monday, February 18.

[d] Ice RF

We are also in the first of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods (the 七十二候). It is called East Wind Melts the Ice (應始摯), and you will begin to get the idea of "spring" this early by that term. It began on Monday, February 4, and runs through Friday, February 8. You can learn more about these solar periods by reading Liza Dalby's East Wind Melts the Ice.

Fear Your Unlucky Stars
(Bottom of Section Six)

The baleful asterisms (the bottom of section six) are Debt Not (債不), Doubled Days (重日), and Hog Mouth (豬口). The first is always good advice. The last is terrifying (if you've ever been face-to-face with one. As for the section on unlucky stars, my best advice for the non-specialist is to begin thinking of each of them as movie titles (for really scary movies). It works pretty well to get a sense of both the fear and irony built-into these terms. Imagine a movie called Hog Mouth.

Miscellaneous Omens and Activities
(Sections Seven and Eight)

Today's miscellaneous omens are White (白) and Landmass (州). The miscellaneous activities are Pestle (碓), Bed (牀), and Mortar (磨). Thirty years of ethnographic fieldwork surrounding this section (asking calendrical experts and ordinary people alike) has resulted in extremely ambiguous answers.

See You Tomorrow
O.k., folks. That's it. Enjoy this third day of the Year of the Pig (mouth), and I'll see you back here for the next preview soon.

[e] Reflective Pig RF

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Lunar World Preview 2019 02-05 New Year's Day

As the Lunar World Turns

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

[a] Preview RF

It's here, people. The Lunar New Year (Year of the Pig...Hog...Boar). It's exciting, and we have the only six-wide day-column you'll see all year. On top of it, we just keep bleeding days (losing twelve a year from the solar to the lunar calendar, so that the next New Year's day will be January 23, 2020. So what's the big deal about that...I hear you cry?

Tuesday's Lunar Calendar

Well, I hate to break it to you on such a fun and wonderful day of calendrical optimism, but we are entering what is called an "Orphan Year." You might have thought that it was exciting to have the solar (of "luni-solar") New Year starting yesterday (February 4...every year). Yup, yesterday was the agricultural calendar's Solar New Year. What that means, though, is that his year runs from February 5, 2020 through January 23, 2021. Yup—no Solar New Year at all. Orphan. Alone. We'll manage, I'm sure, so let's get on to the information in today's day column.

[b] Turtle Beak RF

Day Personality
Constellation Personality (Section Five—Character Six)

Today's "constellation personality" is Beak of the Turtle (觜). It is the twentieth of twenty-eight "lunar mansions" (宿) or "constellations." Traditional calendars state that it portends horrible, evil. It is perhaps the very worst of the twenty-eight lunar mansions. So why would "the calendar" begin the year with one of the worst "things?" Well, there are a few ways to control the intersecting cycles of the Chinese calendar, but, for the most part, there is only so much a calendrical specialist can control (you can look up the cycles for the future, and bookstores are full of these volumes). So...one of the most wonderful days of the year is overseen by the very worst "personality" of all. And we deal with it.

Jianchu Personality (Section Five—Character Seven)
The jianchu "personality" is Danger (危). It is the eighth of twelve characters in the jianchu cycle. It is the not-as-bad-as-you-might-think, and is even printed in red ink. It is a day of danger and opportunity, so grasp your chances (but don't get too confident). That is the basic message of the calendar.

Lucky Stars
(Section Two)
There are six beneficent asterisms today (no day is as jam-packed): Fortunate Engendering (福生), Yin General, (陰德), Discarding Spirits (除神), Chirp-Bark, which is particularly interesting (鳴吠), Great Clarity (大明), and Spirits Reside (神在). They shine over Lunar World with red-ink wonder.

Auspicious Times
(Section Three)
We see a "balanced" day today. There are four inauspicious (凶) two-hour periods, four in-between (中) times, and, yup, four auspicious (吉) times. This is the way that it is supposed to be. Good stuff.

[c] Cultivating RF

Things to Avoid
(Section Four)
It's a bad day for six things: Lawsuits and Litigation (詞訟), Setting-up Production (置產), Planting and Cultivation (栽種), Constructing Dikes (築堤), New Boats (新船), and Entering Water (進水). You have to decide how to interpret them, since that is all that the text says. One of the fascinating things about reading traditional literature is to get a sense of how people did interpret some of these categories.

Just Plain Counting
(Section Four—Characters 1-4)
It is the first (初一) day of the first lunar month. Yup, the very first day of the (lunar) year. The cycle of sixty character is #10 guiyou (癸酉). The days cycle—1, 2, 3, 58, 59, 60, 1, 2, 3...—in perpetuity.

Elemental (and Phased)
(Section Five—Character 5)
Today's slice of the "Five Phases" (sometimes called the "Five Elements") is Metal (金). Ordinarily, the Five Phases weave their way, two-by-two, through the calendar. Yesterday was Metal. Today is Metal, and tomorrow is Fire.

Appropriate Things
(Section Six)
Every day except this one has a list of appropriate things to do (in contrast to Section Four—Things to Avoid. Not today. Instead, we see a long list of calendrical cycles and lucky directions. The good news is that they're all in red, and as auspicious as auspicious can be.

[d] New Year's Anticipation RF

See You Tomorrow

O.k., folks. Enjoy your New Year's Day, and I'll see you back here soon for a preview of the coming days.

Monday, February 4, 2019

Lunar World Preview 2019 02-04

As the Lunar World Turns

Monday, February 4, 2019

[a] Double Fun (RF)

Well, folks, it's both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at the same time. Huh? How is that possible? Well, the luni-solar calendar is a fascinating one, and few days are as jam-packed as Monday. It's hard to imagine that a skinny little day column (check it out by clicking the link, below) can hold multiple New Year's events.
The trick is this: the new lunar year begins tomorrow. Today, however, an endlessly-repeating string of solar periods begins again (as it does every single year, precisely on February 4).

Day Personality
Constellation Personality (Section Five—Character Six)

[b] Net (RF)

Today's "constellation personality" is Net (畢). It is the nineteenth of twenty-eight "lunar mansions" (宿) or "constellations." Traditional calendars state that it portends hours and hours of family happiness. It's a good day for marriage, and children born of marriages on this day will fill their pockets with precious stones. On top of it all, the divinity associated with this constellation possesses the recipe for longevity.

Jianchu Personality (Section Five—Character Seven)

The jianchu "personality" is Destroy (破). It is the seventh of twelve characters in the jianchu cycle. It is the worst-of-the-worst, and there is nothing good about it. Everything that can go wrong...will (in Lunar World). Worse yet, it was also a Destroy day yesterday, and the calendar has (as it occasionally does) carries it forward for another day. Be afraid; be very afraid (and then get over it).

Lucky Stars
(Section Two)
There are two beneficent asterisms today: Generational Equinity (er, Horse) (歲馬) and Phoenix (鳳凰). They shine over Lunar World with red-ink wonder.

[c] Irrigation RF

Auspicious Times
(Section Three)
There are three inauspicious (凶) two-hour periods, three in-between (中) times, and, yup, six auspicious (吉) times. Having read the calendar for a quarter century, I can say that there is "auspicousness inflation" going on here.

Things to Avoid
(Section Four)
It's a bad day for Opening Irrigation Sluices (開渠) and Positioning Beds (安牀) for geomantic (fengshui) efficiency.

Just Plain Counting
(Section Four—Characters 1-4)
It is the thirtieth (三十) day of the twelfth lunar month. Yup, the very last day of the (lunar) year. The cycle of sixty character is #9: renshen (壬申). The days cycle—1, 2, 3, 58, 59, 60, 1, 2, 3...—in perpetuity.

[d] Metal RF

Appropriate Things
(Section Six)
It's a solid day for only one thing today: Destroying Rooms (破屋). Please make sure that you only smash things that you own.

Solar Periods

(Section Six—Upper and Middle)

It's New Year's Day, at least for the cycle of solar periods. Today, we begin the first of the twenty-four fifteen day solar periods (the 二十四節氣). The first is called "Beginning of Spring" (立春) which might seem a bit ironic, since we are many weeks away from the equinox. Still, there is a logic to the Chinese calendar dates that begin the seasons. Pay attention to these posts, and you will begin to see it. In any case, "Beginning of Spring," begins today, on Monday, February 4, and runs through Monday, February 18.

Today (Solar New Year's Day), we also begin in the first of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods (the 七十二候). It is called East Wind Melts the Ice (應始摯), and you will begin to get the idea of "spring" this early by that term. It begins today, on Monday, February 4, and runs through Friday, February 8. You can learn more about these solar periods by reading Liza Dalby's East Wind Melts the Ice.

Fear Your Unlucky Stars
(Bottom of Section Six)

[e] Furnace RF

The baleful asterisms (the bottom of section six) are Lunar Destruction (月破) and Water Scar (水痕). My advice for the non-specialist to begin thinking about these unlucky influences is to think of them as movie titles (for really scary movies). It works pretty well to get a sense of both the fear and irony built-into these terms.

Miscellaneous Omens and Activities
(Sections Seven and Eight)

Today's miscellaneous omens are White (白) and Ghost (鬼). The miscellaneous activities are Edifice (房), Furnace (爐), and Storehouse (庫). Thirty years of ethnographic fieldwork surrounding this section (asking calendrical experts and ordinary people alike) has resulted in extremely ambiguous answers.

See You Tomorrow
O.k., folks. It's a New Year's Day/Eve that is packed with potential. Weave your way through it, and prepare for New Year's (lunar) celebrations tonight!