黄历 · huáng lì
Almanac
Every day in the Chinese calendar has a character. The almanac names it — aday officer drawn from a cycle of twelve — and then lists what the day traditionally suits and what it does not. Here is today, in English.
Dates are read in your own calendar. The Chinese lunar date that goes with them is worked out for you.
The next seven days
Pick a day to read it in fullWhat a day officer is
Chinese almanacs sort days into twelve officers. The cycle begins with建 on the day whose branch is the same as the month's branch, then runs forward one officer per day and repeats every twelve. The officer is not a forecast of events; it is a description of what kind of day it is, the way you might call one day a Monday.
Two of the twelve — 建 and 开 — are traditionally the most useful, and 破 is the one to keep clear of. The rest sit between.
The twelve officers
In cycle order- 建EstablishA day that carries the momentum of the month into something new.
- 除RemoveA clearing day: what is finished can be cut away.
- 满FullThings reach their fill — which is also the point where they stop growing.
- 平LevelAn even day with no strong current in either direction.
- 定SettleWhat is decided today tends to stay decided.
- 执HoldA grasping day: take and keep.
- 破BreakStructure fails on a break day.
- 危DangerThe edges of the day are precarious, though the centre holds.
- 成CompleteWhat is finished today stays finished.
- 收ReapGather in what has grown and close the accounts.
- 开OpenDoors open: begin, ask, travel, celebrate.
- 闭CloseThe day closes rather than opens.