The twelve day officers

How a day gets its officer

The rule is arithmetic, not judgement. Both the day and the lunar month are named by one of the twelve earthly branches (子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥). Take the distance from the month's branch to the day's branch, counting forward and wrapping after twelve, and use it as an index into the sequence.

Which means the day whose branch is the same as the month's branch is 建 — Establish — and every day after it moves one place along: 除, 满, 平, 定, 执, 破, 危, 成, 收, 开, 闭, then back to 建. The twelve-day cycle repeats through the month, so the same officer returns every twelve days.

This site derives the officer itself, then compares the result against the calendar library over a long span of dates in its test suite. If the two ever disagreed, the tests fail — an almanac error would otherwise go unnoticed.

The twelve, in order

1. 1建EstablishOpen

   A day that carries the momentum of the month into something new.

   Good for beginnings and for putting yourself forward. The traditional caution is against digging and opening stores — start things, do not break ground on them.

2. 2除RemoveOpen

   A clearing day: what is finished can be cut away.

   Sweep, clean, treat illness, end what has ended. Not a day for beginning anything you want to last.

3. 3满FullSteady

   Things reach their fill — which is also the point where they stop growing.

   Take the gain that is on offer and do not expect more after it. Traditionally avoided for funerals and for opening a business.

4. 4平LevelSteady

   An even day with no strong current in either direction.

   Fine for ordinary upkeep and routine work. Not the day to launch something you need fortune for.

5. 5定SettleOpen

   What is decided today tends to stay decided.

   Good for agreements, engagements, and fixing terms. Avoid litigation and long journeys — the day does not want to be disturbed once it has settled.

6. 6执HoldHeld up

   A grasping day: take and keep.

   Good for securing what is yours — collecting debts, catching, claiming. Poor for moving house or letting anything go.

7. 7破BreakClosed

   Structure fails on a break day.

   The one day of the twelve to avoid for beginnings, contracts and ceremonies. What is already broken can be dismantled; nothing new should be started.

8. 8危DangerHeld up

   The edges of the day are precarious, though the centre holds.

   Not fatal, but worth caution: keep to what is already in motion and avoid the risky version of it.

9. 9成CompleteOpen

   What is finished today stays finished.

   One of the best of the twelve for concluding matters — signing, marrying, opening, celebrating. Less good for starting from nothing.

10. 10收ReapSteady

    Gather in what has grown and close the accounts.

    Good for collecting, storing, and taking stock. Avoid beginning new ventures and avoid travel away from what you are gathering.

11. 11开OpenOpen

    Doors open: begin, ask, travel, celebrate.

    One of the two most favourable officers. Good for openings, weddings, journeys and anything that needs a door to swing.

12. 12闭CloseClosed

    The day closes rather than opens.

    Rest, keep private, and finish quietly. Traditional readings allow burial and storing, but not beginnings or announcements.

How to read the labels

The coloured word beside each officer is how this site groups them, using the same four states as the divination tools: open for days that favour starting something, steady for days that favour keeping to what is already in hand, held for days that ask for care, and closed for days that favour finishing rather than beginning. The grouping is this site's own reading of the twelve, offered so that a glance is enough — the traditional meanings are the sentences underneath.

Where to use it

Open the daily almanac and pick a date: the officer is shown with the day's pillars, its 宜 and 忌 activity lists, and the solar term it falls in. The officer is one input among several — the almanac's own lists of what suits the day are the fuller answer.