Daily Almanac
See what any day favours and what it warns against, worked out from the rules of the Qing court’s own almanac manual.
Enter a date from 1900 to 2100.
Dates are read on China Standard Time, as the printed almanac is. Worked out from the rules of 《協紀辨方書》; its day-by-day tables are still being checked.
Saturday, 7 November 2026
Lunar month 9, day 29
A strong day for getting things started.
宜Good for
- Offerings
- Filing petitions
- Taking up a post
- Starting school
- Engagement
- Weddings
- Travel
- Moving house
- Ritual bathing
- Haircuts
- Making clothes
- Building and groundwork
- Raising beams
- Opening a business
- Receiving money
- Preparing a birth room
- Digging channels
- Digging wells
- Setting up a mill
- House cleaning
- Felling trees
- Hunting
- Raising livestock
- Buying livestock
- Breaking ground for a grave
- Burial
忌Avoid
- Banquets and gatherings
- Medical treatment
- Planting
Clashes with 卯 RabbitHarmful direction East
The twelve double hours
Gold hours fall on the yellow path. The times are Chinese double hours, read on local time at the place.
- 子23–01Fate Keeper
- 丑01–03Hooked Array
- 寅03–05Azure Dragon
- 卯05–07Bright Hall
- 辰07–09Heavenly Punishment
- 巳09–11Vermilion Bird
- 午11–13Golden Casket
- 未13–15Precious Light
- 申15–17White Tiger
- 酉17–19Jade Hall
- 戌19–21Heavenly Prison
- 亥21–23Dark Warrior
Spirits of the day
Helpful spirits
- 天德 Heavenly Virtue
- 母倉 Mother Granary
- 月恩 Monthly Grace
- 四相 Four Ministers
- 時陽 Seasonal Yang
- 生氣 Living Qi
- 聖心 Sage Heart
- 除神 Clearing Spirit
- 鳴吠 Rooster and Dog
Harmful spirits
- 災煞 Disaster Killing
- 天火 Heavenly Fire
- 五離 Five Partings
Understanding the daily almanac
The Chinese almanac, called 黃曆 or Tong Shu, gives each day a set of qualities and says which matters suit it. This page follows 《協紀辨方書》, the manual the Qing court issued in 1741 to clean up the almanacs of its day. The manual does not simply stop a matter whenever one bad spirit appears. It weighs helpful spirits against harmful ones, and that weighing is what you see here.
How it works
- Find the solar monthThe almanac month changes at the solar term, not at the new moon. The day a new month begins repeats the officer of the day before.
- Place the spiritsEach spirit falls on a set day of the month, season or sixty-day cycle.
- Check each matterThe manual lists which spirits favour each matter and which forbid it.
- Weigh themThe manual says when a harmful spirit gives way to a helpful one, when the two cancel out, and when nothing can help.
How to read it
- Start with Good for and AvoidThese are the final result of the weighing. You do not need the rest to use the page.
- Look at the day officerThe twelve officers are a quick summary of the day, in a fixed cycle.
- Use the hours for timingIf a day suits your plan, a gold hour is the traditional time to begin.
- Check the clashThe day clashes with one zodiac sign. Tradition asks that person to take more care.
Our method
- Rules
- Spirit positions come from 卷四 to 卷七 of the manual. Matters come from 卷十一 and the weighing from 卷十.
- Matters shown
- We show the 民用 list of matters for ordinary people and leave out the court and army lists.
- Checked against
- All officer and day-class values match the month tables printed in 卷二十 to 卷三十一, for every day we could read.
- A known limit
- The manual’s ranking table survives in our source only as an image, so we rebuilt the ranking from the written rules in 卷十.
- Other almanacs
- Printed almanacs and websites follow many different lists, so they often disagree with each other and with this page.
Common questions
Why does this page differ from another almanac?
Modern almanacs draw on different sources and most do not say which. We follow one named book and show our reasons.
Which day should I use if I live abroad?
Use your own local date. The day’s qualities follow the calendar date, and the solar month is read on China Standard Time.
Why is so little marked as good on some days?
The manual is cautious. Some days, such as the day before a season begins, allow only small matters even with good spirits present.
Does it predict the future?
Treat it as a tradition for planning and reflection. It is not medical, legal or financial advice.
Sources
- 欽定協紀辨方書 Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu, 四庫全書 edition, 1741
- 星曆考原 Xing Li Kao Yuan, as quoted in the above