The Moon right now

This is the sky itself: what the Moon is doing at this moment, and the same for everyone reading it. What it means for one particular chart is a different question, and the answer is further down.

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Western Vedic Chinese All Together

tldr: This year: the year is 丙午 — the Fire Horse, 12 lunar months, 7 Moon-dated festivals.

The Moon This Year, In The Chinese Almanac

丙午 Bǐng Wǔ, the Fire Horse year.

A Chinese year is named by a 干支 (gānzhī) pair — one of ten heavenly stems over one of twelve earthly branches. Ten and twelve come back into step only every sixty years, so a given pair, and everything said about it, returns once a lifetime.

This year's stem and branch carry the SAME element, 丙 over 午, which the tradition reads as that element doubled and unmixed — the quality at full strength with nothing to temper it.

Its 納音 (Na Yin, “sound element”) is 天河水 Tiān Hé Shuǐ, Water of the Heavenly River: rain from the sky, a blessing that falls from above, timely and grace-given. The Na Yin is a second, poetic elemental layer beneath the plain stem-and-branch one, and it is meant to be read as an image rather than a category, which is why it can be Water where the stem and branch are both Fire.

Twelve lunations fall eleven days short of a solar year, so about every third year a thirteenth month, the 閏月 (rùnyuè, leap month), is inserted. Which month, and whether there is one at all, is decided by the 中氣 rule: a lunar month containing none of the twelve major solar terms is the leap month.

The year holds 12 lunar months, each running new moon to new moon with no 閏月 (leap month) this year, so the lunar and solar reckonings stay in step without help. The Sun passes 24 of the 24 節氣 (solar terms) inside the year — those are the farmer's calendar, and they are fixed to the Sun, not the Moon. 7 Moon-dated festivals fall in it, which is why they move against the Western calendar every year.

The Lunar Months

  • 臘月 18 Jan to 17 Feb, 29.7 days
    Numbered by 大寒 Dà Hán (Major Cold), the major solar term inside it.
  • 正月 17 Feb to 19 Mar, 29.6 days
    Numbered by 雨水 Yǔ Shuǐ (Rain Water), the major solar term inside it.
  • 二月 19 Mar to 17 Apr, 29.4 days
    Numbered by 春分 Chūn Fēn (Spring Equinox), the major solar term inside it.
  • 三月 17 Apr to 16 May, 29.3 days
    Numbered by 穀雨 Gǔ Yǔ (Grain Rain), the major solar term inside it.
  • 四月 16 May to 15 Jun, 29.3 days
    Numbered by 小滿 Xiǎo Mǎn (Grain Full), the major solar term inside it.
  • 五月 15 Jun to 14 Jul, 29.3 days
    Numbered by 夏至 Xià Zhì (Summer Solstice), the major solar term inside it.
  • 六月 14 Jul to 12 Aug, 29.3 days
    Numbered by 大暑 Dà Shǔ (Major Heat), the major solar term inside it.
  • 七月 12 Aug to 11 Sep, 29.4 days
    Numbered by 處暑 Chù Shǔ (End of Heat), the major solar term inside it.
  • 八月 11 Sep to 10 Oct, 29.5 days
    Numbered by 秋分 Qiū Fēn (Autumn Equinox), the major solar term inside it.
  • 九月 10 Oct to 9 Nov, 29.6 days
    Numbered by 霜降 Shuāng Jiàng (Frost's Descent), the major solar term inside it.
  • 十月 9 Nov to 9 Dec, 29.7 days
    Numbered by 小雪 Xiǎo Xuě (Minor Snow), the major solar term inside it.
  • 十一月 9 Dec to 7 Jan, 29.8 days
    Numbered by 冬至 Dōng Zhì (Winter Solstice), the major solar term inside it.

Moon-dated Festivals

These fall on a fixed lunar day, so they move against the Western calendar every year, which is exactly why Lunar New Year is never on the same date twice.

  • 17 Feb , 春節 Chūn Jié (正月 初一)
    Lunar New Year — the first new moon of the year.
  • 3 Mar , 元宵節 Yuán Xiāo Jié (正月 十五)
    Lantern Festival — the first full moon of the year.
  • 19 Jun , 端午節 Duān Wǔ Jié (五月 初五)
    Dragon Boat Festival.
  • 18 Aug , 七夕 Qī Xī (七月 初七)
    the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd meet — the Chinese Valentine.
  • 26 Aug , 中元節 Zhōng Yuán Jié (七月 十五)
    Ghost Festival — the full moon of the seventh month.
  • 25 Sep , 中秋節 Zhōng Qiū Jié (八月 十五)
    Mid-Autumn Festival — the harvest full moon, and the brightest full moon of the year in tradition.
  • 18 Oct , 重陽節 Chóng Yáng Jié (九月 初九)
    Double Ninth Festival.

節氣, The 24 Solar Terms

The Sun's own calendar, and the older half of this system: fortnightly stations that name the weather and the farm year.

  • 5 Jan , 小寒 Xiǎo Hán (Minor Cold)
  • 20 Jan , 大寒 Dà Hán (Major Cold)
  • 3 Feb , 立春 Lì Chūn (Start of Spring)
  • 18 Feb , 雨水 Yǔ Shuǐ (Rain Water)
  • 5 Mar , 驚蟄 Jīng Zhé (Awakening of Insects)
  • 20 Mar , 春分 Chūn Fēn (Spring Equinox)
  • 4 Apr , 清明 Qīng Míng (Clear and Bright)
  • 20 Apr , 穀雨 Gǔ Yǔ (Grain Rain)
  • 5 May , 立夏 Lì Xià (Start of Summer)
  • 21 May , 小滿 Xiǎo Mǎn (Grain Full)
  • 5 Jun , 芒種 Máng Zhòng (Grain in Ear)
  • 21 Jun , 夏至 Xià Zhì (Summer Solstice)
  • 7 Jul , 小暑 Xiǎo Shǔ (Minor Heat)
  • 22 Jul , 大暑 Dà Shǔ (Major Heat)
  • 7 Aug , 立秋 Lì Qiū (Start of Autumn)
  • 23 Aug , 處暑 Chù Shǔ (End of Heat)
  • 7 Sep , 白露 Bái Lù (White Dew)
  • 23 Sep , 秋分 Qiū Fēn (Autumn Equinox)
  • 8 Oct , 寒露 Hán Lù (Cold Dew)
  • 23 Oct , 霜降 Shuāng Jiàng (Frost's Descent)
  • 7 Nov , 立冬 Lì Dōng (Start of Winter)
  • 22 Nov , 小雪 Xiǎo Xuě (Minor Snow)
  • 7 Dec , 大雪 Dà Xuě (Major Snow)
  • 21 Dec , 冬至 Dōng Zhì (Winter Solstice)

What This Means For You

This is the almanac's sky, the same for everyone. Laid over your own chart it becomes how these days meet your own four pillars, the stems and branches of your birth, and which of them clash or harmonise with your day master.