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.
- What it answers
- What a day is good for and what to avoid.
- What you need
- A date.
- What you get
- The day's good and bad activities, its spirits and its hours.
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 Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu; its day-by-day tables are still being checked.
Sunday, 8 November 2026
Lunar month 9, day 30
The manual says to avoid every matter on this day.
- Last day of the lunar month: little is marked as good.
宜Good for
Nothing is marked as good today.
忌Avoid
The manual says to avoid every matter on this day.
Clashes with 辰 LoongHarmful direction North
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23–01Heavenly Prison
- 丑01–03Dark Warrior
- 寅03–05Fate Keeper
- 卯05–07Hooked Array
- 辰07–09Azure Loong
- 巳09–11Bright Hall
- 午11–13Heavenly Punishment
- 未13–15Vermilion Bird
- 申15–17Golden Casket
- 酉17–19Precious Light
- 戌19–21White Tiger
- 亥21–23Jade Hall
Spirits of the day
Helpful spirits
- 益後 Benefit to Heirs
Harmful spirits
- 血支 Blood Branch
- 月煞 Monthly Killing
- 月虛 Month Emptiness
- 五虛 Five Voids
- 復日 Repeat Day
Word of the day
紫微斗數
Purple Star Astrology · zǐ wēi dǒu shù
A chart of twelve palaces filled with named stars.
Read more →Next festival
冬至
Winter Solstice
In 44 days · 2026-12-22
Read more →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 Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu, the manual the Qing court issued in 1741–42 to clean up the almanacs of its day. The manual weighs helpful spirits against harmful ones before it rules on a matter, and that weighing is what you see here.
See the Yearly Guides for dates, directions and the twelve signs →
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 vols. 4 to 7 of the manual. Matters come from vol. 11 and the weighing from vol. 10.
- 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 vols. 20 to 31, 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 vol. 10.
- 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, prefaced 1741–42
- 星曆考原 Xing Li Kao Yuan, as quoted in the above