Chinese Almanac (黃曆): Auspicious Days & Activities

Free Chinese almanac 黃曆 reading. Discover auspicious days 吉日 for travel, contracts, weddings and moving. Traditional Huangli 農民曆 computed for today and any date.

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Free · no sign-up · computed, not guessed

The Chinese almanac — known as 黃曆 (Huangli, "Yellow Calendar") or 農民曆 (Nónglì, "Farmer's Calendar") — is one of East Asia's oldest practical guides to timing. Used for over three thousand years to identify auspicious dates 吉日 for weddings, business contracts, moving house and travel, it remains in active daily use across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Chinese diaspora communities worldwide.

How the Almanac Works

28 Lunar Mansions (二十八宿) — The Moon's position in one of 28 star mansions assigns a base character to each day: building, danger, success, opening and more. Each mansion has a guardian and a ruling energy that colour the day's activities.

12 Officers Cycle (建除十二神) — A 12-day repeating cycle assigns an officer archetype: 建 Establish, 除 Remove, 滿 Full, 平 Balance, 定 Stable, 執 Initiate, 破 Break, 危 Danger, 成 Success, 收 Receive, 開 Open, 閉 Close. "Success" days (成) favor signings and new starts; "Break" days (破) are avoided for important undertakings.

Daily Activities (宜忌) — A curated set of recommended (宜, "Do") and discouraged (忌, "Avoid") activities derived from the above markers and the Heavenly Stem of the day. Common 宜 items include: signing contracts, starting a journey, getting a haircut, opening a business. Common 忌 items include: major surgery, lawsuits, moving house on a "Break" day.

What Ming Astra Shows

For each day you view, Ming Astra surfaces the top three 宜 (Do) and top three 忌 (Avoid) activities in plain language, each with a brief explanation so you never need to know the underlying system. Items are colour-coded by Five Element, giving an at-a-glance sense of the day's dominant energy.

Computed, Not Guessed

The almanac computation is deterministic: for any Gregorian date, the algorithm converts to the Chinese lunisolar date, derives the lunar mansion, 12-officer, Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch, and applies the traditional 宜忌 rule tables. No activity list is randomly generated; each entry traces back to a rule in the traditional 黃曆 system, verified against the authoritative Taiwanese 農民曆 yearbook. For self-reflection and cultural entertainment; not professional scheduling advice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does the Chinese almanac work?
The Chinese almanac (黃曆) classifies each day using three overlapping systems: the 28 Lunar Mansions (二十八宿), the 12-Officer Cycle (建除十二神), and the day's Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch. These combine to produce a curated list of recommended (宜) and discouraged (忌) activities. Ming Astra runs this computation deterministically — the same date always produces the same 宜忌.
When is the best day to get married in 2026?
Open the Almanac calendar and look for days marked favourable for weddings (宜 婚嫁) — often Success days (成) with a calm clash picture. Also check how that day's animal sign sits with your own birth-year animal (沖 clash). Ming Astra shows the day's 宜忌 and your personal clash layer; it does not auto-pick a joint date for two people.
Is this the same as Feng Shui?
No. Feng Shui (風水) is about space and placement. The almanac (黃曆) is about timing — which days suit which activities. Related ideas, different tools.
Does the almanac guidance differ by person?
The public 宜忌 list is the same for everyone on a given day. What changes for you is the personal layer: Ming Astra also checks whether today's Earthly Branch clashes with your birth chart. A "good" day on the almanac can still feel rough if it clashes with you — and the other way around.