Chinese almanac · 擇日
Date Selection
Find a day that fits your plans. Explore the calendar, compare traditional day qualities, and look closer at the hours.
General almanac · Chinese calendar (UTC+8) · Zodiac checks use the selected animal only.
Activity matchCaution markerSelect a day for details
A little intention goes a long way.
Choose an activity above to highlight candidate dates throughout the month.
The day's foundation
This day in the Chinese calendar
Heavenly stems & earthly branches
4 May 2040
Day
壬辰Ren ChenYang Water DragonMonth
庚辰Geng ChenYang Metal DragonYear
庚申Geng ShenYang Metal Monkey28 lunar mansions · 二十八宿
Ghost Guǐ
South · Vermilion Bird 朱雀 · 23 of 28
Traditionally suited to
Burials
Traditionally less suited to
Weddings; building; waterworks
Mansion guidance is informational and does not change activity matches. The daily almanac cycle changes at midnight (UTC+8); it describes a traditional calendar assignment, not the Moon's current position.
About this reading
These short activity notes summarise traditional daily-mansion verses. “Mixed” means the verse supports some activities and cautions against others. “Supportive” and “Caution” describe the mansion's register, not an overall rating for this date. Read it together with the day officer and day markers.
Read the traditional verses (Chinese). The 28-day sequence includes Ox and continues through lunar months and leap days. Other mansion traditions can assign different results. The hourly pillar's 23:00 rollover does not change this midnight-based mansion.
A closer look
Hours of the day
Traditional two-hour periods, split at midnight. The 23:00 Rat hour begins the next day's cycle. Times use UTC+8, without local solar-time correction.
| Time (UTC+8) | Hour pillar | Hour deity | Traditional quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00–00:59 | 庚子 Geng ZiRat | Sky Jail 天牢 | Use care |
| 01:00–02:59 | 辛丑 Xin ChouOx | Black Tortoise 玄武 | Use care |
| 03:00–04:59 | 壬寅 Ren YinTiger | Life Governor 司命 | Favourable deity |
| 05:00–06:59 | 癸卯 Gui MaoRabbit | Grappling Hook 勾陳 | Use care |
| 07:00–08:59 | 甲辰 Jia ChenDragon | Green Dragon 青龍 | Favourable deity |
| 09:00–10:59 | 乙巳 Yi SiSnake | Bright Hall 明堂 | Favourable deity |
| 11:00–12:59 | 丙午 Bing WuHorse | Heavenly Punishment 天刑 | Use care |
| 13:00–14:59 | 丁未 Ding WeiGoat | Red Phoenix 朱雀 | Use care |
| 15:00–16:59 | 戊申 Wu ShenMonkey | Golden Lock 金匱 | Favourable deity |
| 17:00–18:59 | 己酉 Ji YouRooster | Precious Light 寶光 | Favourable deity |
| 19:00–20:59 | 庚戌 Geng XuDog | White Tiger 白虎 | Use careClashes with day branch |
| 21:00–22:59 | 辛亥 Xin HaiPig | Jade Hall 玉堂 | Favourable deity |
| 23:00–23:59Next day's cycle | 壬子 Ren ZiRat | White Tiger 白虎 | Use care |
How to read this calendar
This is a general traditional date-selection guide, not a prediction or a complete personal BaZi analysis. Activity matches use a simple mapping of the twelve day officers. They exclude year and month breakers, Calamity Sha, Yang Gong Disaster Days, and selected zodiac clashes. The day deity is shown separately and does not determine the activity filter.
Month breaker (月破, Yue Po) means the day branch clashes with the solar month branch: for example, a Rat day in a Horse month. Horse month runs from Grain in Ear to Minor Heat, roughly early June to early July. Year breaker (歲破, Sui Po) is the equivalent clash with the year branch.
Calamity Sha (災煞, Zai Sha) uses the current year branch here: Tiger/Horse/Dog years mark Rat days; Monkey/Rat/Dragon years mark Horse days; Snake/Rooster/Ox years mark Rabbit days; Pig/Rabbit/Goat years mark Rooster days. This is the annual rule, not a natal or monthly Calamity Sha calculation.
Yang Gong Disaster Days (楊公忌) use 13 fixed lunar dates: 1/13, 2/11, 3/9, 4/7, 5/5, 6/3, 7/1, 7/29, 8/27, 9/25, 10/23, 11/21, and 12/19 (month/day). This calendar applies them to regular lunar months; it does not repeat them in leap months.
Lunar dates and pillars use the Chinese calendar in UTC+8. The year pillar changes at Start of Spring; month pillars follow solar terms. All 24 solar terms are marked at their calculated times, rounded to the nearest minute. White Dew and Cold Dew begin solar months; Autumn Equinox and Frost Descent are mid-month terms. On transition dates, the day reading uses the calendar library's date-level month rather than switching at the displayed time. Hour deities use the traditional twelve-deity cycle, with the day changing at 23:00. Different almanac schools may give different advice.
References: Twelve day officers · Traditional deity cycle · Chinese calendar calculations · Solar terms · Yang Gong dates.