学 · learn · 周易
The Chinese almanac, and what 宜 / 忌 mean
The 黄历 — the yellow almanac — is the Chinese daily calendar. Every day it lists what the day is 宜 (suitable) for and what it is 忌 (better avoided). It is closer to a weather report than to a rulebook.
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What an almanac page actually contains
A traditional page gives the date in the lunar calendar, the day's stem-branch pair, which animal that day clashes with, and the two lists: 宜 and 忌.
Older almanacs also give the auspicious hours, the direction of the day's fortune, and notes for travel, moving, business and weddings. It is a dense little document.
宜 and 忌 are about tone, not permission
宜 means suitable; 忌 means avoid. The categories tend to be practical — cutting hair, opening a business, signing, moving house, meeting people.
The useful reading is as a description of the day's tone: this is a day for finishing things, or for starting them, or for keeping your head down. It is not a ban.
Why people still check it
Because a reason to choose the day makes a big decision feel less arbitrary — and because checking the almanac is a small ritual that costs thirty seconds.
Plenty of people who do not believe it literally still look, the same way people read the weather forecast for a picnic they are going to hold anyway.
How to use one
Read the 宜 line as the day's open door and the 忌 line as the day's friction, then make your own decision. The almanac gives you the weather; it does not drive the car.
Try it tonight
Today's almanac is written out in plain English, with the day's hexagram underneath.
Read today's almanacQuestions people ask
Is the almanac the same as a horoscope?
No. A horoscope is organised by star sign. The almanac is organised by the calendar itself — the same day is the same day for everyone.
Should I avoid doing things on a 忌 day?
Treat 忌 as friction rather than a prohibition. If it matters, do it — and perhaps with a little more care than usual.
Where does the advice come from?
Centuries of accumulated folk practice, organised under the stem-branch calendar. It is cultural, not scientific, and we read it that way.
Keep reading
Last updated 3 November 2026
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