I previously mentioned that the Summer Triangle always takes centre stage in August which usually coincides with the 7th lunar month. What I didn't mention is that, according to 万年历 (Chinese 10,000 Year Calendar), the 7th day of 7th lunar month is always 房宿 (Room). Today is the 12th day and is always 女宿 (Girl), the constellation where 天津四 (Deneb) is located.
When you read the Chinese 10,000 Year calendar, do be careful. In the olden days, ancient people don't have the luxury of sophisticated calculators, computer software and internet technology that can churn out the exact locations of stars at the click of a few buttons. So they constructed a table that roughly matches a lunar mansion to an entire day:
You will notice that even though 牛宿 (Ox) is mentioned as one of the 7 lunar mansions belonging to '北方玄武' (Northern Tortoise), it does not represent any particular day in the above table. The reason is because certain constellations are larger than others. 'Ox' is a very small / narrow constellation and the Moon transits there only for a few hours. Hence it is integrated into 'Girl' and not considered as equally important. But we know that 河鼓二 (Altair) & 织女一 (Vega) are important bright stars, albeit inauspicious. Personally, I think at least a few hours should be dedicated to Ox in 万年历, if not an entire day.
[The above table is not the only version. There is at least one other version that includes Ox inside its calendar].
For manual tropical & sidereal calculations, the Moon's position is NOT fixed for any day in any lunar month. [It varies greatly in the lunar calendar due to leap months. It varies slightly in the solar calendar due to leap days / years.] For this year, it is @ 16 Capricorn for tropical & corresponds to 牛宿 (Ox). It's @ 21 Sagittarius for sidereal & corresponds to 箕宿 (Winnowing Basket).
Let's see what the 4 mansions mean:
Room: Auspicious day of the Rabbit, bringing prosperity to land. Wealth would fill the hills. Land and property bring happiness and health.
Girl: Auspicious day for celebration. Constructions would flourish. Suitable for marriages and burials. Land & property should be acquired.
Ox: Ox day brings few benefits. All construction and building activities would bring disaster. Use this day for burials and construction. Sell property & assets.
Winnowing Basket: Brings harm to both men and women. Official disputes and gossip would arise. All construction would be unprofitable. Marriage could lead to loneliness and an empty house.
[There are many different versions online regarding the actual current positions of the lunar mansions due to the precession of the equinoxes these few centuries. I personally use the Tropical version. This does not mean that other versions are not valid. Feel free to use whichever works for you.]
I am not suggesting that we don't follow 万年历. I think we should, but I also feel that in this internet age, we can afford to be more accurate. We must evolve.
That being said, the meaning behind these mansions and learning how to work with them are more important than locating their technical positions.
A lot of research is done when it comes to the Sun signs along the solar ecliptic path, but I feel that not enough emphasis is given to the Lunar signs.
