May 16, 2026 in the Chinese Calendar
May 16, 2026 is a Saturday; in the Chinese lunar calendar it is day 30 of the 3rd month of the Year of the Fire Horse (三月三十). The day pillar is 庚寅 (Geng Yin), a Metal Tiger day, number 27 in the sixty-day cycle. The Day Officer is Receive and the day spirit is Heavenly Prison: a Black Path day.
Date: May 16, 2026, Saturday.
In the lunar calendar this is day 30 of the 3rd month (三月三十). The lunar year of the Fire Horse began on February 17, 2026.
Pillars: year 丙午, month 癸巳, day 庚寅. Counted from Lichun, this is the Year of the Fire Horse.
Solar term: “Start of Summer” since May 5, 2026 at 19:49; next: “Grain Buds” on May 21, 2026 at 08:37.
Almanac for the Day
- Day Officer: Receive (收). Traditionally good for: harvesting, shopping, collecting debts. Not good for: funerals and medical treatment.
- Lunar mansion: Stomach · Wei (胃), auspicious in the traditional list.
- Day spirit: Heavenly Prison (天牢) — Black Path (inauspicious).
- Clash with the Monkey (申): traditionally an unlucky day for people born in the Year of the Monkey. Sha direction: north.
- Flying stars: 1 for the year, 5 for the month.
The Twelve Hours of the Day
| Hour | Clock time | Pillar | Hour spirit | Clash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat 子 | 23:00–01:00 from the evening before | 丙子 | Azure Dragon ● | Horse |
| Ox 丑 | 01:00–03:00 | 丁丑 | Bright Hall ● | Goat |
| Tiger 寅 | 03:00–05:00 | 戊寅 | Heavenly Punishment ○ | Monkey |
| Rabbit 卯 | 05:00–07:00 | 己卯 | Vermilion Bird ○ | Rooster |
| Dragon 辰 | 07:00–09:00 | 庚辰 | Golden Coffer ● | Dog |
| Snake 巳 | 09:00–11:00 | 辛巳 | Heavenly Virtue ● | Pig |
| Horse 午 | 11:00–13:00 | 壬午 | White Tiger ○ | Rat |
| Goat 未 | 13:00–15:00 | 癸未 | Jade Hall ● | Ox |
| Monkey 申 | 15:00–17:00 | 甲申 | Heavenly Prison ○ | Tiger |
| Rooster 酉 | 17:00–19:00 | 乙酉 | Black Tortoise ○ | Rabbit |
| Dog 戌 | 19:00–21:00 | 丙戌 | Life Governor ● | Dragon |
| Pig 亥 | 21:00–23:00 | 丁亥 | Hooked Array ○ | Snake |
Times are local clock times without a longitude correction and are not converted to another time zone: Beijing time only determines the day itself. The Rat hour (23:00–01:00) begins on the evening before and opens the day. ● means the hour spirit is on the Yellow Path (auspicious), ○ on the Black Path. For exact hour boundaries in your city, use the Chinese hours calculator.
Lists of what a day is good or bad for vary from one almanac to another; the generally accepted meanings of the twelve officers are given here. The calendar is calculated in Beijing time, as in Chinese almanacs.
Yellow Path Hours
The almanac rates not only the day but each of its twelve two-hour periods. On this day the Yellow Path hours are: Rat 子 (23:00–01:00), Ox 丑 (01:00–03:00), Dragon 辰 (07:00–09:00), Snake 巳 (09:00–11:00), Goat 未 (13:00–15:00), Dog 戌 (19:00–21:00). As in the table above, times are given without a longitude correction.
How to Read the Almanac
The day pillar 庚寅 pairs the Heavenly Stem 庚 with the Earthly Branch 寅. The sixty-day cycle runs without a break and ignores months and years, so the same pillar returns exactly 60 days later, on July 15, 2026.
The Day Officer (Receive, 收) is one of the twelve “spirits” of the Tong Shu almanac. It is set by the day branch 寅 relative to the month branch 巳: on the day the two branches match, the officer is Establish, and the others follow in turn.
The day spirit Heavenly Prison (天牢) is one of the six “black” spirits: the almanac advises against choosing Black Path days for important undertakings. The same scheme applies to hours: in the table above, ● marks Yellow Path hours and ○ Black Path hours.
The day branch 寅 stands opposite the branch 申, the sign of the Monkey. That is why tradition advises people born in a Year of the Monkey not to start anything important on this day. The Sha direction, unfavorable on this day, is north.
You can open any other date in the Chinese calendar, see the whole month as a table on the May 2026 page, and find exact hour boundaries for your city with the Chinese hours calculator.
To pick a day for a specific purpose — moving house, a wedding, opening a business or a trip — use the Chinese calendar date selection: it checks every day against the almanac rules and your birth dates.
An Honest Look at the Method
The dates here are calculated precisely: new moons and solar terms from astronomical tables, cycles by the rules of the tradition. The almanac's recommendations remain tradition: different editions of the Tong Shu have different “good for / bad for” lists, and there is no verifiable evidence that they work.