May 22, 2026 in the Chinese Calendar
May 22, 2026 is a Friday; in the Chinese lunar calendar it is day 6 of the 4th month of the Year of the Fire Horse (四月初六). The day pillar is 丙申 (Bing Shen), a Fire Monkey day, number 33 in the sixty-day cycle. The Day Officer is Balance and the day spirit is Heavenly Punishment: a Black Path day.
Date: May 22, 2026, Friday.
In the lunar calendar this is day 6 of the 4th month (四月初六). The lunar year of the Fire Horse began on February 17, 2026.
Pillars: year 丙午, month 癸巳, day 丙申. Counted from Lichun, this is the Year of the Fire Horse.
Solar term: “Grain Buds” since May 21, 2026 at 08:37; next: “Grain in Ear” on June 5, 2026 at 23:48.
Almanac for the Day
- Day Officer: Balance (平). Traditionally good for: repairs, painting, settling disputes. Not good for: major undertakings.
- Lunar mansion: Ghost · Gui (鬼), inauspicious in the traditional list.
- Day spirit: Heavenly Punishment (天刑) — Black Path (inauspicious).
- Clash with the Tiger (寅): traditionally an unlucky day for people born in the Year of the Tiger. Sha direction: south.
- 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 | 戊子 | Azure Dragon ● | Horse |
| Ox 丑 | 01:00–03:00 | 己丑 | Bright Hall ● | Goat |
| Tiger 寅 | 03:00–05:00 | 庚寅 | Heavenly Punishment ○ | Monkey |
| Rabbit 卯 | 05:00–07:00 | 辛卯 | Vermilion Bird ○ | Rooster |
| Dragon 辰 | 07:00–09:00 | 壬辰 | Golden Coffer ● | Dog |
| Snake 巳 | 09:00–11:00 | 癸巳 | Heavenly Virtue ● | Pig |
| Horse 午 | 11:00–13:00 | 甲午 | White Tiger ○ | Rat |
| Goat 未 | 13:00–15:00 | 乙未 | Jade Hall ● | Ox |
| Monkey 申 | 15:00–17:00 | 丙申 | Heavenly Prison ○ | Tiger |
| Rooster 酉 | 17:00–19:00 | 丁酉 | Black Tortoise ○ | Rabbit |
| Dog 戌 | 19:00–21:00 | 戊戌 | Life Governor ● | Dragon |
| Pig 亥 | 21:00–23:00 | 己亥 | 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 丙申 pairs the Heavenly Stem 丙 with the Earthly Branch 申. The sixty-day cycle runs without a break and ignores months and years, so the same pillar returns exactly 60 days later, on July 21, 2026.
The Day Officer (Balance, 平) is one of the twelve “spirits” of the Tong Shu almanac. It is set by the day branch 申 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 Punishment (天刑) 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 申 stands opposite the branch 寅, the sign of the Tiger. That is why tradition advises people born in a Year of the Tiger not to start anything important on this day. The Sha direction, unfavorable on this day, is south.
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.