Today is the 19th day of 11th month of the lunar calendar
And the fourth day of the Winter Solstice so far
Submitted to the power of the Tail (wei) constellation
The lucky sign, Fire, Tuesday, Mars, Tiger. . .
The ancient astrological significance was the heir apparent,
And by extension, the women's apartments
Where the heir apparent would be brought up as a child.

It’s also regarded as that which separates Wood from Water,
The symbolism being a dam, or a wooden boat on which
One is separated from water. It symbolizes (again,
Because of the association with the heir apparent)
Succession and inheritances. . . Yes, this is a fortunate day
For building and negotiating marriages, which will result
In rich descendants. It presages the finding of hidden treasure
And promotion to high office.

Speaking from the point of today’s stellar indication,
Which emerges from the ancient Book of Rites (Li ji),
The lodestar of today, Balance (ping), indicates
The official gathering and equal dividing,
Wedding ceremonies, change of residence,
Cultivating the Dao, or distempering walls –
All such things are fortunate. But avoid cutting,
Planting, excavating ditches or opening sluices.

Wedding receptions, conferences, and business meetings
That were begun yesterday can proceed with confidence.
If they have concluded, now, is the time to sit back and
Contemplate, or make plans for some future events,
Rather than tackle those jobs which were left outstanding –
They will just have to wait a bit longer.
This is the time for sitting back and taking stock.

The First Half of the Day under Fire

Let it be a greatly presented exuberance
Of dominating everywhere heat of Fire!
The storing greatly Fire tends upwards,
Providing things with feed and warmth.

Only snow and ice (Water) of wintertime,
Which lies beneath all and everything,
Can irrigate now and strengthen things,
Exercising integrity to the delight of men.

The great exuberance of dominating heat
Is ensured by coordinated activities
Within the higher level of officials who
Come up to replace the corrupt ministers
In the face of the former ruling house
And their reliable henchmen in many.

Despite the nature of Fire rising upwards,
Its subject feels that his duty is to help the ruler
With the broken environment. Besides,
Fire gives rise to Earth, the ruler’s central post;
Hence, the ‘parent-child’ tight relationship.

In a sense, he takes upon himself the part
Of the previous Water to restore the lost balance
And fix up the situation in governing
By taking a step over the hostile Water,
As it extinguishes Fire -- it is definitely
A sacrificial act of him. On the other hand,
The wintertime (Water) is a season of summarizing
And distribution upon the merits,
When good men are rewarded, but all bad guys
Are punished according to the principle
Of justice and strict discharge of duty.

The Second Half of the Day under Wood

The evergreen tree in the center of the upper capital
Is not the green of forest in the Center of the world.
This means that all due norms of the autumn crop,
A piece of outcome, is overturned now upside down
So long as the green Wood conquers yellow Earth (capital).

The sage ruler makes a fair distribution of rewards
And punishments to elicit the best efforts of his subjects.
The great symbolism of Zhong Fu (61) of the Changes
States that the sage ruler, in full accord with this phase,
Which traditionally is set aside for legal judgments
On the score of cropping, deliberates about cases
Of litigation and delays the infliction of death.
The whole point is about a proper choice he makes
Regarding loyalty and corruption among his men.