The Chinese almanac. A day-by-day record of the calendar's own condition: each date's stem and branch, the Twelve-Day Officer on duty, the animal it clashes with, and the activities the classics mark as favoured or forbidden.
Jian, Chu, Man, Ping, Ding, Zhi, Po, Wei, Cheng, Shou, Kai, Bi. The cycle turns once every twelve days, anchored to the month branch. Each officer names a phase of action — establishing, removing, filling, levelling, settling — and the classics attach a short list of suitable and unsuitable undertakings to each.
Every branch opposes the branch six places away. When the day clashes the branch in your own chart — most importantly your day branch — the day becomes structurally unstable for you regardless of how good the almanac says it is.
The practical use of the almanac is choosing when. Signing, opening, moving, renovating, travelling and marrying each have a preferred officer and a set of days to avoid. A good date does not guarantee the outcome; a bad one adds friction you did not need.
Pick a date to see its day pillar, the officer on duty, what the classics favour and forbid, and the animal the day clashes with. Add your own birth date to check whether the day clashes you personally.
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Officer assignment follows the month branch with solar terms approximated to fixed dates. A printed almanac also carries the constellation on duty, the twenty-eight mansions and clashing spirits, which a full date selection takes into account.