What is the meaning of 令 in 令和?

In Japanese 令 is used to write Reiwa 令和, the name of the Japanese era that began 1 May 2019. However, according to official proclamations, in 令和 the graph should not be read with its main meaning “order; command,” but either with the classical and poetic meaning that 令 has in the poem from which 令和 was taken, or, even more freely, expanding that into thinking about positive expectations for the future. The original poem starts with “時に、初春の令月にして...,” which can be translated as “It was in the beginning of spring, in a lovely month...” with 令 modifying “month” 月. Translated to modern, 令 should be then taken as “beautiful, lovely”.¹