Tibetan Astrology

The daily positions of the planets are calculated according to complex arithmetic formulas. The Tibetan mathematical model of the motion of the planets differs greatly from the Indian and Chinese ones.

Buddhism regards time as a nonstatic phenomenon, an interval on an individual mental continuum between the experiences of two sequential events.

The astro sciences of calendar-making, astronomy, astrology, and mathematics touch many aspects of Tibetan life. These sciences play a significant role in the Tibetan medical tradition.

The first and second of the five inclusive features of a Tibetan calendar are the lunar weekday and the date of the lunar month. These are involved in the mech­anism through which the lunar and solar calendars are brought into harmony.

Ten heavenly bodies are treated in the Kalachakra system, all of which are called “planets.” A common feature with the ancient Greek and Hindu systems is the naming of the days of the week after the planets.

An overview of the history of astrology in China and India, how they came to and developed in Tibet and, from there, to Mongolia and Central Asia.

Magic-squares consist of a grid of three by three with numbers in each row and column adding to 15. Each number is correlated with a color and one of the five Chinese elements. In the Tibetan astro system, each year and each date has a magic-square number.

The Tibetan calendar and almanac play a large role in Tibetan life. One of their most important usages is setting the dates for various Buddhist offering ceremonies, tsog.

Examine the contents of the first two chapters as they appear in “The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra” and its commentary, “Stainless Light.” The first concerns the external cycles of time, the second the internal cycles.

The unique Tibetan system of calculations of the lunar weekday and date, used to bring the lunar and solar calendars into harmony, lead to the features of doubled and skipped lunar dates and leap-months, all of which differ from those features in the Chinese and Indian...