Understanding Tibetan Astrology
The main source for the Tibetan predictive sciences are the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni, recorded in sutras such as the Avatamsaka and tantras such as the Kalachakra and the ancient Indian and Chinese astrological systems.
It has been influenced by the Vedic and Chinese astrological traditions, but even these aspects are interpreted in a distinctly Buddhist context. Buddhism teaches that each individual is in control of his or her own destiny and cannot rely on anyone other than him- or herself to find happiness and peace. The “events” predicted by astrological forecasting are not some substantial external reality which we seek to control, but rather as an opportunity for each individual to develop awareness of the wider universe of complex events and energies that informs one's personal daily activities.
While Tibetan system also works with predicting through natal, or birth, charts, this calendar focuses on three astrological indicators for each day: the elemental balance, the ruling conjunction, and the auspicious combination. By weighing each of these, the calendar user develops an auspiciousness index for each day. The Complete Tibetan Calendar 2004 serves as a daily almanac by providing a daily computation of each of these indices, and provides longer explanations of the general favorable or unfavorable energies indicated by these predictive tools.
Modern day Tibetan astrology uses two main types of calculations: 1) predictions derived from the configuration of elemental and animal signs, drawing on systems of Chinese origin [Tib. byung rtis] and 2) calendar computational, astronomical, astrological, and mathematical computations, drawn from India systems [Tib. skar rtsis].
The first system of astrological calculation, byung rtsis, describes various patterns of events and activities within an hour, day, month, year or multi-year period. These patterns are described using twelve animal signs and five elemental signs. A well-known expression of this system is as an animal and elemental sign for the year, such as the Earth-Tiger year (1998-99).
The sixty possible combinations of animal and element provide names for each year of a Tibetan sixty-year cycle. Animal and elemental signs are also applied to different cycles of time ranging from an individual hour to an entire 180-year.
The second system of temporal calculation, skar rtsis, has some Vedic influences but is considered by Tibetan historiographers to derive from the teachings of the Kalachakra tantra which became widely known in India in the early 11th century. The Kalachakra system connects the movements of heavenly bodies, such as the cycles of the sun and moon, with the activities of an individual person. The rhythms and movements of the astronomical bodies are considered to be an extension of the external and internal self, so that the relationships of the planets and stars, an individual's physical body and the internal complex of his or her emotions are placed in the context of a unified system. This system calculates the combination of the element ruling the lunar constellation with the element of the planet governing each day, to determine the suitability of the day for certain activities.