Tibetan astrology (Tibetan : དཀར་རྩིས, Wylie : dkar rtsis) is a traditional discipline of the Tibetan peoples that has dialogued with both Chinese astrology and Indian astrology. Tibetan astrology is one of the 'Ten Sciences' (Wylie: rig-pa'i gnas bcu; Sanskrit: daśavidyā) in the enumeration honoured by this cultural tradition. [1]
The Year-signs cycle in an archetypal progression or continuüm:
| Gregorian year | Tibetan year | Losar* | element and animal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2127 | February 5 – February 7 | iron Dragon (male) |
| 2001 | 2128 | January 24 – January 26 | iron Snake (female) |
| 2002 | 2129 | February 12 – February 14 | water Horse (male) |
| 2003 | 2130 | February 1 – February 3 | water Goat (female) |
| 2004 | 2131 | January 22 – January 24 | wood Monkey (male) |
| 2005 | 2132 | February 9 – February 11 | wood Rooster (female) |
| 2006 | 2133 | January 30 – February 1 | fire Dog (male) |
| 2007 | 2134 | February 18 – February 20 | fire Pig (female) |
| 2008 | 2135 | February 8 – February 10 | earth Rat (male) |
| 2009 | 2136 | January 27 – January 29 | earth Ox (female) |
| 2010 | 2137 | February 12 - February 14 | iron Tiger (male) |
The names of the chapters of the Vaiḍūrya dKar-po (the premier Tibetan text on astrological divination) are :
Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was an tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet. According to some early Tibetan sources like the Testament of Ba, he came to Tibet in the 8th century and helped construct Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. However, little is known about the actual historical figure other than his ties to Vajrayana.
Losar also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location tradition. The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. In 2020, the new year commenced on the 24th of February and celebrations ran until the 26th of the same month. It also commenced the Year of the Male Iron Rat.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, also written as Urgyen Trinley Dorje is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.
The Tibetan calendar, or Tibetan lunar calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement.
Namkhai Norbu was a Tibetan Dzogchen master, Professor of Tibetan and Mongolian Language and Literature at the Naples Eastern University, and a leading authority on Tibetan culture, particularly in the fields of history, literature, traditional religions and Traditional Tibetan medicine.
Shechen Monastery is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was originally located in Kham, Tibet, but was destroyed in the late 1950s during the Cultural Revolution and was rebuilt in Nepal in 1985.
Geshe or geshema is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by the Gelug lineage, but is also awarded in the Sakya and Bön traditions. The equivalent geshema degree is awarded to women.
Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche, is considered by Tibetan Buddhists to be from an important Tulku lineage, a renowned Tertön treasure revealer and a direct incarnation of Padmasambhava and of Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904). He is a Nyingma householder, yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master, and according to disciple Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal is referred to by them as "His Holiness" and as a "master of masters".
Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche was a Dzogchen master and a reclusive yogi known for his great realization and strict discipline. Rinpoche was one of the few living disciples of Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang and was widely regarded as one of the most highly realized Dzogchen yogis. In addition to his relationship with Khenpo Ngagchung, Chatral Sangye Dorje also studied with some of the last century's most renowned masters, including Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, and the famed Kunzang Dekyong Wangmo. Rinpoche was one of the primary lineage holders of the Longchen Nyingthig, and in particular the lineage that descends through Jigme Lingpa's heart son Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu and then on to Patrul Rinpoche.
Dorjidak Gompa or Tupten Dorjidak Dorjé Drak Éwam Chokgar is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and one of the Nyingma school's "Six Mother Monasteries" in Tibet. It is located in the Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region, older southeastern Ü-Tsang.
Palyul Monastery, also known as Palyul Namgyal Jangchub Choling Monastery and sometimes romanized as Pelyul Monastery, is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1665 by Rigzin Kunzang Sherab in Dege, on the eastern edge of Tibet in Kham, a town in today's Baiyü County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's Sichuan province. The monastery is the seat of the Nam Chö Terma of Terton Migyur Dorje. Drubwang Padma Norbu was the 11th throneholder of the Palyul lineage. Upon his mahaparinirvana in March, 2009, Karma Kuchen Rinpoche became the 12th throneholder.
Katok Monastery, also transliterated as Kathok or Kathog Monastery, was founded in 1159 and is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" in Tibet of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, built after Samye Monastery. It is located in Payul, Karze Prefecture, Sichuan, China, known as Kham.
The Tantra of Kalachakra is the basis of Tibetan astronomy. It explains some phenomena in a similar manner as modern astronomy science. Hence, Sun eclipse is described as the Moon passing between the Sun and the Earth.
Gyalpo spirits are one of the eight classes of haughty gods and spirits in Tibetan mythology and religion. Gyalpo, a word which simply means "king" in the Tibetic languages, in Tibetan mythology is used to refer to the Four Heavenly Kings and especially to a class of spirits, both Buddhist and Bon, who may be either malevolent spirits or oath-bound as dharmapalas.
Ma Rinchen Chok, is numbered as one of the twenty-five principal disciples of Padmasambhava. Rinchen Chok was also a senior disciple of Vimalamitra. Rinchen Chok was an important lotsawa in the first wave of translations and was one of the first seven monks ever to be ordained in Tibet by Shantarakshita, known as the 'seven men who were tested'. The ordination lineage was Sarvastivadin.
The Rooster is the tenth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the Earthly Branch symbol 酉.
Kirti Gompa, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery founded in 1472 and located in Ngawa, Sichuan province, in China, but traditionally part of Amdo region. Numerous other associated Kirti monasteries and nunneries are located nearby. As of March 2011, the Kirti Gompa was said to house 2,500 monks. Between 2008 and 2011, mass arrests and patriotic re-education programs by Chinese authorities have targeted the monks, reducing the population substantially to 600 monks. The wave of Tibetan self-immolations began at Kirti Gompa.
Gyurme Dorje was a Scottish Tibetologist and writer.
Lobsang Dolma Khangkar also called Lobsang Dolma or Ama Lobsang Dolma was a 13th generation doctor of traditional Tibetan medicine. She travelled with the Dalai Lama in 1959 from Tibet to India. She was the First woman to become chief physician of the Men-Tsee-Khang. She and the others carried her daughters on their backs into what is now Dharamsala, India: Tsewang Dolkar Khangkar and Pasang Gyalmo Khangkar, succeeded her in the family line of doctors, the Khangkar.
