Key for Consulting the Tibetan Calendar. Tibetan Buddhism... · CHOGYALNAMKHAINORBU KEY FOR...
Transcript of Key for Consulting the Tibetan Calendar. Tibetan Buddhism... · CHOGYALNAMKHAINORBU KEY FOR...
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Series of Tibetan Astrology
159E
CHOGYALNAMKHAINORBU
KEY
FOR CONSULTING
THE TIBETAN CALENDAR
Edited by M. Rita Leti
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Shang Shung Edizioni
Translated from Italian by Alison Duguid
Cover by Paolo Fassoli and Fulvio Ferrari
Cover photo from a tangka by courtesy ofMerigar Shop
© 2003 Shang Shung Edizioni - Second edition
Associazione Culturale Comunita Dzogchen
Merigar, 58031 Arcidosso GR
Tel. 0564 966039
e mail: [email protected]
All rights of translation, reproduction and partial or total use in any form
whatsoever are reserved in any countries.
IPC - 268EN03 - Approved by the International Publications Committee of the
Dzogchen Community founded by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION BY M. R. LETI 9
The Origins of Tibetan Astrology 11
The Bon Astrological System, the 180 Year Cycle 13
Chinese Influences, the Eight Trigrams 15
Indian Influences, the Kalachakra 16
How to Consult the Calendar 21
1. The Lunar Date 21
2. Planets and Constellations 22
3. The Element- Symbolic Animal Cycle 24
4. The Mewas 25
The Interpretation ofDates 27
1. Minor, Major and Particular Combinations 27
2. Individual Aspects 28
3. Secondary Aspects 30
4. The Manual 31
KEY FOR CONSULTING
THE TIBET AN CALENDAR
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Tibetan Calendar
The Five Elements, Jungtsi System
The Four Elements, Kartsi System
Combining the Elements with the 12 Years
How to Calculate One's Age
The Beginning of the Tibetan Year
Table ofTibetan New Year Dates
The Months
The Date
The Days
The Time of Day
5
37
38
40
41
42
43
44
48
50
51
54
DETAILED INFORMATION
The Days ofthe Week 57
Sunday 58
Monday 60
Tuesday 62
Wednesday 64
Thursday 66
Friday 68
Saturday 70
The Constellations 72
List of Constellations 73
Constellations That Bring Prosperity 76
Summary Table of the Elements of the Planets and the Constellations 78
Influence of the Days of the Week and the Constellations
on an Individual 79
Table ofindividual Planets and Constellations 81
THE COMBINATIONS OF PLANETS AND
CONSTELLATIONS
Minor Combinations
Major Combinations
Table of Major Combinations
Significance of Each of the Major Combinations
Particular Combinations
Combinations of Planets with Dates
THE TWELVE SYMBOLIC ANIMALS,
EFFECTS OF THE 12 ANIMALS ON THE DAY
Tiger
Hare
6
85
89
90
91
97
100
103
104
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Sheep
Monkey
Bird
Dog
Boar
Mouse
Ox
The Relationship Between One's Personal Element
and the Element of the Day
THEMEWA
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
116
The Mewa 121
Table of the Mewa Cycle 124
Characteristics of the 9 Numbers ofthe Mewa Cycle 125
Significance of the Mewa 126
Calculation of the Mewa of the Year of Birth 128
How to Check the Mew a of Birth Against that of the Day 128
Final Considerations 129
LIST OF TABLES
In order to make consulting the key easy, here is a separate list of all the tables
necessGiy for making calculations.
Table of the Beginning of the Tibetan Year
Summary Table of the Element of the Planets and
Constellations
Table of Individual Planets
Table of Individual Constellations
Table of Major Combinations
Table of Particular Combinations
Table of the Mewa Cycle
7
44
78
81
81
90
97
124
INTRODUCTION
by Maria Rita Leti
This brief text came out of a course held by Chogyal Namkhai
Norbu in Rome at the beginning of the 1980s as part of a seminar on
Tibetan Medicine and Astrology. It represents a precious and indeed
unique contribution towards an understanding of the value of the
ancient knowledge ofTibetan astrology.
The Key.for Consulting the Tibetan Calendar aims to act as an
introduction to the Tibetan astrological universe, so different from ours in its complex and fascinating richness. At the same time, it can serve as a useful instrument to guide those who understand how closely our lives are linked to the warp and weft of the movements of the universe, in the general interdependence of all phenomena.
I believe that in order to understand the subtle nature of this vi
sion, one needs to abandon the unilateral idea which is usually so
deeply rooted in our minds: that of the sovereignty- I am tempted to
say the tyranny- of the celestial influences. As if reality travelled on
parallel tracks, the stars up above and our lives down below; the
sun, the moon, the constellations, the galaxies; our loves, pains, busi
ness, and diverse problems; the latter under the influence of the
former; ourselves in the hands of an indifferent mathematical sky.
The truth is much richer and the intersection is much subtler and
deeper.
One needs to shift one's vision towards the centre, to look into
the magic mitTor where everything is reflected with impartial per
fection. We are this universe in which everything moves, expands
and is transfonned into something else, a universe which dances to
the rhythm of fundamental elements, an immense space/time dance of manifestation.
9
There is no alien universe out there, but rather a continuous inter
relation, an inter-play of reflections, a perfect connection. Pythagoras spoke of the harmony of the spheres referring to the sounds emitted
by the celestial bodies in their astral revolutions. We cannot affirm
this concept if we cannot understand that we, with our conscious
ness, our thoughts and desires, our sleep at night and our reawakening in the morning- we are that music. If it were not so, it would make
no sense to speak of an astrology of the elements. Air, Fire, Earth,
Metal, Water are all modes of reality, both material reality as well as
a more subtle reality. They define the quality of the energy of both
the physical concrete universe as well as the inner universe: actu
ally both the visible manifestations and mental tendencies are noth
ing other than colour, sound, light. On this basis it is possible to begin to understand why Tibetan astrology puts side by side an astrology linked to the planets and constellations and an astrology linked to the elements; in fact they are complementary fields.
Certainly you will hear talk of favourable, unfavourable and neutral constellations, of good and bad days, but it would be a mistake to take it all in any absolute sense. The complex of influxes which determine the global energy of a certain date is something which, like a ray of light projected through different materials, penetrates
the whole of existence, and thus our existence too, refracting in dif
ferent ways according to the density of what is encountered.
This all-pervading ray touches everything: the scintillating stel
lar material and the opaque density of a planet, the flow of our emo
tions and the balance of our bodies, the clouds in the sky and the
shoots underground, the transparency of glass and the quality of the
transparency of the sky. In its essences it is neither good nor bad, it
is only different; it vibrates harmoniously with certain elements,
certain qualities or certain actions, and inharmoniously with others.
The main use of an astrological calendar is that of helping us not to be inharmonious.
None of us, when in a hurry, would dream of going the wrong
10
way up a one-way street in a car, or shooting a red light while at the
same time choosing the longest route to our destination: it would be
a senseless and contradictory behaviour or worse suicidal. And yet
even if this would obviously be absurd in relation to space, some
times that is indeed what we do in relation to time when we carry
out certain actions. Amid our distractions and carelessness we ig
nore all the signals and we hurtle with apparent assurance towards
virtually certain failure.
A calendar such as this one uses the knowledge and the synthesis
of a thousand years of culture, even if we have forgotten it all. It is a
tool which enables us to rediscover, at least in part, how we fit in
with that universal energy and with that cosmos of which we are the
living image and a part, a more intense and more intimate part than
we are usually prepared to believe.
The Origins of Tibetan Astrology
Tibetan astrology is a complex system which has its roots in the
ancient Bon culture which was dominant in Tibet and in some of the
border regions of central Asia before the advent of Buddhism. This
culture was in possession of refined and subtle ways of controlling
energy (the term used to signify an astrologer was 'he who knows
how to control existence'). Onto its flourishing trunk various differ
ent notions were grafted from both China and India and, through the
latter, also from Persia and Greece. The synthesis which fonned
over the centuries gave birth to a composite and versatile system
which is organised into two distinct parts: the astrology of the ele
ments, or Jungtsi, and an astronomical planetary astrology known
as Kartsi.
At the crossroads between such very different cultures, and such
very different approaches to reality, Tibet has achieved a miracu
lous grafting between the ancient and primeval trunk of astrological
II
knowledge. That part whose origins are lost in the mists of time, and that which was introduced at a later date from China, principally at the time of the king Songtsen Gampo in the VII century AD and
even later from India. According to the original Bon tradition, the main source of astro
logical and medical teachings (these two sciences are in fact for the Tibetans intimately interconnected) was the great sage Shenrab Miwoche. He lived, it is said, five hundred years before Buddha
Shakyamuni in the ancient kingdom of Shang Shung in the region of western Tibet where the sacred mountain of Mount Kailash rises.
But on a more careful analysis of traditional texts and historical sources, one discovers that Shenrab Miwoche transmitted a body of
knowledge which is far more ancient, and that the date of his birth could actually be set much earlier - to at least 1917 BC.'
Thus the astrological knowledge that the Bonpos - priests, astrologers, etc. -practiced and taught was widespread in Tibet and in
Shang Shung from very far distant times. Perhaps even as far back
as the time (more or less traceable in all mythologies) when the
human life span was much, much longer than it is today. Astrolo
gers were specialists in detennining both the inter-currents of rela
tionships between the inner energy of the individual and the outer
energy of places and spaces, and the interactions of temporal cycles.
The foundations of their science was a deep and comprehensive
understanding of the functions ofthe five elements.
1 Cfr. Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Drung, Deu and Bon, L TWA, Dharamsala 1995.
12
The Bon Astrological System: the 180 Year Cycle
The Bon astrological system was based on the interaction of three cyclical factors: five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water),
twelve symbolic animals (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake,
Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar), and nine numbers or
Mew as.
The twelve symbolic animals (each of which dominates over
one year) are associated with each of the five elements (which reign
for two consecutive years, the first being considered male and the
second female). Thus a cycle of 60 years is obtained, called a Metreng
or necklace of Mewas (5x 12=60). The table which illustrates this
cycle is to be found on page 39.
The animal element of each year is then further associated with a
number from 1 to 9 and this detennines an even wider cycle of 180
years called a Menkhor or wheel of the Mewas. Each Menkhor is
made up of three complete cycles of sixty years, Metreng 1, 2 and 3.
The cycle of 180 years fonns a basic unit of time, much like a
century is considered in the West. Historical events or births and
deaths of important people are placed according to the element-ani
mal of the year and according to the placing of the latter in Metreng
I, 2 or 3, inside a particular Menkhor. Over the whole 180 year
cycle there is only one possible combination of element-animal-num
ber. 1997 is a year of the Fire-Ox-3, and exactly 180 years will have
to pass before we will have the same combination again (in 2177).
In 60 years time there will be another Fire-Ox year (in 2057) but it
will be with Mewa 6. On page 122 you can find a complete table of
the Mewa cycle: 1997 appears in the fourth last line in second posi
tion (which corresponds to the vet1ical column of the Ox) with this
sign &,, where the triangle indicates the element of the year, that is
Fire, and the number 3 inside the triangle indicates the Mewa of the
year. 1998 will be indicated in the space immediately after this one
13
with the sign [I] (or column of the Tiger, element Earth, Mewa 2.
1998 was an Earth-Tiger year.
In this way it is possible to read the whole chart quite easily and
to find the symbolic animal, element and number for any year past
or future. It is enough to remember that we are in the Metreng 3 of
the cycle ofMewas (Menkhor) which goes from 1864 to 2043. From
2044, a new 180 cycle will begin with the year Wood-Rat-1 (the
first at the top) and all will be repeated according to the pattern up to
2223. Feel dizzy? 180 years are nothing from the point of view of
the universe.
But if you would feel more secure with your feet firmly on the
ground of the past - which seems a bit more solid - you might find significant cmTespondences by going further into the study of the
cycle preceding this one ( 1684-1863) or earlier ones. Since the ele
ment-animal-number combinations are not mere abstract concepts
but actually define a specific kind of energy, you might discover
some interesting facts.
Like three circles rotating one inside the other, each with a differ
ent time and speed, determining different configurations at different
times, each year will leave a peculiar imprinting of this triple pat
tern. The element-animal-number system does not merely define
the characteristics of the year but also reflects on the minor time
cycles within it. Thus we have an element-animal-number for each
month, day and even each hour of the day.
Still, the way in which the animals, elements and numbers fol
low on one from another varies according to different laws for each
cycle. Thus the cycle of months does not begin with the Rat, the
cycle of days begins differently according to whether the month is
even or odd, and the elements do not follow on from each other with each one repeated twice and so on. Infonnation about such details is
contained in the first part of the book. Obviously the topic consists
of much, much more; this is but a mere beginning. Each animal has
its own intrinsic element which expresses its essence and which never
14
changes, and which is different from the cyclical element associated with each year.
The same is true of the nine numbers or Mewas, each of which symbolises specific characteristics and is associated with a particu
lar element, which determines its character (a table of such corre
spondences is to be found on page 123).
In addition, the Mewas are normally arranged in a magic square
(which can be found in the later Arabic astrological system and which
is known in the West as the magic square of Saturn). Here, the num
bers in the rows columns and diagonals all add up to the number 15.
This determines, amongst other things, the association with a posi
tion and, automatically, an orientation in space, while the colour
represents the element intrinsic to each number. This table of the
Mewas with the nine coloured numbers arranged in a magic square
was considered so impmtant that it represents the symbol of astrology itself and as such can be found in all the tangkas representing astrological subjects. An example can be found on the cover of this book in which the symbol of the Mewa appears at the centre of the picture with the numbers in Tibetan written in a circle: this is the
heart, the radiating centre of the entire Bon astrological system.
Chinese Influences, the Eight Trigrams
Onto this original astrological base a similar system was easily
grafted, the Chinese system, which is in its tum a system based on the elements. From the VII century AD, under the Tibetan king
Songtsen Gampo, Tibet had many contacts with China and India.
One of Songtsen Gampo's wives was Chinese and expert in astrol
ogy, and it was at this time that many of the Chinese astrological
notions were adopted into astrology and medicine in Tibet.
One particularly important contribution was from the system of
the eight Parkhas or Trigrams. Although the Parkhas were already
15
known in ancient times in the kingdom of Shang Shung and were
part of the so called Kabtse astrology ,'of the hidden points' (which
analysed the 360 days of the year or horoscope 'degrees' according
to the Element, the Mew a and the specific Parkha of each day), Chi
nese astrology had developed the system ofTrigrams considerably.
Each Trigram represented a spirit or divinity, and was arranged
in a precise order fanning with all the others a kind of family, with
a father, a mother, older daughter and son, middle daughter and son
and younger daughter and son. These eight Trigrams - with their
respective relationships and complementary principles of yin and
yang - are the same on which the I Ching or Book of Changes is
based, a well-known work even in the West. Each Trigram is associ
ated with a year, determining a particular temporal cycle which per
mits a series of calculations, particularly with respect to the drawing
up of personal horoscopes. Like the Mewa, each Parkha is associ
ated with a colour and element, which however do not coincide with those of the Mew as.
In the astrological tables the Parkhas are usually represented in a
circle around the nine Mewas. These add a further series of vari
ables which the Tibetan astrologist takes into account in calculating
auspicious moments for an individual, especially the most signifi
cant events of life such as marriage, surgical operations, birth and
even calculations concerning the time of death.
Indian Influences, the Kalachakra
The astronomical basis of the Tibetan astrological system derives
essentially from the famous Kalachakra Tantra or Tantra of the
Cycles of Time, which was first translated from Sanskrit into Ti
betan in the Fire-Hare year which corresponds to 1027. Between the
XI and XII centuries, a period in which the whole of the Tibetan
) ()
astrological system was re-elaborated, the Kalachakra, together with the famous Abbreviated Kalachakra (Laghutantra) and its commentaries, were retranslated many times by a variety of translators and teachers.
In the Kalachakra Tantra, one of the greatest expressions ofBuddhist thought, three different time cycles are presented: external, internal and alternative. The external cycles deal with the movement of the planets and the stars in the sky, and the various cycles or subdivision of time which derive from this in tenns of years, months, days and so on. The internal cycles deal with the cycles of energy
and breathing in the human body, which are parallel to those of the
external world: that is, to the cosmic cycles.
The alternative cycles consist of the various meditational prac
tices of the system of divinities of the Kalachakra. These have the purpose of achieving control over the other two cycles: the internal and external cycles being linked to individual and collective impulses of energy (kanna). Here one attempts to purify oneself so as not to be dominated by the influence of the internal and external situations recuning in uncontrolled fashion, in order to be able to
realise one's potential fully for the benefit of all beings.
It is in concomitance with the treatment of the external cycles of
time that the Kalachakra Tantra shows the laws of the movement of
the Universe, the ephemeral aspects and also the calculations of the
calendar and the almanac.2
The Kalachakra too organises time in cycles of 60 years, called the 60 Rabjung, which derive from a planetary calculation (the five orbits of 12 years each ofJupiter, or the 'cycle ofJupiter', Brhaspati
in Indian literature).
However the two different cycles of sixty years, that of the J ungtsi
astrology (of the elements) and that of the Kartsi (deriving from the
Kalachakra) do not coincide exactly, having a three year discrep-
2 Alexander Berzin, An Introduction to Tibetan Astronomy and Astrology, in "Tibet Journal", vol. 12, n. 1, Dharamsala, Spring 1987.
17
ancy at the beginning of the cycle. This difference is reflected in the
minor cycles of months and days, and this explains why there is
more than one New Year in the Tibetan tradition (that is different
dates for the beginning of the year). The difference depends on whether one is referring to the Jungtsi tradition, or the official tradi
tion known as the Tibetan and Mongol tradition, or that of the
Kalachakra. Thus the year begins respectively with Tiger, Dragon
or Horse. There is another difference between the Jungtsi and Kartsi as
trology to bear in mind. While the first uses a cycle of five elements,
the second takes into consideration only four elements, but this, as
will be explained later, does not make for any real difficulties in calculation or understanding.
In the calendar, the two systems are integrated and fused together
and in the interpretative key the system being referred to is clearly
stated.
To a linear mind this parallel presentation of more than one inter
pretative system might seem to be a disadvantage since it demands
initial training in order to be able to 'tune in'. However, it can also
come to be seen as a precious and rich source since it permits spe
cific and differentiated calculations leading to very subtle determi
nations of energy. One needs to avoid 'creative' deductions which
can lead to erroneous conclusions and to adhere strictly to what is in
the text.
The first section of the Kalachakra, dealing with the outer cycles,
forms the astronomical basis for the Kartsi astrology. It allows for
the construction of the famous annual almanac from which the calendar is derived, with all the daily positions of the constellations, of the planets and the signs of the zodiac.
It is necessary at this point to clarify that when we talk of the zodiac we are not referring to the cycle of the 12 symbolic animals
of the Jungsti astrology system, (Rat, Ox, Tiger etc.) but to the zo-
18
diac signs which are analogous to those used in the West (Aries,
Taurus, Gemini etc.) and to the position of the sun. Within the Ti
betan astrological system there is a section called tiijor, which literally means 'combination of time', 'period' or 'zodiac' and which
studies how the sun passes through the various houses.
It is through the mediation of the classic Hindu systems that one can explain the fact that the Tibetan conception shares some charac
teristics with the ancient Greek astrological system, such as the di
vision of the zodiac into 12 houses or signs. The signs have the
same names as are used in modern astrology but they are called
'houses' (khyim), while the houses are called 'periods' (tiijor). Thus
the zodiac signs are still related to the position of the sun and for this
reason are not considered in the traditional Tibetan calendar which
is a lunar calendar based on the position of the moon and not on the sun as in the Western calendar. This is not so strange if one remem
bers that there is a lunar calendar in the West which is responsible for movable feasts such as Carnival and Easter.
A lunar calendar takes the positions and phases of the moon as its
main points of reference. The plan of the zodiac is subdivided into
27 lunar houses, called constellations (gyukar), and each is divided
into 60 degrees. Each degree conesponds to 60 minutes. It is thus
very easy to determine the effective lunar positions which occur.
This is why when the moon stays for a short time in one house, it
misses a day and when it stays for a very long time, the day is doubled
(the lunar date at this point is the equivalent of two solar days).
From what has been outlined so far it should be possible to un
derstand the main outlines of the Tibetan calendar. It developed out
of two different astrological traditions which were not simply juxta
posed but rather combined into a coherent system and appear like a
whole ripe juicy fruit, ready to deliver its flavour and the seeds of
knowledge. The astrology of the elements is the flesh of which it is
made, the planetary astrology is the taut skin which holds the fruit
19
together. The elements that are associated with each symbol, each
number, each planet and star are the beating heart inside this world
of correspondences, relations and confrontations. The global degree of affinity of the meeting of the systems deter
mines the harmony of the flow of energy which beats on our subtle
senses, an energy that often, locked within the isolation of our indi
viduality and our annouring, we are unable to decipher and under
stand. The energy is all around us and within us, indeed it makes no
distinction between inside and outside.
20
How to Consult the Calendar
1. The Lunar Date
The Tibetan calendar is a lunar calendar, that is to say it is based
on the moon and its phases. Each month corresponds to a complete lunar cycle, from the first
day of the waxing moon to the last day of the waning moon. The
first day of the new moon is always the first day of the month (or
day 1) and the last day of the moon is always the last day (or day
30).
At the middle of the month we have the full moon, a watershed
between the ascending flow and the descending flow of energy. The
day of the full moon is always day 15, and the last day, day 30.
These are fixed terms. The lunar calendar is always made up of 30 lunar days and the
associations day 15 (full moon) and day 30 (new moon) are fixed
points.
The lunar days can also be indicated by ordinal numbers - first
day, second day, third day, tenth day. Ifl say 'the seventeenth day' I
know immediately that it is a day of the waning moon because it
occurs after the fifteenth day, which is the full moon.
Each lunar day could cover two solar days (double days) or vice
versa, that is to say, a day can be skipped: in this case we have what
is called an 'empty day', or rather a virtual day which does not cor
respond to any solar day and is thus empty. For example, the 16'" of
December 1996 corresponded to the sixth lunar day and the 17'" of
December to the eighth day; the seventh day was thus 'empty'.
Double days and empty days are calculated as we mentioned above,
according to the actual time the moon takes to pass through one of
the lunar houses. In each case the calendar marks them clearly. In
the Tibetan year (its duration is variable since New Year's Day is
21
not a fixed date) there is only one month in which the days follow on
without skipping or redoubling and for this it is called the 'auspi
cious month'. Months can be repeated and so there can be two successive lunar
months with the same number. Next to each lunar date (or Tibetan date) the corresponding solar
day, that is the Western date, is usually given expressed as a date
and month, (for example 91" January) so it is easy to find one's way
around.
The day does not start at midnight as it does in the Western calen
dar but rather at dawn. For example, the 81" February goes from dawn on the 81" to the dawn of the next day. Two o'clock in the morning of the 81" February thus belongs to the previous day (because it is bound to be before dawn); in this way all astrological dates referring to such a time belong to the preceding day.
2. Planets and Constellations
In the calendar, immediately after the lunar date (the Tibetan date),
the Western date and the day of the week is also marked, which
corresponds to the Western version. When it is Thursday in Rome it
is also the case in Munich or Beijing (obviously the time difference
has to be taken into account). If February starts on a Saturday then
in the Tibetan calendar you will see the number which corresponds
to Saturday.
Each day of the week is marked by a number: number I con·esponds to Sunday (which is considered to be the first day of the
week), 2 corresponds to Monday, 3 to Tuesday, 4 to Wednesday, 5 to
Thursday, 6 to Friday and zero to Saturday, because it is the last day of the week. In the Tibetan system, zero always corresponds to the
end of a cycle: and this is why Saturday is marked with a zero rather than the number 7. These correspondences are all fixed.
22
Each day of the week or 'planet' has a specific element corre
sponding to it which does not change: thus Sunday is always con
nected to Fire, Monday to Water, and so on. The table with such
correspondences can be found on page 55.
The s
A D means Wood and corresponds to the green colour;
the sign stands for Fire and cotTesponds to the red colour; the
sign D stands for Earth and corresponds to the yellow colour; the
sign Oindicates Iron or Metal and corresponds to the white colour,
and the sign Qstands for Water and corresponds to the blue colour.
The days of the week are usually called 'planets', so when you
come across this word you need to think at once of the days of the
week. As for the calendar, the planets which are taken into consider
ation are the seven found in classical astrology, that is, Sun, Moon,
Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
The term 'constellation' or 'star' on the other hand, is used to
indicate a cycle of27 lunar houses that the moon goes through in its
various phases. The 27th constellation is marked in the calendar
with a 0 because it is the last one in the cycle. After constellation 0
we go back to constellation number 1 and the cycle continues again
in this way. Constellation number 21 is a double one and indicates
two different constellations which appear in alternation, but not regu
larly, and never together in the same sky; they are called 21 a and
21 b, so in effect there are 28 constellations.
In the same way as for the planets, each constellation corresponds
to an intrinsic element. The list of constellations, with their Tibetan
names (which indicate constellations that we are familiar with, such
as the Great Bear), the corresponding elements and the graphic sym
bols which represent them, can be found on page 71, while a useful
summary table can be found on page 76, which gives all the ele
ments of the planets and constellations.
In effect there are two tables but the one used in calculating the
combinations (about which more will be said later) is the first, that
which follows the Kartsi system with only four elements.
23
The planets and the constellations are extremely important in the
astrological interpretation of a date because it is by comparing them
reciprocally that both the minor combination and the major combi
nation are achieved.
3. The Element - Symbolic Animal Cycle
For each lunar date the association of the element and the sym
bolic animal dominating it is given. These associations are not fixed
but determined each time by the simultaneous but independent flow
of the series of elements. These, in the Chinese Jungtsi, unlike in the
original Jungtsi system from Shang Shung, are repeated twice each
consecutively, thus giving a series often elements, together with the
series of symbolic animals. Here the elements are indicated explic
itly in the calendar by their signs.
In this case, five elements are considered according to the Jungtsi
system, which the element-animal cycle comes from. It is analo
gous to the great sixty year cycle explained above.
The differences between the Jungtsi and Kartsi systems, with re
spect to the number and meaning of the elements, are as follows:
-The symbolO, which in Kartsi astrology indicates Air, in Jung
tsi indicates the element Wood, which has similar meanings. Wood
is to be understood as being the living tree which grows and changes
continuously, and thus the term retains the sense of utter mobility
and penetration associated with the element Air.
-The symbol 0, in Jungtsi astrology stands for Metal or Iron, which is considered to be the essence of earth, a kind of earth
'squared', since it brings out the qualities of being compact, solid,
fixed and magnetic. Metal is found at the centre of the Earth and can
be considered to be the heart of the earth. In Kartsi astrology, the
Metal is simply assimilated into the Earth itself.
The twelve symbolic animals are indicated with a number from 1
24
to 12 as in the cycle of 12 years ( 1 Rat; 2 Ox; 3 Tiger; 4 Hare; and so
on. See the chart on page 35). The element-animal cycle provides other factors of interpreta
tion when related to a particular date, both for the characteristics
associated with each individual animal (see the interpretation chart
at the end of the book), and for the relationship between the ele
ments of the day and the year of the person's birth.
With reference to this particular aspect one needs to know how to
compare the two elements. At page 37 all the possible relationships
an element can have with all the others are systematically indicated;
attention is paid to the vertex which takes its name from the element
which inte�ests us. By following the arrows we can discover which
is the mother element, which the son, the friend and the enemy of
the element we are interested in. In order to be able to interpret it, it
is enough to remember that if the element of the day is mother or friend to one's own personal element, this is a favourable condition; if it is child, then it is a neutral condition and if it is enemy then this is an unfavourable condition (see page 114).
4. TheMewa
The Mewa of any one day is indicated with a number between 1
and 9. Each Mewa, as for each planet and each constellation, corre
sponds to an intrinsic element and thus a specific colour and has
particular characteristics.
In order to evaluate the Mewa of the day one can take into con
sideration both the general character of the Mewa, and the relation
ship between the element associated with the Mewa in question, and the element of the Mewa of one's own birth date.
If you do not know the Mewa of your birth date it is easy to find.
For example the Fire-Ox year began on the 8111 of February 1997 and
25
has the Mew a 3. The Mew as proceed from year to year in reverse
order (after 3 you get 2 then I then 9 then 8 and so on), so the pre
ceding year to that of the Fire-Ox-3 year will have had the Mewa 4,
the one before that 5 and so on. So it is possible to get back to the
Mewa of the Tibetan year associated with your birth date. Otherwise you can simply consult the Menkhor table on page 122.
Obviously you will have to bear in mind that the Tibetan year
does not begin on the first of January but on a day which varies
between January and March, so it is necessary to check the date of
the beginning of the new year for each particular year using the
chart on page 42. For example a person born on the 4t11 February
1972 is not Water-Rat, because the year Water-Rat began on the 15th
February 1972: in fact they belong to the preceding year, Metal
Boar. Thus their Mew a of birth is that of the preceding year and is Mewa2 .
26
The Interpretation ofDates
In order to evaluate any one date in astrological terms, one has to
know one's way around the information that can be gleaned from
the data the calendar provides. In order to do this one needs to be aware that some factors are
more determining than others. If one gets used to taking these vari
ables into consideration first (and only afterwards the other vari
ables) it becomes easy to recognise the dominant characteristics of
a date.
There are three main factors to take into account:
- Minor combinations.
- Major combinations.
- The individual aspect of the day (in particular the individual
constellation, favourable or unfavourable.
1. Minor, Major and Particular Combinations
The minor and major combinations are determined by compar
ing the planet and the constellation of the day. But while minor com
binations take into consideration the respective elements, and com
pare them with each other, the major combination evaluates the spe
cific relationship which is set up by the encounter between planet
and constellation and expresses this by means of a 'combination
number'.
There are in all 28 major combinations (see table on page 88). So
the combination of Sunday ( 1) with constellation 0, or of Monday
(2) with constellation 4, Tuesday (3) with constellation 8 and so on, all lead to the combination 1, called Kunga, which, as one can read
in the explanation that follows the table, is very favourable for what
ever one undertakes.
27
After detennining the major combination of the day, one needs to look at the next table which sets out the particular combinations (page 95) in order to verify whether the date in question falls into one of them. While every day has a major combination only some also enter into a particular combination.
There are in all 8 particular combinations, of which only 1 (Drubjor) is very favourable, the others are unfavourable to a greatet: or lesser degrees for the undertaking of specific actions.
The table should be read in the same way as for the major combinations, that is by reading through the planets (which are set out
horizontally) with the constellations (set out vertically): the number
of the combination is that written laterally, along with the Tibetan name of the combination.
Despite its name, the most important combination is the minor combination, which should thus be considered first. This, by determining the degree of compatibility between the element of the planet and the element of the constellation of the day, expresses the general basic character of the day in which all the other data should be read. There are in all 10 minor combinations (page 84) of which three are very good, three variable and four unfavourable.
The major combination, although it is also important, defines some
rather more specific aspects, while the particular combination, when present, adds a very strong even more specific character (which is dominant over the major combination ).
2. Individual Aspects
By individual aspects we mean both the days of the week and the
particular constellations which can be favourable or unfavourable for any one individual.
On the basis of the symbolic animal of one's birth month (Rat,
Ox, Tiger, etc.), we may determine a group of planets and constella-
28
tions which will be particularly significant for ourselves. For each
of us there are two days which are particularly favourable in the
week and one which is unfavourable (the others are neutral as far as
the individual is concerned) and in relation to the cycle of the 27
constellations there are three favourable and three unfavourable.
The tables of the planets and individual constellations (preceded
by a description of their individual characteristics) are to be found
on page 79. For a person born in the year of the Bird, Fridays (6)
and Thursdays (5) are favourable while Tuesdays (3), the day of
Shed or opposition, are unfavourable.
For the same person all the days on which the constellations (care
ful, NOT the combinations) numbers 13, 6 and 24 fall will be
favourable, while those on which the constellations 2, I 0 and 23
fall, will be unfavourable. (That is, respectively, the constellations
of Keg, Diid and Shed for the person who is born in the year of the
Bird).
Obviously, individual constellations are more determining than
individual planets; if I was born in a year of the Bird, even though
Tuesday is a day which is generically unfavourable, the day on which
one of three negative constellations occurs is far more so. So it is
much wiser to put off the undertaking of an event which has great
importance for me (particularly the beginning or the foundation of
something, the signing of a contract, important requests, and so on)
to a more favourable day.
In the same way, ifl choose for this undertaking a day on which
my favourable constellations of La or Sog occur (which are pmiicu
larly favourable) then my undertaking will probably tum out to be
much easier (especially if the day is also a favourable one in its
general aspect). Then I will have all positive conditions present and
everything will be harmonious.
So when one intends to undertake something of particular significance for one's life (such as a marriage, a big surgical opera
tions, a foundation, but also an authentication ceremony or some
29
specific spiritual practices), it is preferable to choose an auspicious day. This should be done by searching for those days which are par
ticularly favourable in their individual aspect (the La and Sog con
stellations), or amongst those days which are favourable in general:
that is, where the minor and major combinations and the majority of the secondary data are good. Of course, it is even better if the indi
vidual aspects and the general aspects coincide favourably.
Where this is not possible, on consulting the calendar, one should
be able to at least avoid the least favourable days. This applies only
to events of particular importance of course, otherwise one risks
becoming a slave to the calendar, even to the extent of putting one
foot in front of another!
Obviously one needs to know how to balance out the individual
aspects with the more general ones and to balance the latter with each other (not all aspects go well together). Practical experience in the use of the calendar will always make one's interpretive skills keener.
One piece of advice is to prepare the calendar in advance, or at least a part of it, for example a month, indicating the most important dates. Mark both the days on which the three individual favourable constellations occur and the three unfavourable ones, and the ele
ments of the planet and the constellation of each day, so that one can
get a general picture of the situation at a glance.
3. Secondary Aspects
If one uses the information to be found in the Tibetan calendar as
a base, many other auxiliary evaluations can be made which should
be hannonised for the correct interpretation of a date together with those which have been set out here. First of all, the evaluation of a
day according to the symbolic animal-element cycle, then the char
acteristics of the Mewa, the specific characteristics of the constella-
30
tion occuring on that day, the day of the week (favourable or unfavourable according to the actions one intends carrying out), the relationship between the day of the week and the lunar date (see
page 98) and so on, as set out in the final chapter.
4. I11e Manual
The key is set out in three main sections.
I. In the first, we have briefly laid out, through charts and dia
grams, the basic astrological knowledge that one needs to have in
order to be able to 'read' and understand the structure of the Tibetan
calendar. 2. In the second, you will find all the tables for the interpretation
of the fundamental data needed to evaluate any one particular date
in condensed form: the significance of the planets (days of the week), of the constellations and all the possible combinations of these two factors.
3. The descriptions of the 12 animals follow and those relating to the Mewas.
So now you are ready to enter the world of the Tibetan calendar,
whose columns of numbers should start to take on meaning for you and to become real, leaving the abstract domain of calculation to
take on the clothing of everyday life. You might find that some of the information (for example, the
activities listed), which are considered to be favourable or unfavourable according to the day of the week, markedly reflect Tibetan cul
ture. However, it is not difficult to extract the general sense of what
is being expressed and thus to adapt the list to activities closer to our own lifestyle and world, which do not appear here.
31
I do not think it superfluous to remind you that all the informa
tion should serve to orient you to a greater capacity, agility and
lightness in your choice of the right time to do something or that
time which is most appropriate to undertake certain activities. It
should also stimulate our receptive capacity, give us a sense of rhythm
and hannony, that is to say, it should facilitate our choices and cer
tainly not make us slaves. If all days are not the same, then it is
important and useful to recognise the flavour, colour and cadence
with which each day manifests. But such information would fail in
its intent if it served only to make us apprehensive, anxious, or still
worse, passive. As with traffic lights, this is not the aim.
What you have in your hands is a key, a precious key for the
interpretation and reading of temporal and cosmic cycles, but the
only person who can open and close the door of your actions is
yourself. How wonderful!
Good luck.
Maria Rita Leti
Rome, December 1 Qth 1996
32
CHOGYALNAMKHAINORBU
KEY
FOR CONSULTING
THE TIBETAN CALENDAR
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Tibetan Calendar
The Tibetan calendar is based on two systems of astrology: Kartsi
and Jungtsi. They can be defined respectively as 'zodiacal astrol
ogy' or 'astrology ofthe stars', and the 'astrology ofthe elements'.
The latter is the older system and is more widespread in its popular
use for calendar interpretation.
The Jungtsi system involves a cycle of 12 symbolic animals. The
cycle begins with the Mouse.
DRAGON SNAKE HORSE SHEEP
5 6 7 8
HARE �c� MONKEY 4 9
OF
TIGER �E� BIRD
3 10
ox MOUSE BOAR DOG
2 1 12 11
37
The Five Elements - Jungtsi System
Apati from twelve animals, the five elements are also taken into
consideration:
Shing Me Sa Chag Chu
WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL WATER
D 6 D � 0 GREEN RED YELLOW WHITE BLUE OR
BLACK
The relationships between these elements go from mother to child,
thus:
- the child of wood is fire,
- the child of fire is earth,
- the child of earth is metal,
- the child of metal is water,
- the child of water is wood.
38
Each of the five elements can have four different types of relationship with all the others:
1) Mother
2) Child 3) Friend 4) Enemy
The elements considered in the system of Jungtsi astrology are not the same as those used in other astrological systems or in Bud
dhist philosophy. These are however the elements used in Tibetan
medicine.
Each element has its own function and a precise correspondence
in the body:
ELEMENTS> D FUNCTIONS> growing
CORRISPON� ING PART OF vems THE BODY
D
burning
heat
39
D 0 0
stabilising hardening moistening
flesh bones blood
The predominance of any one particular element gives a person
certain distinctive characteristics: A Wood person has a tremulous or hoarse voice, frequently inter
rupts himself to clear his throat.
Fire person: whistling voice, the sound comes out from between
the teeth. Earth person: abdominal breathing, they force the abdomen
Metal person: when the mouth is open the base of the tongue
blocks the entrance to the throat so they tend to breathe through
their nose.
Water person: lips tightly closed and smiling aspect.
The Four Elements- Kartsi System
Occasionally, in order to interpret the calendar, one can use the Kartsi system which is slightly different from the Jungtsi system we
have outlined above in that it considers only four elements: Air, Fire,
Earth and Water.
AIR FIRE EARTH WATER
D 6 D 0
GREEN RED YELLOW BLU
For the purpose of interpretation there is no difference since the element Wood in the Jungtsi system corresponds to Air in this sys
tem and the metal element is assimilated with the Earth element.
40
How Elements Combine with the 12 Years
Each of the twelve animals is matched with one of the five ele
ments. Each element is repeated for two successive years and is con
sidered in its male aspect the first year and then in its female aspect
the following year. In a cycle of twelve years then we have six odd
years, which are male, and six even years, which are female.
By combining the twelve symbolic animals with the five ele
ments you get a cycle of sixty years which begins with the first ani
mal, the Mouse, and with the first element, that of Wood. Until the
cycle is completed no one combination of animal plus element is
repeated (the present cycle began in 1984 and will finish in 2044).
THE SIXTY YEAR CYCLE
Mouse Ox Tiger II arc Dragon Snake Horse Sheep Monkey Bird Dog Boar
D D 6 6 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 J 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12
6 6 D D 0 D 0 0 D D 6 6 13 14 IS 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
D 0 0 0 0 0 D D � 6 D D 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 JS 36
0 0 0 0 0 0 6 � D D 0 0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
0 0 0 0 6 6 D D 0 0 0 0 49 so St 52 53 54 ss 56 57 sa 59 60
41
How to Calculate One's Age
In order to calculate the Tibetan year corresponding to one's year
of bi1ih one must count backwards, starting from the current year,
for each of the years of one's life but bearing in mind that in the
Tibetan system at birth a person is considered to be one year old.
For example:
We are in the month of March 1991, the Tibetan year is that of Metal-Sheep. According to the Tibetan system those who were born in May 1984, that is in the Wood-Mouse year, are eight years old. Whereas in the West we would say that they are not yet seven.
42
The Beginning of the Tibetan Year
The astrology of the elements (Jungtsi system) fixes the New Year at the beginning of Spring, the first month of the year then
becomes the month of the Tiger. In ancient B6npo documents it appears that the month of the Tiger was the month when the great Bon Master Shenrab Miwoche was born and the Wood-Mouse year, which
starts off the cycle of sixty years, is considered to be his year of
birth. However even though many astrological texts consider the Tiger
month to be that of New Year, there are many different ways of calculating New Year.
The New Year which is celebrated by the population of Tibet and Mongolia falls at the beginning of the month of the Dragon, which is thus considered to be the first month. The Kalachakra tradition, however, and zodiacal astrology, even though they use the same system ofnumbeting months (month I =month of the Dragon),
place New Year at the begitming of the third month, that is the month
of the Horse.
In Tibet two New Years are celebrated: Little New Year and Great
New Year. Little New Year is established according to the Jungtsi
system and coincides with the month of the Tiger; Great New Year
coincides with the month of the Dragon.
If we consult the calendar we find that the month of the Tiger is
the eleventh month and the month of the Dragon is the first month
because the numbering system adopted officially in Tibet is known
to be of Tibetan and Mongol tradition and does not correspond to
the system of astrology of the elements.
43
Table of the Beginning
oftheTibetan Year
1900 January 31 METAL MOUSE M
1901 February 19 METAL OX F
1902 February 8 WATER TIGER M
1903 January 29 WATER HARE F
1904 February 16 WOOD DRAGON M
1905 February 4 WOOD SNAKE F
1906 January 25 FIRE HORSE M
1907 February 13 FIRE SHEEP F
1908 February 2 EARTH MONKEY M
1909 January 22 EARTH BIRD F
1910 February 10 METAL DOG M
1911 January 30 METAL BOAR F
1912 February 18 WATER MOUSE M
1913 February 6 WATER OX F
1914 January 26 WOOD TIGER M
1915 February 14 WOOD HARE F
1916 February 3 FIRE DRAGON M
1917 January 23 FIRE SNAKE F
1918 February 11 EARTH HORSE M
1919 February 1 EARTH SHEEP F
1920 February 20 METAL MONKEY M
1921 February 8 METAL BIRD F
1922 January 28 WATER DOG M
1923 February 16 WATER BOAR F
1924 February 5 WOOD MOUSE M
1925 January 25 WOOD OX F
1926 February 13 FIRE TIGER M
1927 February 2 FIRE HARE F
44
1928 January 23 EARTH DRAGON M
1929 February 10 EARTH SNAKE F
1930 January 30 METAL HORSE M
1931 February 17 METAL SHEEP F
1932 February 6 WATER MONKEY M
1933 January 26 WATER BIRD F
1934 February 14 WOOD DOG M
1935 February4 WOOD BOAR F
1936 January 24 FIRE MOUSE M
1937 February 11 FIRE OX F
1938 January 31 EARTH TIGER M
1939 February 19 EARTH HARE F
1940 February 8 METAL DRAGON M
1941 January 27 METAL SNAKE F
1942 February 15 WATER HORSE M
1943 February 5 WATER SHEEP F
1944 January 25 WOOD MONKEY M
1945 February 13 WOOD BIRD F
1946 February 2 FIRE DOG M
1947 January 22 FIRE BOAR F
1948 February 10 EARTH MOUSE M
1949 January 29 EARTH OX F
1950 February 17 METAL TIGER M
1951 February 6 METAL HARE F
1952 January 27 WATER DRAGON M
1953 February 14 WATER SNAKE F
1954 February 3 WOOD HORSE M
1955 January 24 WOOD SHEEP F
1956 February 12 FIRE MONKEY M
1957 January 31 FIRE BIRD F
1958 February 16 EARTH DOG M
1959 February 8 EARTH BOAR F
1960 January 28 METAL MOUSE M
45
1961 February 15 METAL OX F 1 962 February 5 WATER TIGER M
1963 January 25 WATER HARE F 1964 February 13 WOOD DRAGON M
1965 February 21 WOOD SNAKE F 1966 February 21 FIRE HORSE M 1967 February 9 FIRE SHEEP F I968 January 29 EARTH MONKEY M
1969 February 17 EARTH BIRD F I970 February 6 METAL DOG M
1971 January 27 METAL BOAR F
I972 February 15 WATER MOUSE M
I973 February 3 WATER OX F I974 January 23 WOOD TIGER M
1975 February II WOOD HARE F
1976 January 31 FIRE DRAGON M
1977 February 18 FIRE SNAKE F I978 February 8 EARTH HORSE M 1979 February 27 EARTH SHEEP F
1980 February 17 METAL MONKEY M
1981 February 5 METAL BIRD F
I982 February 23 WATER DOG M
I983 January 14 WATER BOAR F
1984 February 28 WOOD MOUSE M
1985 February 20 WOOD OX F
1986 February 9 FIRE TIGER M
1987 February 28 FIRE HARE F
1988 February 18 EARTH DRAGON M
1989 February 7 EARTH SNAKE F
1990 February 26 METAL HORSE M·
1991 February 15 METAL SHEEP F
1992 March 3 WATER MONKEY M
1993 February 22 WATER BIRD F
46
1994 February 22 WOOD DOG M
1995 March 2 WOOD BOAR F
1996 February 19 FIRE MOUSE M
1997 February 8 FIRE OX F
1998 February 27 EARTH TIGER M
1999 February 17 EARTH HAREF
2000 February 6 METAL DRAGONM
2001 February 24 METAL SNAKE F
2002 February 13 WATER HORSEM
2003 March 3 WATER SHEEP F
2004 February 21 WOOD MONKEYM
M =male year
F =female year
47
The Months
The months of the Tibetan calendar are indicated thus, first month, second month etc. or by name, e.g. month of the Dragon, month of the Snake etc., and what is more, each has a particular name which is that of the constellation which dominates it.
Month: TIGER 11th Month GO HARE 12th Month GYAL DRAGON 1st month CHU SNAKE 2nd month wo
HORSE 3rd moth NAGPA SHEEP 4th month SAGA MONKEY 5th month NON BIRD 6th month CHUTOD DOG 7th month TROZHIN BOAR 8th month TRUMTOD MOUSE 9th month THAKAR ox lOth month MIND RUG
The month which begins the year is that of the Tiger but in the calendar it is given the number 11 for the reasons outlined earlier (seep. 18).
The element of this month is always that which is child to the element of the year. So for example if the year is Wood-Mouse, the first month will be Fire-Tiger.
It might cause some confusion that in the calendar the first month
48
appears to be that of the Dragon. In the case of a Wood-Mouse year
the element ofthe Dragon month will be Earth because according to
Jungtsi astrology this is only the third month and thus its element is
not child to that of the year but child of the child.
It is worth remembering what was said on the subject of New
Year and to bear in mind that the same element dominates two con
secutive months and that they follow the order mother-child.
For example: if the first month is Fire-Tiger the second will be
Fire-Hare, the third Earth-Dragon (month number one on the calen
dar) and so on.
The months too, in the same way as the years, are said to be male
or female according to whether they are odd or even. For example
the Tiger month is odd and therefore male and the Hare month is
even and therefore female, etc.
DRAGON SNAKE HORSE SHEEP
3 4 5 6
HARE
��?> MONKEY
2 7
TIGER BIRD
1 8
ox MOUSE BOAR DOG
12 11 10 9
49
Dates
The Tibetan calendar is a lunar calendar so day 15 of the month
(Tibetan date) will always indicate the day of the full moon, and day
30 will always be the new moon or dark moon.
This calendar has one other peculiarity which might lead the
Western reader to think that the compiler had made a mistake. When
you run through a sequence of dates you will find that some dates
are missing while some are repeated. For example it might happen
that the calendar jumps from day I 0 directly to day 12 without day
II being mentioned: in this case a circle indicating an 'empty' day
appears. Or you might find for example that day 26 is repeated twice,
being thus a double day.
There is only one month in which the days go from day I straight
through to day 30, and this is known as trashi dawa, month of good
fortune.
Obviously all this is a result of very precise calculations. Accord
ing to the Tibetan system the beginning of the astrological day is
calculated from dawn; now, what happens is that with respect to the
calculations, the beginning of the day does not really correspond to
dawn but has been shifted. If you add up all these differences you
find that a particular day might be eliminated since it is considered
to have insufficient hours or might be doubled if longer than nor
mal.
50
The Days
Like years and months, days too are inserted in the cycle of twelve
animals but it must be said that there are two ways of attributing the
symbology of the animals to the different days and these two ap
proaches are different. In the original Jungtsi system from the Shang
Shung kingdom, the source of Tibetan culture, the first day of every
odd month (male) is always a Tiger day and is indicated as for the
months with the number I. The first day of every even month (fe
male) is Monkey day and is indicated by the number 7 (the Monkey
is the seventh animal if you start the cycle with the Tiger).
51
MONTH FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH
TIGER TIGER day
HARE MONKEY day
DRAGON TIGER day
SNAKE MONKEY day
HORSE TIGER day
SHEEP MONKEY day
MONKEY TIGER day
BIRD MONKEY day
DOG TIGER day
BOAR MONKEY day
MOUSE TIGER day
ox MONKEY day
The element of the first day of the month is always child to the element
of the month; the element is not repeated but changes every day following
the mother-child sequence.
ELEMENTS
D L D 0 0 OF THE
MONTHS
ELEMENTS
6 D 0 0 D OF THE DAYS
52
It might happen that there are variations in this corresponding to irregularities which come from the sequence of dates in the lunar month. For example, day 10 of the first month is Wood-Boar, day 11
is an 'empty' or 'null' day, day 12 is Earth-Mouse instead of FireMouse because day 11 which is Fire-Mouse has been eliminated.
When a day is repeated and appears twice, like day 26 of the first month (we might for simplicity's sake say: day 26a and 26b), the day is repeated, like the date, so day 26a is Fire-Hare and day 26b is also Fire-Hare.
Using this system it is easy to calculate precisely the day, element and animal corresponding to the lunar date since there is a clear link between lunar date and symbolic animal (in an odd month, day 1 will always be Tiger, day 5 Horse etc.)
In the Jungtsi system which originates from China, another procedure is used.
The sequence of 12 animals, combined with the five elements goes on in regular fashion following solar dates', without null or double days and without taking into account the first day of the month (whose elenl.ent and symbolic animal are simply those which come after the element and animal of the last day of the preceding month). What is more, in this system, unlike in the fonner, each element dominates two consecutive days instead of only one2•
By solar date we mean Western date, the ones we are used to in our normal
calendar. 2 An example of this second system is to be found in the calendar for 1991
Metal-Sheep year and following years published by Shang Shung Edizioni.
53
Time of Day
A day is made up of twelve parts, of two hours each, to which the
names of the symbolic animals are attributed.
Starting from dawn, the first part is that of the Hare, the second
the Dragon, the third that of the Snake etc.
The element attributed to Hare time will be child to the day's
element; the elements follow on as usual in mother-child sequence
but are not repeated.
If, for example the element of the day is Earth0 , the element of
Hare-time will be Metal Q and in consequence, going from mother to
child, the element ofDragon time will be Water Q, and so on.
2 DRAGON 3 SNAKE 4 HORSE 5 SHEEP
TIME 7-9 TIME 9-11 TIME 11-13 TIME 13-15
1 HARE 6 MONKEY
TIME 5-7 TIME
TIME 15-17 OF
12 TIGER DAY 7 BIRD
TIME 3-5 TIME 17-19
11 ox 10 MOUSE 9BOAR 8 DOG
TIME 1-3 TIME 23-1 TIME 21-23 TIME 19-21
54
DETAILED INFORMATION
The Days of the Week
In Tibet the week begins on Sunday, which has the correspond
ing number 1, and finishes on Saturday with number 0. Each day
has a characteristic element.
DAYS OF THE
1 2 3 WEEK 4 5 6 0
ELEMENTS OF
6 0 6 0 D D D THE WEEK
Each day of the week has its own characteristics which are favourable
for particular activities and unfavourable for others.
57
III Sunday I
The planet corresponding to Sunday is called the Planet of the
Divinities or Planet of the Soul of the King; the expression 'soul of
the king' shows that it is an important day for important people,
such as kings.
What is this day favourable for?
- carrying out a coronation or similar, founding a royal palace or other typical activities that deal with reigning;
- exchanging important things, receiving important things; - becoming a monk or nun; - preparing medicines (usually when one prepares a medicine one always
pick out a favourable day in order to have a positive effect); - anything connected with fire or that is carried out with fire; - putting up flags, showing the symbols of a nation or kingdom; - making war or in general carrying out actions by strength; - stealing: if for example one intends to steal a famous painting it can be
done on this day. (One should not be surprised by this kind of hint since stealing does exist, just as a hunter prays to be successful in killing an animal);
- carrying out acts of banditry; - decorating, carrying or wearing ornaments, not only on the body; - the birth of a child; - riding a horse; - taming animals; - having a great celebration; - calling yang (glory): in the Bonpo tradition a great ceremony is held, in
particular in favour of the reigning monarch; - doing artistic work of some sort; - carrying out great exchanges of a commercial nature; - placing bets; - carrying out glorious or positive actions.
58
What is to be avoided?
If one carries out any of these activities
there are likely to be impediments.
- taking an oath, making peace, signing an agreement;
- celebrating a funeral (in astrology it is important to choose the day for a
funeral in that it is not just something concerning the dead person but all
the remaining family who might get negativity from the one who died);
- starting life in a new house, moving house, taking a house;
- founding a temple (but as we saw before it is a good day to found a royal
palace);
- starting off on a long journey;
- wearing new clothes (in ancient times, the most favourable moment was
always chosen when one had to put on new clothes; today people are
always wearing new clothes so it is not very useful);
- medical operations like moxa for example; not so much indirect as direct applications, above all if at some important point;
- irrigating land, ploughing a field, planting trees, or flowers;
- getting married (usually lots of people get married on Sunday because it
is a holiday but it is not ideal);
- storing up a treasure;
- beginning a manuscript;
- leaving something important, separating (if one has something of value
that someone else wants to buy, not only is it unfavourable to sell it but
also to give it away, nor is it a good day to send someone away or take
something from a house).
59
121 Monday!
Usually known as Day of the Nagas or Planet of the Soul of Women.
What is this day favourable for?
- decorating, wearing ornaments;
- planting trees or flowers, sowing seeds;
- preparing wine (in Tibet it is important to choose carefully the most
favourable moment for this since when wine ferments sometimes it is
very good but sometimes it doesn't come out well);
- preparing medicines (mixing the ingredients);
- doing any type of purification, even through practice;
- any work to do with water;
- irrigation of the land and working the land in general;
- performing glorious deeds;
- adopting a child or welcoming someone to work in the house;
- carrying out commercial operations;
- having celebrations;
- honouring divinities, carrying out ritual ceremonies;
- administering and receiving sacraments;
- making agreements;
- putting up flags or displaying significant symbols;
- getting married;
- taking a new house, starting life in a new house;
- wearing new clothes;
- doing Chiidlen, eating the substance which reinforces the physical body;
- reigning or governing;
- assigning responsibility, for example to a prime minister;
- performing medical operations like blood-letting;
- taming wild horses;
- building a temple, a church or important statue, etc.;
- performing artistic activities;
60
- doing a (or divination) and astrological calculations (horoscopes);
- performing rituals to ward off negativity;
- carry out rituals which accentuate the positive;
- calling yang, doing a ritual for calling glory;
- preparing incense;
- taking possession of treasures.
What is to be avoided?
- separating from things;
- the taking of oaths or similar;
- actions related to death, for example funerals, or the preparation of a
tomb etc.;
- leading an army into war;
- becoming a monk;
- going on a journey;
- taking part in a horse race;
- performing ferocious actions;
- performing the ritual to conquer the Si. There are nine types of this
particular ritual. What does Si mean? When a family is struck by a strong
disturbing element so that nearly everyone in it is affected and it hap
pens again and again, this type of negative provocation is called Si. Si
can be male or female; big or small; there can be child Si, cemetery Si
etc. When one has been provoked by Si one can carry out a ritual to
annul the negativity. You need to be an expert and to have magical power
or it will not work. In practice, what you do is dig a hole in a particular
spot and put in it some things linked to the Si, such as objects, writings
etc. A rite is performed, the things are buried and sometimes a Chorten
is built over the place. This ritual is called Si Nen.
- doing a Jyinseg rite, or fire ritual (there are various types of fire ritual,
that for making offering, for purification and many others. Sometimes
sick people benefit from this rite);
- wearing new clothes (whereas it is considered favourable to prepare, cut
out or generally work on a piece of clothing).
61
[ 3 I Tuesday I
In Tibetan Tuesday is 'migmar ', 'mig' means eyes and 'mar'
means red; so Tuesday is called 'red eye 'It is also called Planet of
the Demi-Gods. Tuesday and Sunday belong to the element of Fire
and thus we talk ofdivinities and demi-gods. In general it is also
knmvn as the Day of the Soul of Men, particularly of warriors, be
cause Tuesday is a bit ferocious.
What is this day favourable for?
- carrying out military actions, conquering, giving assignments to gener-
als;
- all types of' ferocious' actions like ferocious rituals;
- athletic activities;
- matches, challenges, games and similar things;
- promoting a cause actively;
- being a 'bandit';
- beginning a reign;
- taking a loan, getting a mortgage etc. (both giving and taking);
- beginning a family;
- going to live in a new place (for example a new house);
- taking part in horse races;
- warding off negativity, both by ritual means and others. It is a good day
for doing a ritual to remove Si;
- doing a fire ritual;
- doing a Tim, that is using 'power' (usually we say magic). If you have to
carry out an evil action while using this power then this is a favourable
day;
- doing a Ted, one of the worst of the Thu rites which brings destruction
on generation after generation;
- doing a Sormedpa: Sor is a kind of rite which is very frequent in Tan
trism. When one is very much disturbed then to send this away and
fi2
reply to the one who sent the disturbance, to send back the negative energy to where it came from, you carry out a Sor. In this ritual the
objects which caused the evil are consumed as a symbol of sending away
the negativity. There is a Sor made of animal horn, of stone, of certain
types of wood and even in the form of a torma;
- applying moxa;
- taking part in a lottery because one might win.
What is to be avoided?
- becoming a monk, because it is easy to break the vows later on;
- getting married, because it will be likely to end in divorce;
- doing purification, receiving sacraments;
- putting on ornaments;
- giving a name, title or similar;
- carrying out actions connected with death (e.g. a funeral);
- adopting a child, taking on a new worker or similar;
- taking part in a secret meeting;
- working on building one's house;
- working on sacred things like Chorten, statues;
- building a city;
- preparing medicines;
- performing artistic activities;
- large meetings, celebrations;
- ceremonies for honouring divinities;
- going on an important journey;
- sowing seeds, irrigation;
- planting trees, flowers;
- exhibiting something;
- commerce;
- making important agreements;
- doing the 'transfer' practice (Phowa);
- receiving the keys to a treasure.
In general Tuesday is unfavourable for all pacific actions and
for things which have to grow.
63
j-41 Wednesday !
Wednesday is known as the Day of the Yaksha or the Day of the
Soul of the Prince. On Wednesday there are many positive things
and very few negative.
What is this day favourable for?
- taking vows of any kind, not just those to become a monk;
- carrying out sacraments;
- giving a name to a child;
- travel, commerce;
- making an agreement, important or otherwise;
- getting married;
- calling glory, that is performing a yang ritual;
- taking on persons to work in the home for the family;
- sowing seeds, irrigating;
- building a house or work connected to this;
- digging a well to find water;
- building sacred things like a ChOrten, a statue etc.;
- taking on a commitment linked to a treasure (for example taking charge
of the keys);
- all kinds of artistic activities;
- ploughing, planting trees and flowers;
- doing the 'transfer' practice (Phowa);
- doing divinatory activities, like the Mo, doing astrology;
- activities connected with death (funerals etc.).
The above list are the things for which Wednesday is a favourable
day. There are some things to be stressed for which it is not just a
good day but an excellent day. These are:
- .finishing important things;
- all type,r; of medical treatment and operations like moxa etc.;
- marriage and in general all kinds of important relationships.
Wednestlay is a favourable day for all positive actions.
What is to be avoided?
- becoming a monk (even though we said before it was favourable for
taking vows); it is not a good day to give things up and make a change in
life like that of becoming a monk;
- prepanng wme;
- changing place in a cemetery. In the West this happens quite a lot; first
the body is buried, it is left for a few years until only the bones are left;
then it is taken out and the remains are stored in a small box;
- separating from important things; for example ifl have an object which
I am fond of and which I have to give to someone or sell, it is not a good
idea to do it on this day;
- preparing medicines;
- stopping a course of water, building a dam;
- making war, that is leading an army to war;
- being a bandit: it means that this might be a day when the police will
shoot you!
Wednesday is particularly unfavourable for carrying out ritu
als for warding off negativity and in general for all 'ferocious'
actions.
65
[ Sl Thursday!
Thursday is called the Bodhisattva Day, this means that it is a
spiritual day. it is also called the Day of the Souls of the Buddhists,
that is to say the day of monies in general, not just Buddhists.
What is this day favourable for?
- becoming a monk: as we said, it is the day of the soul of monks;
- giving and receiving initiations, sacraments; taking vows;
- doing positive actions;
- building a mandala, which is extremely important in Tantrism;
- carrying out fire rituals;
- doing important practices like that of mantra;
- getting married;
- wearing new clothes;
- sowing seeds, ploughing fields, planting trees and flowers;
- developing science; for example giving an important lecture of a philo-
sophical nature, doing all those things which tend to mean we use our
brain;
- giving a teaching;
- beginning to reign;
- preparing medicines, carry out a blood letting or a moxa;
- divination like the Mo for example;
- doing astrological calculations, preparing wine and in general getting
things to ferment;
- building a house; it is also favourable for all kinds of work connected
with the home;
- taking up residence in a new house;
- building important statues etc.;
- gtvmg a name;
- wearing a ring and ornaments in general;
- applying to go on an important journey;
- performing activities connected with horses, such as taming and taming
66
wild animals in general;
- commerce;
- all work connected with iron and metal;
- holding an exhibition, celebration, making an agreement; - doing a Thu, that is sending out magic power; or Ted, a particularly
destructive type of Thu;
- applying a medicine.
In particular Thursdays are good for these two rituals:
- Do, a great ritual of the Bonpo tradition which substitutes all kinds of
karmic payment;
- Sor, a ritual for warding off negative forces; as we have said before,
there are various kinds, according to the symbolic object which is con
sumed; animal hom, stone, wood, forma.
In general Thursday is good for all glorious deeds and positive actions.
What is to be avoided?
- leading an army to war;
- taking an oath;
- carrying out a funeral;
- building the roof of a house;
- sending away animals; nowadays we are not worried about this because
at most we can send away a dog or cat but Tibetan nomads have lots of
animals and so this is important for them for trade purposes;
- going to prison: if you are put in prison on this day, there will be even
more negative consequences (there is no positive day for going to prison
but if it happens on a Thursday this is very negative);
- artistic activities.
67
161 Friday!
Friday is called the Day of the Bon which means Day of Power
and therefore a day which has power or 'magic force'. This day is
also called the Soul of Medicine.
What is this favourable for?
- giving teachings;
- carrying out rituals to honour deities;
- officiating in certain types of sacraments;
- honouring local guardians, the good ones. There are guardians which
protect negative forces and those which protect the positive: for exam
ple if someone is annoying me, creates obstacles for me all the time and
I am someone who acts rightly then this is an example of negative en
ergy;
- carrying out rituals to overcome obstacles, problems provoked by the
action of negative forces;
- constructing sacred things, a temple, a church, a Chorten, etc.;
- making friends, both important and not so great: great means agreement
between nations, whereas small means finding friends or partners;
- s1gnmg;
- carrying out work in the fields, sowing, ploughing or harvesting;
- work based on commerce;
- the preparation of medicines or incense or perfumes;
- the giving of titles, naming;
- decorating;
- digging the foundations of a temple or a new house;
- wearing new clothes;
- carrying out work connected to the house, like building a house, or a
well, a pool, a bathroom, irrigation canals etc.: it is a very good day for
all these things;
- carrying out surgical operations, or bloodletting or moxa etc.;
- building a city, walls etc.;
68
- entering a house for the first time;
- the working of gold, silver and precious stones;
- divinations like;
- dealing with astrology;
- travel;
- giving explanations of a scientific nature;
- holding important celebrations;
- building a dam or similar;
- getting to know someone or something 'intimately';
- planting trees.
What is to be avoided?
- making a claim, quarrelling;
- doing 'fundamental things';
- it is not very good for anyone who has been seriously ill;
- stealing and being a bandit;
- moving the remains from one part of a cemetery to another;
- doing the 'transfer' practice (Phowa).
69
I 0 I Saturday !
Saturday is called the Neutral Day and also the Day of the Soul of the Children.
What is this day favourable for?
- opening up the roof of a house;
- building a house;
- occupying a new place;
- carrying out work in the fields, sowing, planting trees;
- making a small swimming pool or bathroom;
- digging a well;
- building a cemetery;
- all work connected with water;
- operating with magic, magical force;
- replying if there is something else to be said;
- doing the Long Life ritual;
- doing a ritual to call glory in the morning;
- taking possession of animals or buying them;
- making astrological calculations;
- being a bandit (there's room for them too!)
What is to be avoided?
- leading an army against someone;
- building the walls of a city;
- working on making objects in iron or metal;
- doing a ritual to annul the Si (as we explained when we were talking
about Monday);
- making great proclamations such as 'today we are victorious!' or' let us
found our nation!';
- giving out the keys to a treasure;
- giving names, titles, establishing rank;
70
- becoming a monk, canying out sacraments or ceremonies to honour the
divinities;
- wearing new clothes;
- reigning;
- performing operations such as moxa;
- preparing medicines;
- going on an important journey;
- ploughing the fields (that is where there was no field, ploughing one up);
- doing rituals to ward off negativity;
- sending away animals, 'sending out' money; this means it is not a good
day for buying things (i.e. important things not trivial items);
- doing a Mo divination;
- building a temple or other kind of construction of importance;
- canying out commercial activity;
- making an agreement;
- doing things to have lots of money coming in;
- holding exhibitions;
- doing the 'transfer' practice (Phowa).
With Saturday there is one very simple thing to remember: Sat
urday is not a good day if you have to 'pull out' or 'send ofF some
thing but it is always good if you are receiving.
In Tibet in ancient times, before the Chinese came along, offices
did not open on Saturdays, like on Sundays in Europe. The reason
was that offices, in order to get anything done, would have to spend
money but Saturday is a bad day for this. For this reason it is called
the Day of the Soul of the Children because children are innocent,
they do not have so many concepts, for them it is a good day; not so for the adults who have a lot to do.
Sometimes it is said that Saturday 'limps'. Thi!'J' means that
you cannot walk normally and it is ea!'Jy to fall into negativity so it
is difficult to act on a Saturday and therefore it is best not to do
anything of too great importance.
71
The Constellations
In Tibetan astrology and thus in the interpretation of the calen
dar, twenty-seven constellations are taken into account. These fol
low each other in sequence according to their numerical order.
Each constellation has a number and a name. The twenty-sev
enth is number 0. Each constellation has its own character and, like
the days of the week, an element that distinguishes it. The fact that
sometimes people talk of twenty-eight constellations is due to the
fact that number 21 is rather particular; this number has two corre
sponding constellations, called Trozhing and Chizhin, which have
very similar characteristics. Since they alternate they never occur
together which is why they have been classified with the same num
ber and why as far as calculations go it is as if there were only 27. In
order to distinguish Trozhing and Chizhin they are sometimes indi
cated as 21a and 2lb.
72
List of Constellations
NUMBER NAME
1 TRANYE
2 MINDRUG
3 NARMA
4 GO
5 LAG
6 NABSO
7 GYAL
8 KAG
9 CHU
ELEMENT
73
D
D
D
D
0
D D
0
D
SYMBOL
NUMBER NAME
10 TRE
11 wo
12 MEZHI
13 NAGPA
14 SARI
15 SAGA
16 LAGSOR
17 NON
18 NUB
19 CHUTOD
ELEMENT SYMBOL
D �
D
D D D D
D
D
0 o b
74
NUMBER NAME ELEMENT SYMBOL
20 CHUMED D � 21a TROZHIN D
JIM D 2lb CHIZI-!IN
22 MONDRE 0 ~ 23 MONDRU D ~ 24 TRUMTOD D � 25 TRUMMED 0 • 26 NAMDRU 0 ~ 0 TAKAR D •
75
Constellations Which Bring Prosperity
The four constellations which are not stable
7- 12-26-0
These are favourable for spiritual ceremonies; for the teaching of
the Dharma; for ordaining monks; making important requests of a
superior; making offerings of objects and in order to conclude important affairs rapidly.
The four constellations which are very stable
3-11-20-23
These are favourable for establishing oneself in a new place; for
giving out new duties and for carrying out actions which need to be
long lasting and stable.
The four constellations that bring benefits rapidly
4- 13-16-25
These are favourable for games and lotteries; for sporting com
petitions; for agricultural work and work which needs to be done quickly.
76
The five constellations that change rapidly
6-14-21- 21- 22
These are favourable for activities which are carried out in move
ment, such as journeys, commerce and embassies.
The five constellations that bring stable attainments
1 - 9- 10- 19-24
These are favourable for carrying out weddings; making alliances;
buying herds; choosing helpers; giving initiations and doing ceremonies of consecration; opening a shop or a market; preparing the foundations of a house or building; performing artistic activities; performing a fire ritual and for all virtuous deeds.
The four constellations that bear bad fruit
5-8-17-18
These are favourable only for destruction, violence, banditry and
all negative things.
The two neutral constellations
2- 15
These are favourable for having a wish fulfilled, for all work with gold and for carrying out a fire ritual.
77
Summary Table of the Elements of the
Planets and Constellations
KARTSI SYSTEM
ELEMENTS I PLANETS CONSTELLATIONS
D EARTH 6 0 3 16 17 20 21a 21b 23
Q WATER 2 4 5 8 18 19 22 25 26
6 FIRE 1 3 1 2 7 9 10 15 24
D AIR 5 0 4 6 11 12 13 14
Although the calculation of the Minor Combinations (see page
85) is done using the table according to the Kartsi system, for infor
mation we have provided the table of the elements according to the
Jungtsi system.
JUNGTSI SYSTEM
ELEMENTS PLANETS CONSTELLATIONS
D AIR 5 2 3 4 5 6 7
6 FIRE l 3 9 10 11 12 13 14
Q METAL 6 16 17 18 19 20 21a
Q WATER 2 4 22 23 24 25 26 0
D EARTH 0 1 8 15 21b
78
The Influence of the Days of the Week
and the Constellations on the Individual
In order to make an astrological evaluation of a certain day, the
first thing to consider is the relationship of the person concerned, in
this case represented by his or her animal and year of birth, with the
planet (day of the week) and with the constellation of that day. In fact there are certain planets and constellations which are favourable
to a person born in a certain year and others which are unfavourable. In the following table the days are classified as: 1) LA
2) SOG
3) SHED
1) The term LA is often translated as 'soul' but it is intended to
indicate an aspect of the vital force of an individual. The 'day of LA'
then is the most favourable for all activities.
2) SOG means 'life' and is the life spark which exists from the
moment of conception. The 'day of SOG' is equally favourable but
it is less important than the day of LA.
3) SHED means 'opposition' and therefore the 'day of SHED' is
a negative day, one should avoid above all setting out on a journey
and in general all positive actions such as building a house for ex
ample etc.
79
With respect to the influence that they have on any one individual the constellations are classified as :
1) LA constellation 2) SOG constellation 3) WANG constellation 4) KEG constellation 5) DUD constellation 6) SHED constellation
1) The LA constellation is positive, favourable for all activities.
2) The SOG constellation is also positive
3) The WANG constellation is also favourable. Wang means the 'capacity', the power, the force of the individual.
4) The KEG constellation is a negative one. Keg means 'obstacle', an obstacle which interrupts. This negative energy can interrupt a life, the capacity of an individual etc.
Important activities must be avoided, journeys, requests, actions which need to be successful etc.
5) The DUD constellation. Diid means 'demon' and stands for a type of energy which is not only opposed to the individual but can also ruin their position and even their way of seeing, so it is a great obstacle. When this constellation occurs then all important matters are to be avoided.
6) The SHED constellation. As we saw for the days, shed means opposition and thus this constellation is unfavourable for all activities.
80
TABLE OF INDIVIDUAL PLANETS
I YEAR OF BIRTH I
DAY Mouse Ox Tiger Bare Dragon Snake Horse Sheep onke) Bird Dog Boar
LA day 4 0 5 5 1 3 3 6 6 6 2 4
SOG day 3 4 0 0 4 6 6 2 5 5 4 3
SHED day 0 5 6 6 5 4 4 5 3 3 5 0
TABLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL CONSTELLATIONS
I YEAR OF BIRTH I
DAY Mous Ox Tiger Hare Dragon Snake Horse Sheep fvlonke) Bird Dog Boar
LA canst. 19 16 4 10 2 12 16 7 7 13 8 I
SOG canst. 5 13 26 26 23 11 1I 0 0 6 26 7
WANG can. 2 11 8 1I 16 5 5 I 1 24 4 10
KEG canst. 25 1 13 25 7 7 14 14 8 2 10 15
DUD canst 9 7 11 24 8 8 4 4 4 10 2 2
SHED can. 22 4 1 17 -10 25 26 26 16 23 11 I1
Rl
THE COMBINATIONS OF THE
PLANETS AND CONSTELLATIONS
Minor Combinations
In order to carry out a first and more general consultation of the
calendar, one of the most important aspects is the combination of
the element of the day of the week with that of the corresponding
constellation. This type of consultation is called trodchung or Mi
nor Combination. This does not mean that it is less important, be
cause to arrive at an astrological evaluation of the day this combina
tion is considered the most significant.
Let us now look at the various possible combinations of elements of the planets or days of the week with elements of the constella
tions, bearing in mind that we consider only the four elements of the
Kartsi system: air, fire, earth and water. Metal and wood, which be
long to the Jungtsi system, correspond respectively to earth and air
in the system we apply.
In all there are ten Minor Combinations. Of these, three are con
sidered to be excellent, three good, three unfavourable and one par
ticularly unfavourable.
85
The first three combinations are considered to be excellent.
earth + earth is called the 'combination of attainment'.
D D One can obtain anything and it is positive
for everything.
water + water is called the 'combination of nectar'. It
0 0 is favourable for growth and life etc. It is
excellent for doing a long life practice and
for developing capacity (Wang).
eatih + water is called the 'combination of youth'. It
D 0 brings happiness.
The three following combinations are not considered to be excel
lent but can become so if there are favourable secondary causes, and
for this reason they are called the'transformable combinations' .If
there is a strong secondary cause, the day in question could tum into
a good day; if the secondary cause is excellent then it could become
an excellent day.
fire + fire
air + air
D D fire + air
6 D
is called the 'combination of progress'.
It favours progress in life and is good for
earning and profit.
is called the 'combination of perfecting'.
It is good for perfecting things. One can have
one's desires fulfilled.
is called the 'combination of energy' or
'force'. Things which are linked to power
and energy are favoured.
86
The following four combinations are considered unfavour
able:
earth + air
D D
water + air
0 D
earth + fire
D L
fire + water
L 0
is called the 'combination of consummation' in that there is a conflict between
the two elements; it brings about the con
sumption of things, diminishing in quanti
tive terms. For example if you have little
money, bit by bit this will gradually dwindle
away.
is called the 'combination of separation'. It brings separation and suffering
is called the 'combination which bums'.
It brings suffering.
is called the 'combination of death'.
This does not mean that everyone dies
when this combination comes about or
there would be no-one left alive! But it
does mean that it is negative for carrying
out anything whatsoever and it is said that
this day brings the 'destruction oflife'.
87
Tlte elemellts ;,, nature
88
Major Combinations
Another way of considering the relationship between a day of the
week (or planet) and a constellation is that of the Major Combina
tion (trodchen) which, unlike the Minor Combinations, does not take
into account their respective elements. All the possible types of relationship between planets and com
binations are worked out in twenty-eight combinations, to each of which is assigned a number and a name. The resulting characteristics of this combination provide information which is useful for understanding the characteristics of a particular day.
In the following table under each number indicating the day of the week, all twenty-eight constellations have been listed. In order to understand which of the twenty-eight Major Combinations stems from the encounter of a day and a constellation, it is enough, once
the day of the week has been found (for example day 4 = Wednes
day) to go down the corresponding column until you come to the
number of the constellation occurring that day, as can be found in
the calendar, and then look to the number on the left which gives the
corresponding Major Combination.
If, for example, today is a Wednesday and today's constellation is
number 19, the Major Combination for today is number 8 and one
must go and look at the characteristics of this combination. A Sun
day which falls on the day of constellation number 7, a Monday
with constellation number 15 etc. will also result in the same Major
Combination, number 8.
89
'fable of Major Combinations
DAYS OF THE 1 2 3 4 5 6 0
WEEK S>
MAJOR SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
COMBINATIONS
1 KUNG A 0 4 8 12 16 20 23
2 TBYUG 1 5 9 13 17 21a 24
3 TULWA 2 6 10 14 18 21b 25
4 KYEDAG 3 7 11 15 19 22 26
5 ZHON 4 8 12 16 20 23 0
6 CHAROG 5 9 13 17 21a 24 1
7 GYALTSEN 6 10 14 18 2lb 25 2
8 PALBE U 7 11 15 19 22 26 3
9 DORJE 8 12 16 20 23 0 4
10 THOWA 9 13 17 21a 24 1 5
11 DUG 10 14 18 2lb 25 2 6
12 TROG 11 15 19 22 26 3 7
13 YID 12 16 20 23 0 4 8
14 DOD 13 17 21a 24 1 5 9
15 GALME 14 18 21b 25 2 6 10
16 TSATON 15 19 22 26 3 7 11
17 CHIDAG 16 20 23 0 4 8 12
90
DAYSOF THE
I 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 WEEK S>
18 DA 17 2 1a 24 1 5 9 13
19 TRUB 18 )}b 25 2 6 10 14
20 DUNG 19 22 26 3 7 1 1 15
21 DVTSI �0 23 0 4 8 12 16
22 TVNSHING 2 1a 24 1 5 9 13 17
23 LANG PO 2 1b 25 2 6 10 14 18
24 TAGMO 22 26 3 7 11 15 19
25 SED �3 0 4 8 12 16 20
26 YO 24 1 5 9 13 17 2 1a
27 TEN 25 2 6 10 14 18 2 1b
28 PHEL 26 3 7 1 1 15 19 22
Significance of Each Major Combination
Here follows an explanation of the characteristics of each combination.
Combination 1
KUNGA; kun means everything, ga means pleasure: 'great pleasure' is the name of this combination. It is one which brings attainment, gifts and means it is favourable for doing anything.
91
Combination 2
TUYUG means a 'minimum amount of time', yug means slight,
tu means time. It is a 'fearful' combination which brings fear and is
rather unfavourable.
Combination 3
TULWA means an 'educated' or more civilised person. Brings
progress and riches.
Combination 4
KYEDAG means 'master of birth'. It is positive for babies and
mothers.
Combination 5
ZHON means 'young' or 'youth'. A very positive combination,
brings the attainment of all actions.
Combination 6
CHAROG also means 'crow' but it is the name of a constellation
which has a shape rather like a crow and so this is why it has been so
called.
This combination brings about quarrels and disagreements; if one
gets married on such a day it is likely one will then spend one's life
quarrelling with one's partner. It is also said to bring hunger which
means that it is a bit negative as far as economic aspects are con
cemed.
92
Combination 7
GYALTSEN means 'victorious flag'. It brings perfection and is very favourable, above all as far as ornaments and riches are concerned.
Combination 8
PALBEU is the symbol which they call the 'knot of infinite love'.
It brings jewels, thus one accumulates riches in both a spiritual and
material sense.
Combination 9
They call this DORJE; that is vajra, the sacred symbol of Tantrism.
Dorje in general has a positive meaning but in this case means lightning which is something that provokes fear and destruction.
Combination 10
THOWA means 'hammer', it brings death; in a figurative sense it
means a 'bang on the head'; not a good combination.
Combination 11
DUG means 'umbrella'; it is a good combination for winning
over enemies and is also good if one is doing something active.
Combination 12
TROG means 'friendship', that is one will meet friends.
93
Combination 13
YID means 'mind'. It is a combination which brings surprises,
good surprises.
Combination 14
D OD means 'wish' or desire; on this day wishes can be fulfilled.
Combination 15
GALME means 'ring of fire' like that made by twirling a burning
piece of wood in the dark, like the ring of flame that one sometimes
has to visualise in Tantrism. It is a combination that brings war, struggles, discussion and the
like.
Combination 16
TSATON means 'pull up roots'. It brings the consumption of life
and is negative.
Combination 17
CHIDAG means 'lord of death'. It brings death.
Combinatioll 18
DA means 'atTow'; it brings the loss of functioning of the senses
or of the limbs and so is above all linked to the physical condition; it
is not good.
94
Combination 19
TRUE means 'attainment'; it brings the attainment of all actions.
Whatever action is carried out the fruit will be obtained perfectly.
Combination 20
DUNG means 'spear'. It brings illness or the fear of illness.
Combination 21
DUDTSI means 'nectar'; it brings conquest over enemies in that
it lessens their strength.
Combination 22
TUNSHING could be translated as 'club', in a figurative sense it
means it 'can break a head'. It brings fear.
Combination 23
LANG PO means 'elephant'. All desires can be fulfilled.
Combination 24
TAGMO means 'tiger'. It is a good, or rather excellent combina
tion for journeys.
Combination 25
SED means 'consume'. It brings about the consuming of per
sonal riches, the loss of employees etc.
It is a good combination for thieves, it is easy to be robbed on this
day.
95
Combination 26
YO means 'movement'.
A good combination for doing 'active' deeds in that it brings
them about.
It is a favourable combination for beginning something impor
tant.
Combination 27
TEN means 'stable'. It is not good for actions where you need to
be active, particularly important ones like taking up the government
of a country or similar.
Combination 28
PHEL means 'progress'. It brings the progress that goes with eco
nomic riches and also progress in general.
It is also a good combination for having a child.
9fi
Particular Combinations
Unlike the Minor and Major Combinations which deal with the relationships of each planet with the twenty-eight constellations, these Particular Combinations take into consideration the meeting of the planets with only a limited number of constellations. The characteristics of these combinations can be in agreement with the characteristics of the other combinations but can also contradict them for certain particular aspects.
The table should be consulted in the same way as the previous one.
PLANETS �
CONSfELIATION�
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
DRUBJYOR
CHIJOR
SEGJOR
DUD NY!
DUDGYAL
JIG NY!
MITHUNNYJ
MITRODNYI
1 2
12 21a
26 2
9 15
2 11
18 21b
15 17
23 25
17 15 22
97
3 4 5 6 0
0 16 7 26 3
23 0 4 3 12
5 18 22 3 19
8 10 4 7 22
23
25 2 6 10 14
26 12 3 6 1
24 1 16 9 26
16 17 21a 3 10
Explanation of the Characteristics of the Particular
Combinations.
l.DRUBJOR
The name means 'combination of attainment'. It happens rarely but it is positive. It is a day on which one gets what one desires, it is
the 'day of nectar', good for activities of all kinds.
2. CHIJOR
It means 'combination of death' and is the opposite of the pre
ceding combination. One should avoid work concerning the house such as building a new house. It is not good for celebrating sacraments or any kind of celebration, for long life practice or undertaking important journeys. In general it is best to avoid undertaking anything of importance.
3.SEGJOR
It means the 'combination that bums'. It is not positive. All ac
tions of particular importance should be avoided. Not good for sur
gical operations, bloodletting and so on; for activities of little importance, nothing happens.
4.DUDNYI
It means the 'day of demons'. It means that it is a time in which
all negativity is favoured and our condition becomes weak, it is a
negative combination for all activities. Above all it is negative for
marriage, journeys and funerals and in general for all those times
which are astrologically important such as birth, death, marriage etc. But it is favourable for all evil actions such as black magic etc.
98
5.DUDGYAL
It means 'king of the demons'. It is positive for knowing the guard
ians of the teaching, for carrying out invasions and for undertaking
ferocious actions. It is good for all types of actions for conquering
people.
6. JIGNYI
It means 'day of destruction'. It is very unfavourable for mar
riage, agreements between people or nations; it is not good for horse
taming. If a funeral is held on this day there will be serious conse
quences for the grandchildren. It is not a good day for traveling. It is
positive for evil actions and conquest.
7. MITHUNNYI
It means the 'day of discord'. It does not happen frequently. One
should avoid all activities. If a marriage takes place there will be
negative consequences for the couple, their parents and for the
mother-in-law. If a funeral is held there can be damaging conse
quences for the young people in the family. It is a favourable combi
nation for doing things to separate people and for evil actions.
8. MITRODNYI
It means 'that which does not favour force'. It is a day which
does not favour the positive. If one holds a wedding on this day it
could be very negative for the mother-in-law and could also bring
about negativity for the child, daughter and wife. If a mother-in-law
is already agitated on her own account she will become more so
with a marriage held on this day. This day is not positive for the
preparation of medicines and healing.
It is positive for invasions, evil actions and separations.
99
Combinations of the Planets with the Dates
Another useful element for understanding the characteristics of a
day is the combination of the planets (i.e. days of the week) with the
date of the lunar month.
In the following table we have listed the negative combinations
which bring about those days that are called 'days that bum'.
On such days all actions are unfavourable; in particular one should
avoid all surgical operations, moxa, cremations etc., but the days on
which this combination appears are favourable for actions of war.
PLANETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 0
LUNAR 12 11 10 3 6 2 7
DATE 27 26 25 18 21 17 22
100
THE TWELVE
SYMBOLIC ANIMALS
EFFECTS OF THE 12 ANIMALS ON THE DAY
Each day has its particular characteristics and is favourable for
certain activities and unfavourable for others.
Tiger Day
Is favourable for:
- rituals for calling fortune (yang); - work on building a house;
- artistic activities;
- concluding business;
- fire rituals; - all actions or journeys to East or West; North is less favourable and
South is to be avoided.
Is w�favourable for:
- holding ceremonies to honour divinities;
- carrying out invasions;
- getting married;
- healing with medicines; - carrying out purifications with water and ritual healing;
- carrying out actions of banditry.
103
Hare Day
Is favourable for:
- funerals;
- trade in animals;
- the coronation of a king.
Is unfavourable for:
- war;
- building a house;
- work on the land, ploughing;
- excavating a mountain;
- digging and repairing canals;
- parties;
- rituals for calling fortune;
- healing rites for families;
- ferocious actions;
- taming horses or wild-animals;
- moving house or changing places;
- cursmg.
104
Dragon Day
Is favourable for:
- reigning or governing;
- doing good deeds, 'practice', building sacred things such as temples or
churches;
- carrying out rituals to eliminate the negativity of Si,
- carrying out rituals to ward off evil spirits;
- becoming a monk;
- consecrating;
- invading a country;
- constructing a big drum, changing the skin of a drum.
Is unfavourable for:
- travel by boat, ship or in general on water;
- going over bridges or narrow mountain passes;
- medical operations such as moxa;
- digging or ploughing the earth (this can disturb the Naga);
- rituals to bring rain;
- funerals and all actions which cause sorrow; it is not good to cry;
- all directions of travel.
105
Snake Day
Is favourable for - extremely favourable for a sick person to leave hospital;
- carrying out welcome ceremonies;
- lending money, giving riches;
- selling or giving away animals3;
- having ritual contact with the Naga;
- travel to the South, the other directions are negative.
Is unfavourablefor - cutting down trees, destroying forests; - holding a funeral; - absolutely not good for healing, moxa and in general for medicine;
- actions with magic strength;
- ferocious actions; - payments (in this case they will be never-ending);
- struggling against the powerful;
- working with water, digging wells;
- making a fireplace and chimney;
- marnage;
- coronations;
- commerce;
- healing rituals; - weeping for the dead, or this will bring about further tears (in ancient
times there was a day set aside for weeping).
3 In general giving away animals can cause one to lose one's luck. For this reason
Saturday for example is considered a bad day for 'sending away', 'sending out',
whether it be animals, money, riches or whatever.
106
Horse Day
Is favourable for
- holding rituals to honour divinities;
- holding secret talks;
- standing up to and overcoming someone;
- making plans, projects;
- celebrating, putting on ornaments;
- looking for a partner, deciding on an engagement, looking for friends;
- making agreements between nations, kingdoms, choosing a president or
giving a responsibility;
- taking an oath.
Is unfavourable for
- renting a new house;
- making a great tent;
- constructing weapons;
- work connected with death or funerals;
- court cases or quarrels;
- requests for important things;
- rituals to ask for rain;
- cutting hair (this is true for horses too);
- horse taming, horse racing;
- buying or selling horses;
- getting married or attending a wedding.
107
Sheep Day
Is favourable for
- ceremonies to honour;
- work connected with the house;
- changing the place of animals, sending off animals;
- preparing important dishes; - getting married;
- ploughing and digging;
- opening a museum or a safe.
Is unfavourble for
- becoming a monk;
- medical operations such as moxa;
- the preparation of medicine;
- 'ferocious' cures;
- moving and transport;
- applying laws;
- leading armies into war;
- carrying out important actions, making important requests;
- rituals to call rain.
108
Monkey Day
Is favourable for
- wearing ornaments;
- getting married;
- planting trees, growing fruit, preparing gardens;
- playing the lottery and in general taking part in activities where there is
something to win;
- making bets;
- celebrating;
- making requests for something important;
- rain rituals;
- rituals to block negativity;
- funerals and rituals of death;
- music, theatre, dance and gymnastics;
- sport, competitions and tournaments such as judo and others;
- travel in directions to the East and North.
Is unfavourable for
- preparing new clothes, making a new tent;
- for the young, beginning to take on adult responsibilities;
- artistic activities;
- making agreements;
- actions of banditry.
In general, the Monkey day is negative for reigning, coronations and for receiving important responsibilities.
109
Bird Day
Is favourable for
- selling;
- healing the sick: very good for healing small children;
- preparing medicines;
- 'ferocious actions' carried out with mantras;
- fire rituals;
- rain rituals;
- cultivating fruit, plants;
- asking for important things.
Is w�favourablefor
- secret conferences;
- important celebrations;
- constructing weapons;
- rituals for warding off negativity;
- virtuous actions;
- great gifts;
- putting on performances.
llO
Dog Day
Is favourable for
- making things;
- giving birth to a child;
- marrying off a daughter;
- going hunting;
- carrying out rituals to ward off poverty;
- 'creating a cause';
- praying to resolve something;
- digging a mine;
- putting together a treasure hoard.
Is unfavourable for
- getting married;
- important requests;
- conferences;
- getting engaged;
- sowing seeds;
- stealing;
- house building work;
- 'ferocious actions' of any kind;
- rain rituals;
- cutting hair or most of all washing hair because one can bring about
disturbances such as unhappiness and gossip.
Ill
Boar Day
Is favourable for
- welcoming ceremonies;
- working with 'power', for example giving initiations;
- applying laws;
- rituals for blocking Si (that kind of curse which provokes disturbances
which can recur again and again in a family);
- rain rituals.
Is W?favourablefor
- building a new cemetery;
- digging, having contact with earth;
- carrying out rituals to counteract negativity;
- starting children's studies and in general to begin studying;
- the work of painting;
- digging wells to get water.
112
Mouse Day
Is favourable for
- opening things, making openings such as gates or doors, etc;
- going off to steal, banditry;
- the birth of a child;
- teaching a child to walk;
- making important requests;
- getting engaged;
- opening a treasure trove;
- going and taking a wife by force, against the wishes of her parents; - commerce;
- carrying out rain rituals.
Is unfavourablefor
- doing a Mo (a kind of divination);
- constructing weapons;
- carrying out rituals to ward off negativity;
- applying moxa;
- setting off on a long journey;
- having contact with blood or flesh;
- leaving the family to get married (this applies to a son).
113
Ox Day
Is favourable for
- the wedding of a widow;
- building;
- making war;
- making an arti ficial lake;
- working metal (so it is good for blacksmiths);
- building a fireplace and chimney;
- carrying out actions which require a mental effort or physical force;
- solving problems;
- 'putting a cause';
- buying animals;
- working on a house, building, repairing or laying foundations;
- making a journey.
Is W?(avourable for
- commerce;
- study;
- propaganda against or speaking badly about someone or something (be-
cause it can tum back on to you);
- becoming a monk;
- giving and receiving spiritual teachings;
- carrying out rituals to ward off negativity;
- receiving the husband or wife of a family;
- opening treasures that have been hidden for many years, family treas-
ures;
- carrying out rain rituals. 114
There are some days which have particularly negative char
acteristics and therefore there are things which one should
remember to avoid:
On Tiger and Monkey days one should avoid perfonning
public deeds;
On Bird and Hare days one should avoid magic actions;
On Dog and Dragon days one should avoid war and ban
ditry;
On Boar and Snake days one should avoid digging or any
contact with the earth;
On Mouse and Horse days one should avoid horse-racing
and any contact with blood and flesh.
115
The Relationship Between One's Personal
Element and the Element of the Day
To the general evaluation gained by analysing the days of the
month linked to the cycle of the twelve animals one can add a more
personal evaluation by checking the relationship between the ele
ment of the year of birth (the element of one's capacity) and the
element of the day on the calendar.
One should check whether, for example, the element of the day is
mother, child, friend or enemy of the element of one's year of birth.
Remember that the element of the day can be:
Mother= very favourable, helps progress;
Child = a fairly neutral situation;
Friend= favourable, gives help;
Enemy = unfavourable, opposition
For example:
If the element of my year of bi1th is Fire and the element of the
day is Wood, this means that the latter is mother to Fire and there
fore the relationship and the day is favourable.
If the element of my year of birth is Fire and the element of the day is Water, the latter is enemy to Fire and therefore the day is
unfavourable.
If, on the other hand, the element of my year of birth is Water and
the element of the day is Fire the latter is friend to Water and there
fore the day will be favourable. If the element of the year of birth is Wood and that of the day is
Fire, the latter being child to Wood, then the day will be neutral.
116
The constellation ofOrionji·om the Atlas of Hevelius,
Uranographia (1680)
117
THE MEW A
TheMewa
Another important piece of data that needs to be taken into account when examining the astrological characteristics of a day is the number of the cycle of Mew a.
This important calculation is widespread in China but its origins are to be found in the ancient traditions of Tibet.
Mewa literally means a 'mole'; moles can appear on any part of
the body without apparent reason. Some moles are present at birth
while others appear after many years. In general one might say that
moles are connected to secondary circumstances. This can help us
to understand what Mewa is: when secondary causes combine, when
a force contains all these possibilities, then that force is called Mewa.
The numerical cycle of the Mewa comprises the numbers from
one to nine and each number is associated with a particular element.
Each Mewa has its own characteristics: some pacific, some fero
cious, some have the characteristic of movement etc. The order of
the numbers is not progressive from 1 to 9 but in reverse order from
9 down to 1. The numbers are thus associated with the sixty years
121
cycle, beginning with number 1 and the Wood-Mouse year; the next
year will then be the Wood-Ox year with Mewa number 9 followed
by the Fire-Tiger year with Mewa number 8 and so on. At the end of
the first cycle of sixty years the Wood-Mouse year comes round
again but this time with the number 4.
In order to get back to the same combination of element animal
and number (Wood-Mouse with Mewa 1) three cycles of sixty years
have to pass, making a cycle of 180 years. This 180 year cycle is
called Metreng, is the true 'Mewa cycle'.
In historical chronology a Metreng is used to define a particular
era: thus one speaks of the first Metreng, the second Metreng and so
on; in traditional Bonpo stories this method of dating is used. If, for
example, one talks of entering the 20th Metreng, this means that more than 3000 years have passed from the beginning of the cycle which coincided with the birth of Shenrab Miwoche.
Mewa numbers are also associated with months and days, each of which has a dominant Mewa which will characterise its condition.
122
The nine spaces
(from a Tibetan print)
123
Table of the Mewa Cycle
ANIMALS z >--CORRESPONDING "'-l 0 w "'-l
"'-l
C/l 0:: �
0 � C/l 0.. � 0::
TO THE YEAR :;J "'-l
d < 0:: "'-l z Cl 0 < 0 X 0 < 0 "'-l 0 0:: 0 0 z :r:: OF BIRTH :2 0 1== :r:: Cl C/l :r:: C/l :2 ;:a Cl a:l
I!] [!] & & [!] 0 ffi ffi ® 0 [!] [!] First cycle In & [!] 0 ffi ffi 0 0 [!] [!] & &
of E) 0 ffi ffi 0 @ 0 [!] & &. ill m sixty years ffi ffi ® 0 0 0 & & [!) 0 L!J ffi
0 0 [!] 0 & & [!] 0 0 0 0 0 E1 � & & 0 [!] CD ffi ® 0 !!] 0
Second cycle & & [!] 0 ffi ffi 0 0 1!1 [!] & & of [!] 0 0 0 0 ® [!] [!] & In 0 III
sixty years 0 ffi 0 0 [!] [!] In &10 0 0 L!J
0 ® [!] 0 & & 0 0ffi CD 0 0 0 [!] & � [!] !!] ffi G:JI® 0 I!! I!]
Third cycle & & [!] [!] 0 ffi 0 0 § � & & of
[!] 0 ffi UJ 0 0 E) 1!1 & & [!] [!] sixty years
ffi ffi 0 0 1!1 0 & & [!] 0 ffi ILtl
0 0 0 lD & & 0 [!] ffi 0 0 0
The table illustrates the Metreng, the 180 year cycle giving the
complete Mewa cycle. Since a Metreng includes three sixty year
cycles, the same combination of animal with element will occur
three times but these differ in the Mewa associated with each.4
4 The year 1991 (Metal-Sheep with Mewa 9) appears in the first line of the third cycle of sixty years.
124
Characteristics of the Nine Numbers of
the Mewa Cycle
4 9 2
3 5 7
8 1 6
MEWATABLE
NUMBER I COLOUR I ELEMENT
1 WHITE METAL (EARTH)
2 BLACK WATER
3 BLUE WATER
4 GREEN WOOD (AIR)
5 YELLOW EARTH
6 WHITE METAL (EARTH)
7 RED FIRE
8 WHITE METAL (EARTH)
9 RED FIRE
When consulting the calendar and making an astrological evalu
ation of the day you can do two kinds of examination: the first, a
general one, simply concerns the characteristics of the Mewa that
falls on that day; while the second kind is individual and consists of
looking at the relationship between the element of the ewa of one's
year ofbirth with element of the Mewa of the day.
125
Significance of the Mewa
Mewa 1
One should bathe, carry out purifications, honour divinities, carry
out ritual offerings.
Negative for teaching small children to walk.
Mewa2
Good for magic rites, power, for warding off negative influences. One should avoid night travel, weddings and ceremonies.
Mewa3
Good for making offerings to water spirits and for all activities
connected to water.
Negative for weddings and cutting down trees.
Mewa4
Good for all medical activities.
Negative for teaching children to walk or for taking them out of
the house.
126
Mewa5
Good for all virtuous activities.
Negative for buying a dog. One should not buy anything from a
monastery or from priests.
Mewa6
Good for rituals to increase fortune and riches, for purification,
baths, weddings, moving house and transport.
A void places where people weep and do not provoke quarrels.
Mewa 7
Good for carrying out ritual offerings to the guardian spirits of a
place.
Negative for butchering animals, selling meat etc; negative also
for military actions and banditry.
Mewa8
Good for weddings, purifications, baths and baptism.
A void contact with dirty objects and avoid burning substances
which give off an unpleasant smell because this can weaken the
vital force of the individual.
Mewa9
Good for long life rites and rites for the increase of riches. If
there is something to be taken this is a good day to take it.
Negative for paying. If there have been losses this is a negative
stgn.
127
Calculation of the Mew a of the Year of
Birth
In order to find the Mewa of your year ofbitih you need to count
backwards the number of years of your age (using the Tibetan sys
tem) starting with the number which refers to the current year in the
Metreng table.
For example:
If the current year is (1991) Metal-Sheep of the third sixty years cycle, then its Mew a number is 9. A person of 16 will count 16 years back from Mewa 9 (under the Sheep column on the first line of the table with the third cycle of sixty years). The resulting Mew a number of his year ofbirth is 6 con·esponding to the column of the Dragon; the element of that year, as can be seen from the table, is Fire and so the person in question is Fire-Dragon.
How to Check the Mew a of Birth
Against That of the Day
In order to compare the Mewa ofbirth with that of the day, which
is to be found in the corresponding place in the table, one needs to
look at the four kinds of relationship between the elements which
were explained above: mother, child, friend, enemy.
For example: If the Mewa of birth is 6 and the Mewa of the day is 5, then you
have to consider the relationship between Metal, which corresponds to 6, and Earth which corresponds to 5.
Metal, element of the year of birth, is child to Earth, element of the Mewa of the day, and so from the Mewa calculation the day is a favourable one.
128
Final Considerations
The consultation of a particular date on the calendar and the cal
culation of all the various aspects will result in a set of characteris
tics which probably contradict each other.
This should not be surprising since it is very rare that all the char
acteristics are unequivocal.
One should bear in mind certain general considerations which
can aid an understanding and global evaluation of a date and its
dominant characteristics.
Firstly, in order to interpret the astrological condition of a par
ticular day, one should look at the Minor Combination and secondly
the Major Combination: these are the most important for a general
evaluation.
Secondly one should look at the position of the day and the per
sonal constellations. It is worth remembering that generally the in
dividual aspect of the day will prevail over the general aspect.
Thus, if today I find the constellation of KEG is present (very
unfavourable), this is more significant that the fact that the Minor
and Major Combinations might be favourable and so it would be
preferable if possible to put off carrying out actions of particular
importance. Then even ifWednesday is my day ofSHED, and this is
considered to be excellent for doing important business it is still
possible that I will encounter obstacles should I conclude some deal.
So one must always balance the aspect of the day and the con
stellation of the individual with the general combination of day and
constellation.
129
From considering these elements (Minor Combination, Major
Combination and aspect of the day and the personal constellation)
one can already get a fundamentally precise evaluation of the day in
question (one still needs to check whether the combination of the
day appears in the Particular Combinations).
Next in importance is the consideration of the day according to
the cycle of the twelve symbolic animals.
The other aspects listed below are secondary but can be useful
for identifying the characteristics of a particular date:
1. The position of the Mewa of the day in general and with re
spect to the Mewa of one's birth year.
2. Significance of the constellation of the day.
3. The position of the day of the week (favourable or unfavour
able for cetiain actions).
4. The relationship between the personal element and the ele
ment of the day.
5. The position of the lunar date.
130
Index of Tibetan Words and Names
bon
charog
chidag
chijor
chizhin
chorten
chu
chi.idlen
churned
chutod
da
do
dod
dorje
drubjor
di.id
di.idgyal
di.idnyi
di.idtsi
dug
dung
keg
Go
Gyal
Gyaltsen
gyukar
jignyi
jungtsi
jyinseg
kag
kartsi
khyim
kung a
kyedag
bon 11, 12,13,68
bya rog 92
'chi bdag 90,94
'chi sbyor 97, 98
byi bzhin 72, 75
mchod rten 61, 63, 64, 68
mchu 38, 48, 73
bcud len 60
chu smad 75
chu stod 95
mda 91, 113
mdos 67
'dod 90,94
rdo rje 90, 93
'grub sbyor 28, 98
bdud 29,80,81
bdud rgya1 97, 99
bdud nyi 97, 98
bdud rtsi 95
gdugs 90,93
mdung 91, 95
keg 29,80,81,129
mgo 48, 73
rgya1 48,73
rgyal mtshan 90, 93
rgyu skar 19
'jig nyi 97,99
'byung rtsis 11, 17, 18,24,37,38,39,40,43,49,51,
53,78,85
sbyi sreg 61
skag 73
skar rtsis 11, 17, 18,23,24,37,40, 78,85
khyim 19
kun dga 27,92
skyes bdag 92
131
la
lag
lagsor
langpo
menkhor
metreng
mewa
mezhi
mindrug
mithunnyi
mitrodnyi
mo
mondre
mondru
nabso
nagpa
namdru
narma
non
nub
palbeu
phel phowa
rabjung
saga
sari
sed
segjor
shang shung
shed
Shenrab Miwoche
si
sog
Songtsen gampo
sor
sormedpa
tagmo
ted
bla 29, 30, 79, 80, 81
lag 73
lag sor 74
glang po 91,95
sme 'khor 13, 14,26
sme phreng 13, 14, 122, 124
sme ba 13, 15, 16,25,26,30, 121,122,124,125,126,
127, 128, 130
me bzhi 74
smin drug 48, 73
mi mthun nyi 97,99
mi 'phrod nyi 97, 99
mo 64, 66, 113
mon gre 75
mon gru 75
nags so 73
nag pa 48,74
nam gru 75
snar ma 73
snron 48
snrubs 74
dpa1 be'u 90, 93
'phel 91,96
'pho ba
rab 'byung I 7
sa ga 48, 74
sa ri 74
zad 91, 95
sreg sbyor 97, 98
zhang zhung 12, 16,24
gshed 29, 79,80,81,129
gShen rab Mi bo che 12, 122
sri 61, 62, 70, 105, 112
srog 29, 79, 80
srong btsan sgam po 12, 15
zor 62, 67
zor med pa 62
stag mo 91,95
gtad 62,67
132
ten brtan 91, 96
thakar tha skar 48
thowa tho ba 90, 93
thu mthu' 62,67
torma gtor rna 63, 67
tranye bra nye 73
trashi dawa bhra shis z1a ba 50
tre gre 74
trod chen 'phrod chen 89
trodchung 'phrod chung 85
trog grogs 88,91 90,94
trozhin gro bzhin 48, 75
trummed khrums smad 75
trumtod khrums stod 48, 75
trub grub 91,95
tsaton rtsa bton 90, 94
tiijor dus sbyor 19
tu1wa dulba 92
tiinshing gtun shing 91,95
tiiyug dus dbyug 92
wang dbang 80,81
wo dbo 48, 74
yang g.yang 16, 58, 61, 63, 103
yid yid 90, 94
yo g.yo 91,96
zhon gzhon 90,92
133