Tibetan calendar

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The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added approximately every three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year. The months have no names, but are referred to by their numbers.

The Tibetan New Year celebration is Losar.

The days of the week are named for celestial bodies.

Day Tibetan Phonetic transcription Object
Sunday gza' nyi ma Sa nyi-ma Sun
Monday gza' zla ba Sa da-wa Moon
Tuesday gza' mig dmar Sa Mik-mar Mars
Wednesday gza' lhak pa Sa Lhak-ba Mercury
Thursday gza' phur bu Sa Phur-bu Jupiter
Friday gza' pa sangs Sa Ba-sang Venus
Saturday gza' spen pa Sa ben-ba Saturn

Day	Tibetan	Phonetic transcription	Object
Sunday	gza' nyi ma	Sa nyi-ma	Sun
Monday	gza' zla ba	Sa da-wa	Moon
Tuesday	gza' mig dmar	Sa Mik-mar	Mars
Wednesday	gza' lhak pa	Sa Lhak-ba	Mercury
Thursday	gza' phur bu	Sa Phur-bu	Jupiter
Friday	gza' pa sangs	Sa Ba-sang	Venus
Saturday	gza' spen pa	Sa ben-ba	Saturn

Each year is associated with an animal and an element. The animals alternate in the following order:

Hare	Dragon	Snake	Horse	Sheep	Ape	Bird	Dog	Pig	Mouse	Bull	Tiger

The elements alternate in the following order:

Fire	Earth	Iron	Water	Wood

Each element is associated with two consecutive years, first in its male aspect, then in its female aspect. For example, a male Earth-Dragon year is followed by a female Earth-Snake year, then by a male Iron-Horse year. The sex may be omitted, as it can be inferred from the animal.

The element-animal designations recur in cycles of 60 years, starting with a (female) Fire-Hare year. These big cycles are numbered. The first cycle started in 1027. Therefore, 2005 roughly corresponds to the (female) Wood-Bird year of the 17th cycle.

This complicated calendar structure offers a promising field to astrologers.

References

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