A Tibetan astrology calendar thangka is not a calendar for looking up dates but an astrological chart, known in Tibetan as a sipaho. On the belly of a great golden turtle it sets out the building blocks of Tibetan astrology (the twelve animals, the eight trigrams and the nine numbers) beneath a row of Buddhist deities. It is both a teaching diagram and, traditionally, a protective charm for the home.
The turtle and Manjushri
Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, is regarded as the patron of astrology, and the turtle is said to be his emanation. In a well-known story, he made a golden turtle rise from the cosmic ocean and struck it with a golden arrow so that it rolled onto its back; then he wrote on its belly the secrets of the times to come.
How it is shown
- The golden turtle, seen from below: on its back, limbs spread, head at the top. In some of our paintings the head is painted as a fierce face.
- The nine numbers (mewa) at the centre of its belly: a three-by-three magic square with 5 in the middle, in which every line of three adds up to fifteen. Each number has its own colour.
- The eight trigrams (parkha) around them: the same three-line signs as in the Chinese I Ching, used to read directions.
- The twelve animals in the outer ring: mouse, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog and pig. Paired with the five elements (wood, fire, earth, iron and water), they name the years of a sixty-year cycle.
- Deities at the top, often Manjushri, Chenrezig and Vajrapani, the Three Protectors of wisdom, compassion and power, with the Kalachakra monogram, the "ten powerful syllables" (Namchu Wangden), and squares of protective syllables.
- Smaller protective wheels below, and in many paintings the sun and moon.
Where Tibetan astrology comes from
Tibetan astrology joins two systems. Indian astronomy came to Tibet with the Kalachakra Tantra in the eleventh century, and the Tibetan sixty-year cycle is counted from 1027. Chinese elemental astrology contributed the animal years, the trigrams and the magic square. Astrologers use these systems to cast horoscopes and to choose auspicious days for events such as a wedding, a move or a funeral. Charts like this are traditionally hung above a doorway or kept in the home, where they are believed to ward off harmful influences.
In a painting
This is a painting of small, exact details. Look for numbers and syllables that are neat and legible, trigram lines that are straight and evenly spaced, animals that can each be recognised, and deities at the top painted with the same care as a single-deity thangka. Some of our paintings add columns of trigrams at the sides and set the chart on a bright yellow ground. A turtle seen from below, with rings of animals and trigrams on its belly, identifies the subject at once.
