THE TIBETAN CALENDAR

This is a solar-lunar calendar, that is, the months are based on the phases of the moon and the years on the movement of the sun. It names the years in a cycle of 60, combining 12 animal names (adopted from the Chinese) with 5 pairs of element names.

Animals:

  1. Rabbit
  2. Dragon
  3. Snake
  4. Horse
  5. Sheep
  6. Monkey
  7. Bird
  8. Dog
  9. Pig
  10. Mouse
  11. Ox
  12. Tiger

Elements:

The cycle also alternates each with Yin and Yang (or Female and Male), thus we start with:

  1. Yin Fire Rabbit
  2. Yang Earth Dragon
  3. Yin Earth Snake
  4. Yang Iron Horse
  5. Yin Iron Sheep
  6. Yang Water Monkey
  7. etc.

Finishing the 60 year cycle with Yang Fire Tiger.

Dates c. 2750 to c. 3250 are inaccurate due to the lack of knowledge of astronomical calculation after the fall of the Tibetan dynasty.

Link:

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