Ancient calculation. Clear modern guidance.

A map for the practice of a lifetime.

A Tse Tsi is a Tibetan lifelong astrological calculation. It traces changing karmic conditions from birth through later life — not as fixed fate, but as guidance for meeting each period with awareness, practice and compassion.

Hand-calculatedTradition-ledMade accessible
The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism
Tashi Tagye · Eight Auspicious Symbols

Coming to Kickstarter A founding edition of 100 individually calculated Tse Tsi readings for Western practitioners.

The offering

Direction, not destiny.

A Tse Tsi can help you recognize demanding periods, understand supportive cycles and choose traditional remedies. For meditators, it offers a long view: a way to align lifelong practice with the changing conditions of one’s own karma.

It is spiritual and cultural guidance, not medical, legal or financial advice — and never a substitute for professional care or personal judgment.

01 · The tradition

What is Tibetan astrology?

Tibetan astrology, or tsi rik, brings together astronomy, elemental relationships and Buddhist understandings of interdependence. It is traditionally practiced alongside Tibetan medicine and used to support wise timing, reflection and remedial action.

I

Indigenous Tibetan & Bön traditions

Geomancy, environmental harmonization and methods for reading the relationship between human vitality, place and unseen conditions.

II

Chinese elemental astrology

The twelve animals, five dynamic elements, nine Mewas and eight Parkhas reveal cycles of change and elemental compatibility.

III

Indian astronomical astrology

Sidereal planetary calculation, twelve houses and twenty-seven lunar mansions anchor the reading in measured celestial cycles.

IV

Kalachakra · Wheel of Time

A Buddhist cosmology linking outer cycles, the rhythms of the body and mind, and the path of transformation.

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The chart is best understood as a karmic weather map: it describes conditions and probabilities, while leaving room for awareness, conduct and practice to change how they are met.

Our interpretive principle

A different lens

From personality portrait to lifelong sequence

Rather than reducing either tradition to a stereotype, this comparison shows the particular questions a Tse Tsi is designed to answer.

LensCommon Western focusTse Tsi focus
TimeNatal themes and recurring transitsOne non-repeating life sequence
SkyOften tropical and solar-orientedSidereal, lunar and planetary calculations
ElementsFour symbolic elementsFive dynamic elements in relationship
PurposeCharacter and timing insightLife periods, obstacles and remedies

ཚེ་རྩིས།

tshe rtsis · “life calculation”

What makes a Tse Tsi distinctive?

Using exact birth details, a trained tsipa calculates a natal pattern and a sequence of nine planetary periods. The result brings together temperament, the five personal life forces, sensitive years, supportive days and practices traditionally prescribed to meet obstacles.

  • Personal: calculated from date, time and place of birth
  • Long-range: a continuous sequence across the lifespan
  • Practical: includes To Chos, or remedial guidance

The five life forces

Five ways the chart reads vitality

These are traditional categories, not clinical measurements. Together they describe how the individual’s energies are understood to function.

སྲོག

Sok

Vitality and life force

ལུས།

Lu

Body and physical resilience

དབང་ཐང་།

Wangthang

Capacity, influence and resources

ཀླུང་རྟ།

Lungta

Windhorse, momentum and fortune

བླ།

La

Protective presence and integration

02 · A real case, newly presented

See how a Tse Tsi unfolds.

This sample re-presents a traditional Men-Tsee-Khang calculation prepared for Stéphane Bertha. The original language is distilled into a clear reading while preserving the chart’s sequence and practical orientation.

The illustrated opening page of Stéphane Bertha's traditional Tibetan astrological calculation
The source. The hand-prepared astrological scroll and its accompanying written interpretation.
Case study · shared with permission

Stéphane Bertha

Western birth record
9 November 1967 · 1:15 PM
Tibetan lunar record
8th day · 9th month · Fire Sheep year
Natal constellation
Gro-bzhin · Altair
Natal Mewa
5 Yellow · Centre
In plain language

The natal section describes a thoughtful, articulate and creative temperament. Progress is linked less to effortless luck than to sustained effort, ethical conduct and the support of wise mentors.

The nine-period life sequence

Move through the chart by age

Age57
Period 6 of 9

Mercury · Lhakpa

Age 46 years, 2 months to 57 years, 4 months

Positive action & relationships

A constructive phase for work and initiative, with supportive relationships. Financial growth is described as steady rather than rapid, inviting care with resources.

The period ending near age 79 is a traditional astrological horizon in this source chart. It is not a medical prognosis or a prediction of the date of death.

Reading the turning points

Obstacle years

The source identifies ages 25, 31, 35, 37, 46, 49, 50, 61, 70, 73 and 78 as periods calling for added care. The modern presentation frames them as moments for preparation — not reasons for fear.

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Weekly rhythm

Power days

Monday and Friday are described as supportive days for important activity. Thursday calls for extra preparation and steadiness. Other days are treated as neutral.

MTWTFSS

To Chos · remedial practice

Insight becomes action.

A reading is not complete at diagnosis. Traditional remedies invite ethical and contemplative responses to difficult conditions.

01

Protect life

Tshe thar: saving animals from slaughter and acting to preserve life.

02

Purify conditions

Sang: juniper smoke offering, performed with proper guidance and intention.

03

Generate merit

Charitable giving and offerings to monastics, elders, people in need and religious communities.

04

Strengthen practice

Dietary care, patience, generosity and protective practices appropriate to the person.

03 · The first 100

A founding edition for Western practitioners.

Ask a Tsipa is preparing 100 individually calculated Tse Tsi readings for an upcoming Kickstarter. Each calculation will follow the traditional system taught at Men-Tsee-Khang and be presented in accessible, contemporary English.

Kickstarter · coming soon
  1. 1
    Precise birth recordDate, time and place are carefully converted.
  2. 2
    Traditional calculationPrepared by a trained Tibetan astrologer in Dharamshala.
  3. 3
    Human interpretationClarified for Western readers without flattening the tradition.
  4. 4
    A lasting life documentDesigned to revisit across decades of practice.
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