Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the autumn 2026 colloquium series hosted by the Max Planck Research Group, Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA).

Our upcoming series, titled Sky, Earth, and Bodies: Astral Sciences across High and Central Asia, has been organised by ASTRA's postdoctoral scholar Dr Luigi Rogora.

The Tibetan term tsi ('calculation') represents a broad range of astral sciences, including astronomy, astrology, geomancy, and medicine, that flourished through dynamic exchanges across India, Tibet, Mongolia, and China. By viewing the human body as a microcosm structurally attuned to cosmic cycles, these practices linked celestial movements to somatic experience and medical expertise within monastic and scholarly networks.

This colloquium series highlights these trans-regional traditions, tracing how astral knowledge and scientific practices travelled across languages, places, and communities. It brings together scholars to examine the dynamic intersections of astronomical knowledge, calendrical structures, geographical frameworks, systems across High and Central Asia.

All talks in the series will be live-streamed online, and Zoom access links, individual abstracts, and further details can be found on the series homepage at https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/page/astra-colloquium-sky-earth-bodies.

Opening Talk:

• Title: The Anatomy of Time: Integrating Medical Calendrics and Dolpopa’s Ontology in the Kālacakra System

• Speaker: Sokhyo Bryan Jo

• Date & Time: 29 September 2026, 10:00 AM CEST

• Talk Link: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/anatomy-time-integrating-medical-calendrics-and-dolpopas-ontology-kalacakra-system

We look forward to welcoming many of you online. Please feel free to pass this announcement along to colleagues and contacts who may also find it of interest.

With kind regards,
Prof. Dr Anuj Misra