We are happy to announce the upcoming dates of our ASTRA Colloquium Fall 2026: “Sky, Earth, and Bodies: Astral Sciences across High and Central Asia” so you can save the dates. More details and announcements of the individual events will be shared in advance of the respective dates.

Sep 29, 2026 | 10:00–11:30 | Online “The Anatomy of Time: Integrating Medical Calendrics and Dolpopa's Ontology in the Kālacakra System” Sokhyo Bryan Jo

Oct 9, 2026 | 14:00–15:30 | MPIWG Villa & Online “Five Paths of the Svarodaya” Matthew Kapstein

Oct 28, 2026 | 14:00–15:30 | MPIWG Villa & Online “When Theriacs Became Alchemical Elixirs: The Reception of Complex Eurasian Compounds Within the Tibetan Medical System” Carmela Simioli

Nov 25, 2026 | 14:00–15:30 | MPIWG Villa & Online “Temporality in the Environment: Aspects of Spatial Orientation in Seventeenth Century Tibet” Petra Maurer

Dec 7, 2026 | 14:00–15:30 | MPIWG Villa & Online “'The Collection of Writings on Prognostication' by Lamyn Gegeen versus the Tibetan Treatise Vaiḍūrya dkar po by Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho: Spreading Buddhist Astrology from Tibet to Mongolia in the Seventeenth Century” Agata Bareja-Starzyńska

Jan 22, 2027 | 14:00–15:30 | MPIWG Villa & Online “Mapping the Cosmos, Locating the World: Visual Representations of Space in Tibetan Cosmographical and Cartographical Traditions” Diana Lange

About: The colloquium series “Sky, Earth, and Bodies: Astral Sciences across High and Central Asia” highlights recent contributions to the classical Buddhist fields of knowledge and opens critical perspectives on the practical life of science across High and Central Asia. Invited speakers will trace the adaptation and transmission of astral knowledge in these regions. Specifically, the series addresses geography and cartography, astral medicine, astronomy, astrology, and mantic arts as they traveled between sources, languages, places, and people, offering a broader understanding of the history of knowledge across trans-regional Asia.

Participation and Registration: We welcome both internal and external guests. Registration is only required for in-person attendance. All talks will be streamed via Zoom (see event pages for link). For further information about the colloquium series, please contact Luigi Rogora (lrogora@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de).

Venue: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Boltzmannstrasse 22, 14195 Berlin @ Villa Seminar Room, Harnackstrasse 5

We look forward to seeing you there, 

Prof. Dr. Anuj Misra (on behalf of Dr Luigi Rogora)

Poster download