This is a book to savour. Produced and designed with great care and at great expense, the volume is an extraordinarily beautiful rendition of a literary opus of considerable weight. The manuscript reproduced in this new publication was written by Sangye Gyatso (sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho, 1653-1705), Regent of the Sixth Dalai Lama and defacto ruler of Tibet during the late 17th century. Among his lasting contributions are the Red Palace of the Potala in Lhasa, which was built under his direction, and literary works that fill 26 volumes. As the Dalai Lama explains in his forward, The White Beryl explores a "little known but widely practised aspect of Tibetan life, and reveals another exquisite example of the wealth of Tibetan literature". It is reproduced, translated and commented upon in this publication by Dr Gyurme Dorje, one of the most accomplished translators and interpreters of Tibetan Buddhist culture working today. The text is lucid and comprehensive, although the esoteric subject matter means that one is likely to dip into sections ('The origins and transmission of elemental divination', 'The impact of the hour of divination'), rather than read the more than 400 pages in a single, or even several, sittings. The delightful illustrations of the 18th century manuscript are reproduced in their entirety and again in lavish details that accompany the development of the text. Designer Mark Vernon-Jones has brilliantly integrated the illustrations with the translation and commentary by Gyurme Dorje, enlarging enchanting details that might otherwise be hardly noticeable among the wealth of illustrations. The style of these illustrations is reminiscent of another outstanding Tibetan illustrated manuscript, dated to the 17th century, produced by the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682) as a record of his mystical visionary experiences and published in 1988 under the title Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Like The White Beryl, Secret Visions is filled with powerful, evocative images that were as important to the dissemination of its contents as was the carefully composed text. While Himalayan specialists will recognise some of the iconography in The White Beryl, such as wrathful protector deities (1), there are many images that this reviewer has never before seen, including the robed, animal-headed figures representing the years, engaged in intimate conversation (2); and the chart (3) illustrating the "potential obstacles when a bride sets out under her own natal trigram or at a certain age". Tibetans regularly consulted astrologers or diviners for clarification and assistance in "mundane matters" such as rites of passage, marital compatibility, material success, and the "ritual avoidance of impending disasters". Tibetan divination is not meant to be deterministic, but is intended to enable the individual (through the guidance of a qualified diviner) to diminish the possible negative effects of past karma and the destructive whims of low-level deities who require propitiation. The divination process is extremely complex. As Gyurme Dorje explains, in addition to the complex calculations conducted in consultation with The White Beryl, the diviner refers to the subject's dreams, and to his or her appearance, clothing, facial expressions, body language; even signs that appear to the diviner while en route to meet his client are incorporated into the assessment of the subject's divination. The time and place of divination are also guided by prescriptions outlined in the text: "xin general they should be carried out during the waxing phase of the lunar month, and in the morning to determine past signs, in the afternoon to determine future signs, and around noon to determine present events". This complex system draws upon Chinese Buddhist and Daoist traditions which were integrated in Tibet with Indian astrological systems and Nepalese treatises on martial conquest. Divination is one of the five 'minor sciences' recognised in Tibetan culture, along with poetics, prosody, synonymics and drama. (The major sciences, introduced to Tibet from India and China include Sanskrit grammar, medicine, logic, art and Buddhism). This reviewer, who has been known on occasion to turn to the astrology pages in magazines, noted with interest the characteristics ascribed to those born in my birth year (wood sheep) (4): "Natives of this year are characteristically taciturn, slow-witted and stubborn, with a great appetite for food. They desist from harming others, but are incapable of helping very much. Nonetheless they display a genuine sense of gratitude for services rendered. Patient, pure-hearted and relaxed, with a tendency to procrastinate, they do not overtly disclose their likes and dislikes, but are extremely loyal and generous." I cannot argue with "slow-witted," but "great appetite for food" is a clear indication that destiny has yet to be fulfilled, as those who are familiar with my slender corporeal frame will attest. The manuscript reproduced, preserved, and disseminated in this worthy publication is the most comprehensive and aesthetically refined example of a Tibetan divination text to survive the ravages of recent decades. It provides a fascinating window on to a little known aspect of Tibetan history, and thus to our common world heritage.