Year of the Horse: FREEDOM, FIRE, REVOLUTION
The 乙巳 Yin Wood Snake in 2025 called us inward—to growth, metamorphosis, and shedding old layers to reveal new truths. Snake invited us to slow down, to confront old patterns, examine ancestral legacies and the unseen forces that shape our lives.
The 丙午 Yang Fire Horse in 2026 calls us outward—to externalize the transformation we’ve cultivated within. Where Snake worked in the shadows, the Horse charges forward into the light—embodying heart, discipline, and bold, revolutionary action.
It’s giving movement. Lots of it.
Horse represents movement and freedom—but not all movement is liberating.
There are two familiar expressions of Horse energy.
The track horse is disciplined, fast, and trained for performance and competition—capable of incredible feats, yet prone to burnout, tunnel vision, and externalized worth.
The wild horse is instinctual, relational, and responsive to land and body wisdom—liberated from imposed lanes but when disconnected from herd, structure, or purpose, can become scattered, vulnerable, or adrift in perpetual roaming.
True Horse medicine isn’t found in choosing one over the other.
It emerges when freedom gains direction and discipline becomes rooted in aliveness of knowing your work to do in this world.
When movement is collective, resourced, and oriented toward something larger than the self.
This is how true power sustains.
True Horse wisdom isn’t about running alone or competing to prove worth.
It’s about running with the herd, moving toward something meaningful, alongside comrades, for a shared good. Knowing why you’re moving, who you’re moving with, and how far you can go together.
Energetically, Horse is yang on the outside, yin on the inside.
From afar: fire, speed, exertion, action.
Up close: sensitivity, gentleness, emotional intelligence.
This is soft power—strength guided by heart. Capacity fueled by love and determination.
Ruled by Yang Fire, Horse energy is loving, generous, and instinctually action-oriented. Where Rat overthinks, Horse moves without a second thought- sometimes to a fault.
This is why Horse needs community as its eyes and mirrors, so it doesn’t end up on a track it never chose to begin with- chasing ego, keeping busy to no end with no real sense of true abundance or fulfillment.
The transition from Snake to Horse is a profound one. A legless reptile is becoming a four-legged mammal.
The final phase of Snake asks for one last shed—the belly and tail skin that’s hardest to release. If you feel heavy, tired, spiraling, grieving right now, that makes total sense.
The world is on fire. And the Horse year will ask a lot of us...
Before galloping forward, the Yin Wood Snake asks us to take stock of the past year:
What am I proud of and feel complete with?
Which areas of my life still need refinement?
What unhealthy beliefs am I still holding onto and am willing to let go of?
As Horse officially arrives on February 4 (立春 Beginning of Spring), be mindful of your pace
Ask yourself:
Where have I been running too fast, performing, proving, burning?
Where have I been roaming too freely—avoiding commitment, coherence, or collective direction?
What are the practices I need to do to be clear in mind, body, heart, and spirit?
What is my assignment—what has been passed to me by my ancestors as gifts and strengths, where I find effortless capacity, and what I am meant to steward for generations to come?
Yang Fire Horse moves with wild courage when its movement serves something worth fighting - protecting - building - dying for.
60 years ago, during the last Yang Fire Horse cycle, the world witnessed a surge of revolutionary action: Chicago Freedom Movement, birth of the Blank Panther Party, global Anti-Vietnam War protests, Hong Kong 1966 Riots, Compton’s Cafeteria Riot to name a few.
Horse energy back then as now, carries the same fiery spirit of resistance, mobilization, and courage reminding us that transformation is not only personal but also political, social, collective.
2026 asks us to tap into that same fire: to honor the legacy of those who fought for freedom and justice, and to carry their vision forward in our own lives and communities.
The 丙 Bing (Yang Fire) within this year’s Horse illuminates our path with vigor, warmth, and enthusiastic zeal.
Its energy invites us to:
Express our truth unapologetically like the blazing Sun
Take bold, courageous action aligned with purpose
Build and trust a community that mirrors our vision
Shine bright while remaining mindful of sustainability and impact
Transform inner wisdom into visible, revolutionary action
Last thoughts to welcome 丙午 Yang Fire Horse
Freedom with discipline.
Movement with values.
Action rooted in relationship.
Less doing to prove a point.
More doing that serves collective flourishing.
Reject the scripts and illusions of capitalism— scarcity, separation, competition.
Don’t give up and run solo with reckless abandon.
Less reactivity. Choose your direction.
Inhabit your one wild and precious life.
Remember what it means to be truly alive.
There may be burnout. Those who tend the fire together will endure.
Find your people. Your council. Your herd.
Remember that you are part of the greater mycelial web and we need you.
Pace yourself. Drink water. Lots of it.
Good luck.