Key Facts About the Year of the Horse

• Next Occurrence: 2026 (Fire Horse).
• Zodiac Position: Seventh animal in the 12-year cycle.
• Symbolism: Strength, power, intelligence, freedom, talent, and independence.
• 2026 Element: Fire, representing enthusiasm, passion, and action. 

Characteristics of People Born in the Year of the Horse

• Brave, strong, and talented.
• Independent and full of enthusiasm.
• Love freedom and adventure. 

Happy New Year! It’s the year of the horse in the Chinese zodiac. I am considered a horse having been born in 1978. If you believe in such things, this is a great time to dive into its meaning. If you don’t, I still see zodiacs as simply a way to reflect on our own purpose and, much like religion, if certain folktales or myths help us reflect, I say go for it. 

I am certainly independent, and I wouldn’t always have described myself as strong necessarily, but I am definitely resilient having found the tools to muddle through anything that is thrown at me. That comes with experience and practice in overcoming difficulties. I have found my own power, more so this year than in any other year. When the ground shifts beneath us, we find a way to find solid ground again…through change, re-commitment, repositioning our vision, asking for help, etc. There are a myriad of tools at our disposal to help us in whatever we are going through. 

I have decided upon reflection this year to list out not what I have learned this year but, rather, what I have re-affirmed in myself. I am more solid in my own power, independence, and intelligence than I have ever been, and it is mostly because I have learned to stay fully in my own energy and to not betray myself any longer from what I deserve and what I am meant for. So here is my list of re-affirmations that will lead me into 2026, the year of the Fire Horse…the year of freedom, adventure, enthusiasm, passion, and action. 

• My strength is not necessarily in what I can do for others but, rather, in how I honor myself first so that I have the strength and fortitude to help others inside of that strength, not in spite of it. We can only build from the center out. When I have a solid foundation within myself, I can then project my own power outward to help others. I believe the only way to flourish in this world is to focus on our own healing. People who are hurting often hurt others. But if we all commit to healing ourselves, we are more equipped to help and heal those around us. We are more apt to seek connection rather than isolation. We gain strength through community but only if that community is thriving. That thriving starts from within, and it grows exponentially the more people heal.

• True freedom is understanding that I am enough and what I have is enough. In a nation and world built on capitalism, we are taught to keep striving, keep earning, produce more, acquire that next car or TV or investment. When is enough actually enough? In a world ruled by billionaires (already an immoral societal ill) determined to extract money, labor, and resources out of people and the earth without fear of consequence, when will humans learn that constant attainment and acquisition will not bring us happiness. There is a difference between seeking enough resources to survive and striving to acquire for the sake of social status. If our poorest aren’t surviving, we are failing as a society, especially when billionaires exist. Billionaires have so much wealth that they can’t possibly spend it all, even if they decide they’ll use it for the good of mankind. They are hoarders by definition. Some would call that gluttony. Meanwhile, our earth is dying from the extraction, people are homeless due to the housing crisis and stagnant wages, and large corporations are creating monopolies so they can control the cost of things, which causes rising prices rather than the lower prices that competition creates. Taxes are a revealing (and in our current state, a condemnation) of what we value. In this moment we clearly value extravagant wealth and inequality over the flourishing of a healthy society, and that reality is not sustainable. There will be a reckoning, and it starts with each one of us determining how much is enough for us to live a life of contentment rather than excess. 

• Reality to me is my feet in the grass or in the ocean, my own words on a page, my hands running through the fur of my kitties, a hug with a friend or a lover. This AI shit distorts not only our reality but our perceptions of reality. Social media connected us first and then divided us by curating a perspective of our lives that only shows the good parts, not the bad. But lives are so much more nuanced and rich when we are allowed to experience and show all of it. The most interesting and rewarding aspects of life are lived in the grey complexities of our realities where there are no assurances, often risk, and a lot of reward when we take those risks. By risks I don’t just mean financial but often social risks. We have been slowly drawn to isolation, first through nuclear family homes, then through cars versus public transportation in cities, and gradually through a more virtual world that includes the internet and social media. Now AI is distorting that reality to the point of sifting through fake media and determining what is actually real. That distance from reality is a mindset that isolates us further and makes us more distrusting of our brethren. Once we can no longer determine what’s real, we have no anchor and no foundation to center us (see item #1 above). So, I am reaffirming my commitment to living in the real world, not the virtual one. This is challenging and requires intention, but it can be done. I think more and more people are feeling the hunger of that connection again. As a Gen Xer, I crave it through nostalgia. I am not sure how the newer generations will find their way to connection when it hasn’t been modeled for them. But it starts with putting down our phones and having a meal with each other, laughing, telling stories, and becoming kinetic and kinesthetic again. We need to move back into our bodies again. We need to move and feel and connect through that realness rather than through the virtual plane.

All of this can be summed up in one phrase: Live in gratitude and connection rather than fear. So much of what drives bad decisions is the fear that throws us into a tailspin, where our brains hijack our bodies and we grasp for survival. We cannot thrive when we are working so hard to simply survive. Attaining a thriving existence rather than a survival existence takes a community-centered approach to our societal problems. It acknowledges that we are all in this together (whites, black, LGBTQ+, immigrants, rich, poor, christians, atheists, etc), and we will thrive only when we understand that investing in each other raises all of us up. There are enough resources on earth for the entire population to thrive, but it requires a commitment from the majority of us to uphold that value. That is where personal responsibility comes in, the responsibility to educate and heal ourselves so that we can come together as a community to lift each other up. It’s a balance, and it is necessary. 

I vow to do my part. I will do my part through my own continued personal healing and growth, first and foremost. I will also consciously move away from the virtual into the real world by continuing to invest in my most important relationships, seeking experiences through travel and outside connection, and through reading actual books that connect me to knowledge while continuing to use that learning muscle through my own writing, an exercise that only enhances critical thinking. Maybe I’m old school, but there is always a happy medium between technological progress and maintaining an attachment to the core of humanity. It takes conscious awareness and a commitment to staying authentic and appropriately attached to the earth and detached from the virtual realm. Some struggle more than others, and that is where grace comes in. Give each other grace as we navigate this complicated world. We get so caught up in our own personal goals that we sometimes forget that no one got anywhere meaningful without help along the way. We can sometimes be that ladder and sometimes we need that ladder. It is never one or the other. 

I hope you followed these ramblings to at least some form of action for yourself. For me it is as simple as always committing to my own growth and healing. It is never-ending and sometimes difficult work, but it is both necessary and rewarding. Your best investment is in yourself. Find your people, your cheerleaders, and ride that energy into a future that is bright and filled with love and sustainability. 

Peace and love for 2026. Ride this horse of a year into the sunset of growth and contentment. You are enough; you always were.