I’ve finally emerged, after sloughing off the last of the Year of the Wood Snake. I’ve done a lot of Kondoing this winter: sorting and clearing of old possessions, papers and photographs. Every item holds memories and emotions, and emits these energies, so I’ve released a lot of ancestral baggage too! What a year for casting off old inhibiting, unhealthy patterns. I hope you too have felt a catharsis with leaving troubling aspects of your old life behind in 2025.

Now we get to welcome in the Year of the Fire Horse, from 17th February 2026. It’s already palpably a very different energy. Many have been feeling the momentum building, even if we can’t put our finger on it. A sense that humanity is at a turning point that will manifest outwardly. Yet how will it present itself? How do we approach this year so as not to feel overwhelmed by the continued uncertainties, volatility and pace of change?

The Year of the Horse invites us to embody the qualities of Horse as much as possible, in order to be in tune with the deeper currents flowing through 2026.

Horses are fully present, constantly adapting to their environment; they graze peacefully yet remain alert to danger. They teach us the importance of being earthed and at one with all of nature, with their four feet on the ground and their diet of grass and low-growing plants deeply connecting them to Mother Earth.

If we’re lucky enough to be able quietly to observe horses in the wild, or get to know and work with individuals in a gentle way, allowing them to trust us when they’re ready or freely choose to acquiesce to our desires, we discover they are profoundly attuned, telepathic and generous beings. They are exquisitely sensitive, curious and playful. Horses often naturally seek connection with us humans, as well as wanting to be part of a herd — they intuit that they need a herd, a community, to thrive. Each knows its place in the herd, yet is also able to adapt and shift roles where appropriate. Wild stallions might make a show of their power, and protect and possess, but herds are quietly held together by the matriarchs. All these qualities show us what to focus on this year.

Horses are willing and steady companions to humans —  I find them extraordinary for their gentleness and willingness to work alongside humans; their patience, tolerance and acceptance in so many situations. They’ve been our companions for aeons, through wars, early farming and transport, and, more recently, in competition, especially racing. They embody yin power with their wisdom and inner strength, and don’t use their weight and physical strength to dominate us, when they so easily could. “Know the yang but stick with the yin” is at the core of Taoist practice. Yin is the receptive, intuitive feminine energy, from which all things, including all creativity, are birthed.

A key aspect is that horses are among the fast creatures on Earth. This is going to be a fast year, with many rapid changes!

Some people find horses intimidating, aggressive or apparently unpredictable. Yet these traits usually only manifest around humans, when the horse has been forcefully tamed and trained to bend to our will and to compete. These attributes act as a reflection of our ego-minds, our desire to control, tame and conquer. All of which serves as a reminder for us to move beyond these old dominant patriarchal ways this year.

Again, we have a choice, more crucial than ever: we can focus on competition, one-upmanship, dominance and aggression — and feel the isolation and aggravation that comes with that — or drop our attention back into our hearts, away from our critical minds, to access our compassion, empathy, sensitivity and notice our deeper impulse to share and connect, to work together and work towards harmony.

Embody the qualities of horse, of groundedness, calm, gentleness, kindness, collaboration, sensitivity, intuitive yin power, and you will rise above the chaos, collapse and destruction, the power plays, anger and fear that continue to play out in the outer world. The qualities of horse will help you rise above the quagmire, not to get caught up in sticky negativity. And, even more significantly, focusing on these positive qualities will actively transmute the negative energies into higher frequencies.

The dance of fire

The Fire element represents the heart, from which comes love, joy, laughter, spontaneity, and warmth. It’s also the power and light of the sun, without which we wouldn’t exist. Fire lives in the moment; each flame is unique, unpredictable and ephemeral. Fire burns through the old in potentially dramatic ways, clearing the ground for fresh new growth. Gaia will likely manifest more fire-related events as part of her continued purge of all that’s out of balance.

With this mesmerising, flickering dance, new possibilities and timelines are continually opening up and none of us knows how things will unfold, or what will unfold outwardly. What we do know, with our increasing understanding of morphogenetic fields and the quantum world, is that every individual thought and choice we make affects the collective. By focusing on keeping our own frequency high and clear, and on how we can contribute to the greater good, we continue to raise the collective frequencies and help manifest a more harmonious world. Light always expels darkness: inner illumination becomes outer light paths and lightness of being.

Fire adds sparks, fieriness and unpredictability to the energy of Horse in 2026. Yet despite the volatility and unexpected twists and turns, whenever we drop into our hearts, we can access the still point within, the eye of the storm. At the core of our hearts is infinity, calm, complete peace; an understanding that we cannot be extinguished because we are all one living consciousness.

Dive deep into your heart this year, and experience the immense healing power of love. We’re in for an exhilarating ride!

With love

Saffron

16th February 2026