The Year of the Fire Horse is a time to challenge authority. What else is in store for 2026?

Henry Chen, calved successful 1990, the Year of the Horse, ne'er took Chinese horoscopes excessively seriously. But radical astir him ever have.

When Chen’s begetter was a kid successful the countryside of Gansu, China, helium was progressive successful an mishap wherever helium was astir trampled by a horse-drawn cart. He could person easy been killed but, according to household lore, the horses spared his life. It was arsenic if they instinctively side-stepped his assemblage to support him safe.

Since then, Chen’s begetter has ever felt a spiritual transportation to horses, which lone intensified erstwhile Henry, his oldest son, was calved successful the Year of the Horse.

Later arsenic a young adult, Chen worked arsenic an adjunct to an award-winning Hollywood manager who not lone loved horses but was an avid believer of the Chinese zodiac. Being a Horse endeared him to her, helium believes, and arsenic an added benefit, his grandma (also a Horse) started giving her a personalized zodiac speechmaking each caller year. The manager felt that she could spot Chen’s enactment ethic, arsenic Horses are known for being tireless and driven.

Now Chen admits that helium does place with galore of the Horse traits. “I deliberation Horses thin to enactment archetypal and complaint forward,” helium says, “and woody with the consequences afterwards.”

Feb. 17 brings the Year of the Horse, seventh successful the 12-animal Chinese zodiac cycle. Horses were calved successful 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966, 1954 and truthful on.

According to superstition, a idiosyncratic calved successful a peculiar twelvemonth takes connected the traits of that year’s animal. The twelvemonth itself besides takes connected the tone of the animal. Each twelvemonth is besides assigned 1 of 5 elements — metal, water, wood, occurrence and world — that rotate alongside the carnal sign. Fire, which is this year’s element, tends to magnify the animal’s personality.

What traits bash Horses have?

According to astrologer Laura Lau, co-author of “The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes,” the Horse property is strong, assured and charismatic. Horses crave state and independence. They’re hard-working, action-oriented and instinctual, and they thin to larn by doing. But if they spell down a way that isn’t working, they’re speedy to pivot. This makes them flexible, adaptable and forgiving. But they tin besides beryllium challenging for radical — particularly authorization figures — who are trying to pin them down.

Michelle Yu, an on-air simulcast big astatine the Santa Anita Park contention track, confirms that galore of the Zodiac Horse characteristics are akin to qualities of existent horses.

“They’re beguiling, societal and bold,” she says of the animals. And they’re intuitive. For example, horses that are hard for adults to grip volition often exude other kindness and attraction erstwhile astir children, she says.

(Illustration by Vivienne Shao / For The Times)

They’re besides impulsive. “Anyone who’s worked with horses knows that 1 minute, a equine could beryllium happy, and the adjacent minute, they could drawback and commencement breathing fire,” Yu says.

She explains that the lone equine trait that mightiness diverge from the Zodiac is the request for independence. Horses are herd animals, and they similar being astir each other.

But they bash person minds of their own, she says. And they’re competitive, particularly erstwhile racing. “You tin spot the horses look the different horses successful the eye” astatine the starting line, she said, “and they person the volition to win.”

Crystal Castagnaro, besides a Horse, is the manager of enrichment astatine Lunch Brunch, a culinary acquisition programme for K-12 students successful Southern California. Born and raised successful New York, she describes her Sicilian household arsenic precise superstitious.

Castagnaro says she’s ever had an autarkic tone and remembers being assured moving crossed the state to unrecorded successful Los Angeles successful her mid-20s. She feels stifled erstwhile she can’t beryllium trusted to bash things connected her own.

“I’m ever like, ‘This is what I’m going to do,’” she says. “I’m not going to ask. I don’t privation radical to get successful the mode of my plans.”

What tin you expect successful a Fire Horse year?

With the constituent of occurrence arsenic an intensifier, the Fire Horse is the daredevil and thrill-seeker of the lunar cycle. “It’s a clip for large alteration and large emotions,” Lau says.

“The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes” was archetypal written successful 1979 by Lau’s precocious mother, Theodora Lau, a noted astrologist. Laura Lau has updated the guide, but she inactive reads her mother’s aged notes. “My parent loved dissecting authorities done Chinese astrology,” she says.

The past Year of the Fire Horse twelvemonth was 1966. The Vietnam War was escalating. The civilian rights question was astatine a crossroads. The Black Panther Party was founded. And the twelvemonth marked the opening of the Cultural Revolution successful China.

If 1966 is immoderate blueprint, we tin expect a breakdown of long-accepted hierarchies and systems of authority.

Jing Gao, creator of the fashionable Chinese chili condiment Fly By Jing, has garnered millions of views connected TikTok with her Year of the Horse explainers, wherever she discusses Lunar New Year feng shui and however each carnal volition beryllium affected by the twelvemonth of the Fire Horse.

In 1 of her videos, she points retired that this year’s Lunar New Year besides falls connected a star eclipse day, with Saturn and Neptune conjunct successful Aries a fewer days later. “This is ace aggravated energy,” she says, “and it’s going to people an important infinitesimal successful quality history.”

Having a babe miss successful the Year of the Horse has been historically feared. Lau notes that successful her mother’s writings backmost successful the 1960s — erstwhile East Asian societies were much blimpish — she had warned against having a miss during the Year of the Horse due to the fact that she would beryllium hard to control.

But implicit clip arsenic societal norms changed, truthful did attitudes toward assertive pistillate Horses. If a kid needs to marque their ain mistakes successful bid to larn from them, it tin beryllium hard for a genitor to watch, Lau said. But these qualities — strong, decisive, hard-working and intuitive — are each positive.

“Once a Horse learns however to focus, they tin beryllium unthinkable leaders,” says Lau. “Those who person seen and experienced the extremes tin beryllium much persuasive.”

Ava Lee, a contented creator down the Eastern-medicine wellness and quality marque ByAva, precocious learned she is expecting her archetypal kid successful 2026. She didn’t program connected having a Fire Horse, but present that she’s pregnant, radical are telling her to beryllium prepared for an highly progressive baby. “I deliberation I’m successful trouble,” she jokes.

But Lee was besides heartened to larn from her acupuncturist that she, arsenic a Sheep, is 1 of the champion animals to genitor a Horse baby. A Sheep is nurturing, delicate and empathetic, and the Horse babe brings vigor and momentum into the Sheep parent’s world.

How volition the Year of the Horse impact your relationships successful 2026?

According to superstition, each carnal has its carnal friends and its carnal enemies. The carnal friends volition person a fortunate and productive year, portion the carnal enemies mightiness privation to instrumentality caution.

This year’s Horse friends, who marque up a Triangle of Affinity connected the Zodiac circle, are the Tiger and Dog. These are high-spirited, action-oriented animals that besides clasp caller experiences, explains Lau.

The Horse enemies are the Rat and the Ox. These animals are large planners, she explains. “They’re much rigid and detail-oriented,” she says. “The Horse is like, ‘Let’s play it by ear,’ and that drives these different personalities crazy.”

(Illustration by Vivienne Shao / For The Times)

Also, according to superstition, a person’s ain carnal twelvemonth is thought to beryllium a clip for guardedness. Believers volition often instrumentality precautions, including wearing a red-string bracelet oregon reddish underwear passim the twelvemonth for protection.

But Lau wonders whether Horses volition beryllium capable to debar conflict, owed to their inherent autarkic natures. “Horses thin to get on with each other,” she said. “They each spell successful their ain directions.”

However, the Horse twelvemonth is simply a notoriously challenging 1 for romance, says Lau. The charismatic and passionate Horse is the Casanova of the cycle, falling successful and retired of emotion quickly. “Some volition find that thrilling,” Lau says. “Others, volition beryllium like, ‘No, convey you.’”

The Horse has a batch of youthful energy. They’re not acrophobic to rebuild. “Horses flare up and dice down, flare up and dice down,” said Lau. “It’s similar being astir 2 radical who request to fight. Sometimes the foreboding quiescent is exhausting, and you’d alternatively them conscionable outcry astatine each other.”

Should you effort to tame a hot-blooded Horse?

Historically, taming a equine meant “breaking it,” explains Junko Goda, a horseback archer who was Bae Doona’s stunt riding treble successful Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon.” The horse’s hot-bloodedness was thing to overpower. But successful caller years, equine grooming has been reframed astir equine psychology, with accent connected observing and guiding the horse, arsenic opposed to dominating it.

“What makes a equine enactment up? Fear, mostly,” said Hollywood equine stunt coordinator Ryan Sturz. “The fearfulness tin travel from thing that’s happening successful the moment, which means they’re not acceptable for that moment. Training and vulnerability tin hole that.

“Fear tin besides travel from mediocre grooming oregon a atrocious anterior experience, and that sometimes can’t beryllium trained away,” helium adds. “Sometimes the trauma is conscionable excessively big.”

The Fire Horse comes with a batch of momentum, which tin propel stagnated dreams into action. Both Lau and Gao, portion bracing for a tumultuous year, punctual america that 1966 was besides a breakthrough twelvemonth for euphony and creativity.

But the main situation of the Fire Horse twelvemonth is burnout. Gao refers to Daoist teachings that suggest that occurrence is not flooded by greater fire. “What burns hottest consumes itself first,” she explains. “Water prevails not by force, but by cooling, surrounding and redirecting.”

Over the years, Chen, present a originative shaper for Mr. Beast Games, has learned a batch astir Horse characteristics, including the much challenging ones. “We ne'er halt moving and tin prioritize reasoning astir enactment implicit different areas successful life,” helium says.

After getting a Zodiac speechmaking from his parent for the upcoming year, helium says helium is focusing connected approaching vocation decisions with a calm head. He’s moving connected honorable connection with his woman to debar misunderstandings. He’s been advised to debar unnecessary risk. And erstwhile his household tells him to deterioration a red-string bracelet for the entirety of the Horse year, he’ll deterioration it.

Even though Chen inactive doesn’t actively judge successful the Zodiac, helium respects it.

“Because if I don’t, and thing happens, I’ll beryllium like, ‘Why didn’t I conscionable listen?’” helium says.