The Fire Horse Year Explained: Yin, Yang & The Five Elements
The Year of the Fire Horse – Radiance Podcast
Hello and welcome to Radiance —
a podcast, a sacred space where feminine embodiment, modern wisdom, and mysticism meet.
I’m Dr. Irene.
I’m a Chinese medicine practitioner, a women’s health mentor and guide, and a spiritual hacker.
So welcome. Welcome back to this space.
I’m so excited to be here once again.
I’m recording this in February of 2026. I took a bit of a pause during the winter months — a time of hibernation — and now I’m emerging with the energies of spring. And that is exactly what I want to talk about today.
Today we’re exploring the Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse, which marks the beginning of spring according to the Chinese calendar.
Spring Begins Earlier Than We Think
In the Western, Gregorian calendar, we’re taught to think of spring as beginning at the Spring Equinox.
But when we look through the lens of Chinese medicine — and the movement of the sun and moon — spring actually begins earlier.
Chinese medicine is rooted in Daoism, a shamanic cosmology that learns through observing nature:
the cycles of the sun, the moon, the seasons, and the laws that govern life itself.
By watching nature, we learn energetics.
And by understanding energetics, we learn how to create change, transformation — what many traditions call magic.
Magic, at its core, is conscious change.
Yin & Yang: The Foundation of All Things
Chinese medicine is based on the seasons of nature, which are connected to the Five Elements and the organ systems of the body.
There is a deep understanding of as above, so below — we are nature.
We carry fire, water, wood, metal, and earth within us.
At the foundation of all of this is Yin and Yang — the two primordial forces that create reality.
Yang is fire, sun, expansion, movement, heat, action.
Yin is water, earth, intuition, receptivity, darkness, the womb.
They are opposites, yet inseparable.
They continuously transform into one another.
Winter solstice is the peak of Yin — the darkest, most inward time.
Summer solstice is the peak of Yang — the brightest, most expansive time.
When an energy reaches its peak, it begins to turn.
The True Beginning of Spring
February 4 marks the Solar New Year in the Chinese calendar.
It is the exact midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox — a portal, a threshold.
This is when spring truly begins.
The earth starts to quicken.
Energy beneath the soil begins to rise.
Life wants to sprout.
February 17 marks the Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse, which is when celebrations traditionally begin.
A Powerful Fire Horse Year
This is a double Fire year — Fire over Fire.
Fire represents:
Action
Courage
Transformation
Illumination
Purification
Fire can create…
and fire can destroy.
This year is deeply connected to eclipse season, including the first Aquarius eclipse in many years — opening powerful portals of change.
Eclipses move us quickly through transformation.
They dismantle what no longer serves.
They bring shadow into light.
If you meet them consciously, they offer immense opportunity for healing and liberation.
From the Year of the Snake to the Fire Horse
The previous year — the Year of the Snake — asked us to shed identities, to heal, to let go.
If you did that work, the Fire Horse now asks you to move forward boldly, in alignment with your truth.
If not, fire can burn in destructive ways.
Fire without clarity leads to impulsive action.
Fire with purpose becomes sacred movement.
Fire, Heart, and Spirit
In Chinese medicine, Fire is connected to the Heart, and the Heart houses Shen — Spirit.
This is a year of spirit descending into the body.
A year of embodying heaven on earth.
Your body is the vessel of illumination.
Light wants to land — but only if the vessel is clear.
The Peak of Yang
This year represents the peak of Yang in a longer cycle.
We’ve been in a rising Yang phase for over a decade — and we see this reflected in the world:
acceleration
conflict
dominance
toxic expressions of masculinity
Next year, with the Year of the Goat, this energy will begin to soften and descend.
For now, we are at the crest.
Balance the Fire with Yin
Because this year carries Fire, Wood, and Earth — and very little Water, Yin cultivation is essential.
Without Yin, Fire leads to:
burnout
anxiety
dryness
depletion
adrenal exhaustion
Simple Yin practices matter:
Hydration
Barefoot contact with the earth
Time in water (rivers, oceans, baths)
Emotional processing
Stillness
Sleep before 11pm
Nourishing food
Tender connection
Water holds compassion, empathy, and softness.
We must consciously cultivate it this year.
Who This Year Supports — and Challenges
This year is supportive for:
Watery or earthy constitutions
Those who feel stuck, unmotivated, or hesitant
Fire gives them momentum.
It’s more challenging for:
Already fiery, wired, anxious, overheated people
They must slow down, ground, and replenish.
Horse Medicine: Movement & Community
The Horse represents:
Freedom
Courage
Grace
Movement
Leadership
Horses are powerful — yet deeply sensitive and relational.
This year is about individual courage, but not isolation.
Horses move in herds.
Your people will reveal themselves.
Trust who stays.
Let go of who falls away.
Community matters more than ever — especially in an age of AI and technology.
Channeling Anger & Fire Energy
Anger is fire.
It wants to move.
If it stagnates, it turns inward and creates illness.
Find ways to discharge:
Movement
Running
Boxing
Swimming
Shouting
Cathartic writing
Creative expression
After release comes clarity.
Purpose Is Being Yourself
Purpose is not something you do.
Purpose is who you are.
This year will illuminate:
personal shadows
collective secrets
forgotten memories
hidden truths
Light reveals what needs integration.
Shadow work is essential — not to fix yourself, but to free yourself.
A Year of Sacred Responsibility
The Fire Horse is not asking you to be fearless.
It is asking you to be:
alive
responsible
embodied
in motion
Small aligned actions matter.
Qi must move — or stagnation becomes suffering.
Closing Blessing
We are in dark times — and also in a powerful birthing.
No one is coming to save us.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
This year is an invitation:
to embody your medicine
to create beauty
to choose love over fear
to act in alignment with your soul
Be bold — and mighty forces will come to your aid.
The Fire Horse is asking you to move.
With responsibility.
With joy.
With purpose.
Thank you for being here.
I’m wishing you a year of illumination, liberation, and aligned action.
Sending you love and blessings.
Ciao for now.
