With 12 animals and 5 elements, the Year of the Fire Horse comes around every 60 years and tends to bring both good fortune and bad
Syrena JinandKevin Kwong
Published: 5:17pm, 8 Dec 2025Updated: 3:28pm, 16 Dec - 2025 South China Morning Post
From auspicious horse-themed phrases and couplets to whether your luck is in, check out our Year of the Horse 2026 series to discover all you need to know about the coming Lunar New Year.
In 2026, Lunar New Year’s Day will fall on February 17, marking the end of the Year of the Wood Snake and the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse.
To get an idea of how “fiery” this year could be, consider the following Chinese astrological calculations and feng shui readings.
In Chinese astrology, each year is associated with one of the 12 zodiac animals paired with one of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire or earth. These elements complement and clash with one another, and it is this interplay that is believed to promote harmony, balance and order in the natural world.
The fact that there are five elements and 12 zodiac signs dictates that any given combination occurs every 60 years. The last Year of the Fire Horse, for example, was 1966. The last Year of the Horse, in 2014, was the Year of the Wood Horse; 2002 was the Year of the Water Horse; 1990 was the Year of the Metal Horse, and 1978 was the Year of the Earth Horse.
The Chinese lunisolar calendar is based on the 60-year, or sexagenary, cycle of ganzhi, which literally means “stems and branches” in Chinese. It is one of the oldest ways of recording time.
“The ganzhi year denotation has been used for more than 2,000 years,” writes scientific officer Hui Tai-wai on the Hong Kong Observatory’s website. “Although it attracts less interest in modern society, it still generates a lot of attention and discussion in the Chinese community around the time of Chinese New Year.”
The ganzhi cycle is partially made up of 10 “heavenly stems” (or phases) that are linked to the five elements as well as to two energetic qualities: yin and yang. The system is said to create a metaphysical framework for understanding time, energy and cosmic balance.
In 2026, the heavenly stem moves to a phase called bing, which is associated with yang, or masculine energy and fire. Since the fundamental element of the horse sign – or its affiliated “earthly branch” wu – is also fire, the Year of the Fire Horse is of “double fire”, representing drastic change and transformation.
Furthermore, according to feng shui, we are now in what is known as “Period 9”, the final 20-year phase of a 180-year elemental energy cycle. “Period 9” is linked to – yes, you guessed it – fire. This period, which runs from 2024 to 2043, signifies both destruction and creation.
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