Category: 2026

The Sheep in 2026 ～ Fire Horse Year

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Horse and Sheep : Best Friends Forever?

In the system of Chinese Astrology known as Bazi, the relationship of the Horse and Sheep is known as Secret Friends or 六合 6 Harmonies. In this alliance, often it will be the Sheep holding things down, always being available when the Horse crashes and burns, sometimes being left behind when the Horse is flying high. The Sheep is more prone to keep the relationship going, at least on the surface. A Horse’s secret is that they would like to have just one partner for life. They are seeking consistency.

The Sheep puts a lot of effort into service. This can work both for and against them.

Generally speaking, the 未 Sheep (sometimes called Goat) is a more stable sign than the 午 Horse; this is the difference between Earth and Fire. At times the Sheep puts up with the antics of the Horse to live vicariously. The Sheep doesn’t have the daring of the Horse, or the willingness to burn everything down. On the other hand, the Horse craves the calming effect of the Sheep, a reflection of the observable role of goats in stables. The Sheep supports and stablizes the Horse.

Power Cycle

All this to say, Sheep are entering a two year power cycle in the sense that they have direct access to the power and favor of the year in 2026, then the Sheep is the year boss in 2027. It’s time to make hay while the sun shines as they say.

Sheep also enjoy the blessing of the 太陽 Tai Yang or Sun this year. To activate it, you act! Do things. Sheep clients who have followed my advice have already been preparing for this for the last couple of years. In a bazi with both 丑 Ox and Sheep, there may be conflict in life but this year you have a lot of benefits too.

Being in a position where you are close to the boss, one role of the Sheep this year could be that of whistleblower, but certainly you are problem solver in chief. With your bff Horse and the power of the SUN, you can melt ICE. The next Sheep, the Sheep of 2027, is a Fire Sheep. The Sheep year in which ICE was born was a Water Sheep year (2003).*

In the year of the Fire Horse there’s no point trying to keep secrets. Bring facts out into the open and the problems will tend to solve themselves. If you’re thinking there will be a lot of interpersonal relations this year, you’re understanding.

For the Sheep, the Fire Horse brings a relationship boost, but pursuing relationship may seem less exciting than career. The 桃花 Peach blossom of the Sheep is the Rat and this year the Rat is clashed and unable to focus that kind of energy for you. The Horse has other plans for you I guess.

Would you like to speak to the Manager?

You may have heard before that the Snake is the sign of a politician. This is true, however, don’t sleep on the political savvy of the Sheep. If you want to keep a whole family or team together, it takes every kind of management. Note: when I say family, I mean all families, not just the nuclear.

Keeping people together requires someone who is willing to make invitations, or host and organize family events; someone who thinks the nightly family dinner (or its equivalent) is important.

The Sheep stays aware of social protocols and observes them, putting people at ease and keeping them coming back. They feel a certain kind of loyalty to the Sheep when they know what to expect from them. Without the Sheep, the generational traditions falter, therefore if you love a Sheep, you’ll help them keep the family bonds intact by being a team player. The Horse may feel confined at times by the Sheep’s family driven values although it greatly benefits them.

Generational traditions remind us of what we will always have in common, and lately the loss of them is troubling, especially those around mourning. Maybe we lost them in the last Ox year of 2021. We thought we were postponing community and so it was okay to ignore our usual rituals around death…this was a big mistake. Our distancing ourselves from the idea of death and the witnessing of death has changed how we think of it and not in a way that is pro human. This next two years give us an opportunity to get back in touch with death, generational traditions, and therefore with life.

Storing Up : Money Matters

There’s a lot of pressure about money these days for everyone but Sheep can expect some financial success in the year of the Horse due to your connections with the zeitgeist. Magnify your luck by staying aware of current events, especially regarding places you think you would like to be. The Horse will propel you and spread the word about you. You may be able to get into positions that aren’t usually accessible. Stay as healthy as you can be and get more benefits.

In the system of Bazi, if you want to accumulate money it’s helpful to have a storage or vault in your natal chart. That means you would have one of these four signs: 丑 Ox, 辰 Dragon, 未 Sheep, 戌 Dog.

If you were born in a Sheep year, in a Sheep month, on a Sheep day or in the Sheep hour, this means you have at least one vault and a better chance in general of accumulating money. Study with me and learn that even if the vault doesn’t store your money element, it’s still helpful.

Look at Steve Jobs and Bill Gates for example. They were both born in 1955, a Wood Sheep year. Steve Jobs was a yang Fire day master while Bill Gates is a yang Water day master. Wood is the element the Sheep stores and it’s not the money element for either one of them.

What Could Go Wrong?

If you’re a Sheep, the answer to that question is not much, but even in a good year there are challenges. One challenge for the Sheep in a Horse year is an impatience like an itch. You may find yourself wanting to get payback or revenge. Give yourself time to respond rather than reacting right away. In the moment, you might not feel like you have time for that, but you do.

Listen to your body when you’re not sure. Give your body the veto power. It seems odd to say this to the Sheep given their nature, but massive retaliation against introverts is not the way.

All in all it’s going to be a good year for the Sheep. Spread the benefits of your connection to power far and wide.

Dynasties

Sometimes I observe that the Sheep sees their family as players or pawns in their empire building. The Sheep can be a driving force for family businesses where the children are expected to take a role when they are mature enough. But when will that be?

An extreme example of this is Kris Jenner who was born in a Wood Sheep year. Kris is somewhat of a kingmaker, as Sheep can be. She shows us how the Sheep might want their children’s marriages to be alliances with power that bring more financial and other opportunities to them and the dynasty.

Ba Zi of Kris Jenner
b. November 5th 1955 02:47
Life House
Yin
Metal
辛
巳
Snake
Hour
Yin
Fire
丁
丑
Ox
Day
Yang
Metal
庚
午
Horse
Month
Yang
Fire
丙
戌
Dog
Year
Yin
Wood
乙
未
Sheep
Big Fate
Yin
Water
癸
巳
Snake

Kris Jenner’s Big Fate from 2016-2026 is Water Snake. Her Life House is Metal Snake. That means the Wood Snake of 2025 was very significant. Her new Big Fate starting this year is Wood Horse. Her Fire has legs now.

If you can read bazi, her 2025 Snakeover (revealed in a Snake month) was easy to predict since she is not at all opposed to cosmetic surgery. She really shed some skin.

My Take

You may find my take unimpressive because Kris Jenner is famous and the facts are public knowledge, but could you have predicted the timing and the event? I can teach you how.

Here are some other things about KJ you can learn from her bazi:

  • She’s not as tough as she would like people to think. This is a saving grace.
  • As a bully she is mean but not very effective.
  • She gets strength from her children and wouldn’t have much without them.
  • Her ancestors clash her kids. KJ’s mother set this tone for KJ.
  • Her children “harm” her marriage.
  • She loves Metal, especially the Monkey.
  • She wants to be forever young and working.
  • She dates a younger man now and they will probably not ever marry. There could be trouble this year in her relationship. There’s a Horse in her spouse palace. Anyone who has heard of her knows there’s a self clash happening there.

As I already mentioned, the Sheep is sometimes found overly managing or overly concerned with their children. Tigers share this type of energy but it manifests in a much different way. I’d say KJ is defined by the Tiger but the Sheep governs her external presentation. I mean, Sheep is her year pillar.

*Tip of the hat to Maša Kepic who brought up the birth chart of ICE at the Monthly Meetup in January 2026.

The Horse in 2026 ～ Fire Horse Year

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

To Be Real

At last the Fire is real. The Fire of the Horse does not change its element, unlike the unreliable Fire of the Snake who changes elements according to context. Make the most of it Horse.

Horses have been waiting for the Fire to return since 2019. Maybe you’ve felt held back or held down by coldness, disappointment or illness. Now you are free. What have you been trying to accomplish? It’s important to continue to focus on that.

Fire helps us all move forward, you too, however, note that haste is not the answer most of the time. This could feel disappointing when you are naturally quick and like to race, but Horses will prevent many problems in 2026 just by slowing down. When prevention works, we never know. Try it, you’ll like it.

Taking Charge

In a Horse year like 2026, the Horse is both the boss of the year and clashed. If this sounds uncomfortably dynamic, you’re understanding.* There are both advantages and disadvantages for you. Above all, expect changes and obvious opportunities to change, especially in April. If you’d like some help, know that I am here.

By cultivating patience and avoiding rash actions, Horses can avoid potential accident and injury. A Horse year means there are financial rewards that come from your work so watch for ways to let it happen. It will happen through your actions, however, pursuing it or striving is exactly the opposite of the way.

One of the strangest things about this year for the Horse is that they are in a position of power, but they find themselves needing to woo people back. Maybe you’d prefer to be chased?

For Horses who don’t enjoy wooing, be more consistent with your appreciation and acknowledgment. Show your commitment all the time so you don’t have to prove it at some given moment. If this is already how you roll, this year of the Fire Horse will be much easier. If it’s not in your character to be consistent, maybe people don’t take you seriously. Is that okay with you?

The Year of the Burr Under the Saddle

Some Horses made great strides last year when the Fire of the was Snake present. That can continue this year too if you regulate your Fire. That feeling of constant irritation this year invites you to learn to soothe yourself.

When you’re feeling supercharged, remember: this is not an emergency situation. You’re going to be hearing alarms but let me repeat, this is most likely not an emergency. You are capable of recognizing when the urgency is real. When it’s not, give yourself a moment to laugh at yourself. This feeling of false urgency is the burr you want to get out from under your saddle.

That burr spurs Horses into thinking about retaliation, winning, or having a competitive do over – a rematch? Some of this is healthy Horse energy and simply requires a directed and safe outlet, especially in the summer months of May, June and July. Following the Chinese calendar, the season of summer begins in May with the Snake month.

The dumbest thing a Horse could do this summer is pick a fight or try to take out an old enemy. Rash behavior may beckon to you Horse, and it could affect your health.

Clashing Your Own Self

In the system of Chinese Astrology known as Bazi, each of the twelve Zodiac animals take turns being in charge of the year. This leads people to think that when it’s your year, meaning a year that matches your birth year animal, you naturally have an advantage. For some Chinese Zodiac signs this is true, for others not so much. In a Horse year, the Horse experiences the self clash.

There are four signs or branches that are prone to what is called the self clash: 午 Horse, 酉 Rooster, 亥 Pig and 辰 Dragon. When there is a self clash, what is happening in the bazi or natal chart is an elemental overload that clouds judgment and influences behavior. I think it’s safe to say that a self clash surfaces old tendencies we may think we corrected.

As a Horse, ask yourself if these old tendencies are reactions to old wounds. The intensity of that kind of pain may feel the same as it did the first time. For a Horse, pain is sudden and intense, illness might be too. What’s different now is you. You’re not the same person you were then Horse. Some confidence in that, even if you have to fake it at times, is a great tool for you this year.

Remedies and Mitigations

To avoid your own self clash, Horse, seek out a different kind of clash: strategy and advice. Do this when you want to pump the brakes. Ask for advice throughout the year. Get advice from people who want to help you do what you are trying to do, not people who just want to talk you out of it. This is an important distinction.

Clash yourself with the energy of a helpful 子 Rat (not just any old Rat) as an experiment and learn some lessons about consistency, power and authority. Rats are Noblemen for all of us this year.

The ultimate remedy for any self clash is learning, however, some never do. For those who do learn, it takes some time. Theoretically, age and experience would be all that’s needed. When you read bazi you find out this is not true. One of the best tools for influencing your fate is character, not the passing of time alone. By character I mean (in part) your day stem which could be any one of five elements, in the form of yin or yang. If you want to influence your character, behavior and communication are probably the safest ways to do it. We only exist in relationship after all.

For any Horse, part of the self clash means communication could be a challenge. Knowing that, a Horse in a Horse year might focus on being a good communicator. Otherwise there could be some legal repercussions around miscommunication. Prevention means you’ll never know.

Save Yourself, Slow Down, Count Blessings

The Horse is a rescuer, but in their attempts to rescue they sometimes have to be rescued. Now you may not need help, that is, if you save yourself first. That way, others won’t have to put themselves at risk due to your bolting. You’re a sensitive and powerful beast and that cuts both ways. Horses carry the energy of an angel or a self-wrecking ball, probably both. The challenges are real.

In a Horse year, the Horse may feel betrayed but is it the “truth”? Sometimes the feeling that someone has done us wrong is enough to convince us that we have solid motives for our own bad behavior but as you know, feelings that made sense in the moment can change to embarrassment in a heartbeat. By slowing down you can avoid these scenarios.

While it’s true that in a Horse year Horses may feel mistreated, or that people are ungrateful, it can’t be made right by way of punishment. Being in a position of power, you might get confused about that. You see, people may be frightened into acting in a certain way by bullies, but I don’t think it changes their fundamental values. Character determines these things, not punishments. If you want to be liked, and I think you do, then act in a way that permits people to like you for real.

Wooing and the 午 Wu (Horse)

Horses are not known for playing well with other Horses, however, they focus the energy when in a team with the Tiger and Dog. This team is called the Fire Trio and this year it’s a vibrant one! The Tiger strikes, the Horse rescues, the Dog defends. The Fire Trio are the first responders.

As always, Horses have certain loyal supporters despite their many flaws. This year, some of the Horse’s fan base could be at risk from the Horse’s demands. Both Rabbit and Horse have potential breakups coming in 2026 and this could be why. Consider the position of the Rabbit or Horse in your natal chart for more nuance. For example, a “breakup” might involve a partner, a family member, a job…This is the kind of energy you may experience in March and June.

Sometimes breakups are for the best, or they are unavoidable when at least one party doesn’t want to continue the relationship. If breaking up is not something you want, consider your commitment to the relationship. If you want it, then you will do things that show your commitment. A potential folly for a Horse in a Horse year is that you don’t need anyone, but everyone needs/wants you. Don’t be foolish enough to act like you don’t care.

Friends and Associates

Some of the Horse’s other co-conspirators are Tiger and Dog. Look for new/old alliances all year. Hit the ground running in February with announcements and action. Reap in October and give back to others. Try not to let your paranoia about group projects blind you to important opportunities for collaboration and friendship that will be around you all year. Learn to do good deeds and support the attention you crave in a new(?) way.

There’s one more ally standing by the Horse who is almost always ready to take you back: the Sheep. Take advice from them about relationships and service as a way of tempering your ideas and behavior around that concept. The Sheep is here to hold your hand this year, maybe you should plan to be there for them when they need you. Help them get ready for their big year coming in 2027.

Be Outshined

One last strategy I want to share with you Horse is: encourage others to outshine you. You don’t need to try for attention, in fact, deflecting some may actually be good for your health. What you do will be noticed Horse and there is more than enough spotlight to go around – always! If you feel like you don’t have enough, remember that we don’t all have the same capacity for fame. All is as it’s meant to be.

In all relationships Horse, apologize as soon as you realize you have made a mistake. Don’t let it linger. Be honest – it’s safe. Regulate yourself. Respond rather than react.

Respond Rather Than React

An extreme-ish example of Horse energy is the bazi of Mike Tyson who was born in the previous Fire Horse year of 1966.

Mike Tyson is a 庚 yang Metal guy. His power element is Fire, and in the 午 Horse, it’s strong. The Horse is also one of his self clashes. The other one in his natal chart is 辰 Dragon.

He has been in a Big Fate of Metal Rat since 2019.

Ba Zi of Mike Tyson
b. June 30 1966 09:40 am
Life House
Yang
Wood
甲
午
Horse
Hour
Yang
Metal
庚
辰
Dragon
Day
Yang
Metal
庚
申
Monkey
Month
Yang
Wood
甲
午
Horse
Year
Yang
Fire
丙
午
Horse
Big Fate
Yang
Metal
庚
子
Rat

Since it’s a Fire Horse year, I wonder if he is looking for a rematch. That could be motivated by a self clash of Horse and a self clash Dragon. A person with both of these signs in 2026 is going to have a lot of ups and downs, possibly related to their own behavior. In Mike Tyson’s case, he is prone to take risks that others might not, magnifying the potential failure or payoff.

The way that self clash works is if you have one of the signs in your natal chart, when that same sign arrives through timing you experience the self clash. If you have two of the same sign, it can be like having self clash all the time. There are “rules” about this so you have to analyze case by case to be accurate.

I would say that Mike Tyson experiences the self clash all the time but he has learned a lot about character and behavior. It’s impressive to me because he has that Wood Horse month pillar. He could easily get away with a lot and I think that can make it harder to learn for some people. It seems like he is learning what he came here for.

Get Out of Jail Free

For a person born in summer, the Wood Horse pillar is the proverbial Get Out Of Jail Free card. This year, the Horse month (mostly June) is a Wood Horse. If you were born in a Snake or Sheep month, you have this card to play this year too.

What will be interesting about Mike Tyson this year is that he has a lot of output, that is, he may be feeling like fighting again. This seems like a very risky proposition for a 60 year old, even for him. In April he might sign an agreement to box again. If he does that, maybe the Wood Horse month would be best. Don’t you love the Universe’s little jokes and paradoxes? “The dumbest thing a Horse could do this summer is to pick a fight…” What if his get out of fail free card is played through his making a different choice?

My preference would be that Mike Tyson never boxes again. I don’t prefer to see people get wrecked, but I see from his hour pillar that his preference is likely different! My wish for Mike is that he makes it through this year intact.

*If you want to know what it’s like, ask Don Lemon who was born in 1966, a Fire Horse year.

Earth Ox Month : Stopping

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Earth Ox Month begins Monday January 5th. I’m calling it the tail of the Snake. The revelations of the Snake year are not finished yet.

Technically, the Ox is the 12th month of the lunar and solar years. The Ox goes last in this cycle of twelve, and the Ox teams up with Snake and Rooster to produce Metal.

Earth (especially the Earth of the Ox) will be happy to support that. This particular Ox month is an Earth Ox. As with any pillar, the element on top will give it a certain nuance, giving you some clues about what experiencing it might be like. It’s 己 yin Earth from top to bottom.

The Earth Ox is known for stopping in its tracks, that is, maybe stopping you in yours! Earth doesn’t usually move; it can sometimes denote stubbornness related to the stopping. For some, the “stopping” will be like a religious conversion, not that it necessarily involves religion. I think it involves the changing of belief systems though for sure. We’ll be seeing a lot of that this month. Some of that energy will appear again in May 2026.

What might change our beliefs this month is related to the Earth and Metal. That would mean rules, laws, facts, science, data, logic, punishment, and enforcement to name a few things. Earth is the power or authority element for the Wood Snake year chart and with Earth Ox here we’ve got a whole pillar of Qi Sha. Between this idea of Qi Sha and the strength of Metal, maybe we will see more changes with our government, for one thing. Some of it may even be helpful for us.

The Ox can be stubborn and sometimes overly committed to routine and the Earth Ox is the most Ox-ish. Cultivate your flexibility but also embrace those routines that seem to make everything work for you. Find out if they still do, or find out you have more peace in the Fire Horse year by not insisting on them all the time.

If you’re already feeling depleted or burnt out, don’t push it. You might avoid illness by doing this one thing! The thing about prevention is that if you’re successful you’ll never know, right? Keep maintaining and protecting your Fire. In February we will switch to regulation of it.

The best strategy for the month might be to let go of your stubbornness, detachment, outdated ideas, catchphrases; things you’ve been storing that have lost their value. It’s said that the Ox is capable of storing all of the bitterness in the world in their belly. The Fire that’s coming could help you get rid of that too if you want it.

Speaking of the incoming new year of the Fire Horse..I am working on the Annual Animal Fortunes now. For every Chinese month, I publish the Animal Fortunes too. Read the month fortune for all of your Four Pillars here.

If you want Chinese Astrology on the daily, check out the Serious Dailies!

12 Animal Fortunes for the Earth Ox Month

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Earth Ox 己丑 Month
January 5th 16:23-February 4th 04:02

Here are the Animal Fortunes for the month of the Earth Ox. To get the most out of the fortunes you’ll want to know all four of your pillars which are based on your birth year, month, day and time.

If you don’t know your Four Pillars, just ask! Each of the four animals of your BaZi correlates with an aspect of your life. Start with that interpretation.

If you’d like to know more about how bazi works, take a class with me. If you want to know more about your own bazi, book a reading here. You can book a reading for the Fire Horse year now.

Pillars and Fortunes

Year Pillar
Has to do with your physical body and what you do with it, ancestors, family traits. In terms of luck the year pillar is said to take the first “hit” of any event, good or bad.

Month Pillar
Relates to career, work environment, training, age mates and peers, siblings, exes and your modus operandi

Day Pillar
Yourself and true partner; your immediate environment and home life.

Hour Pillar
Your innermost self, your children, future, hopes and dreams.

The Fortunes

丑 Ox
Years: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033
Month: January roughly.
Your little holiday is over and work is calling. If you want play too, make play a routine. Set a ratio. Have a different kind of year.
Hint: Time flies. You might never feel like you have enough of it – but it turns out you do.

寅 Tiger
Years: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034
Month: February roughly.
Do you still feel pinned down? If so, the Ox might be the last elephant in the room. What’s tying up your energy? That’s about to end.
Hint: Leave the emergency state.

卯 Rabbit
Years: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035
Month: March roughly.
If you were looking for some wealth luck, here it is! There’s also some power mixed in there, along with some learning opportunities. Maybe start the year early?
Hint: If you could use some stubbornness, that’s available too. People call it perseverance when they like it.

辰 Dragon
Years: 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Month: April roughly.
It’s all the small things that hold you up this year. Work with smaller groups and entities. To head off a potential loss, negotiate. Ask for what you want so people know.
Hint: Don’t let the ups and downs of life be the sole motivators of your choices & commitments.

巳 Snake
Years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Month: May roughly.
It’s the Snake’s turn to find out what new reality they have created through their words and deeds in 2025. Non actions count too.
Hint: This month you reap what you have sown. I hope it’s great!

午 Horse
Years: 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Month: June roughly.
You may feel compelled to get moving but this Ox says take it slow. Go for short bursts of effort. Is it warm enough to warm up? It matters.
Hint: It’s not time to rely on stamina yet, although you may want to. This is not a test.

未 Sheep
Years: 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Month: July roughly.
Big shifts this month for the Sheep; sometimes change does feel like a loss but it always brings something new. Let it be so.
Hint: If there is space in your life where there wasn’t space before, what would you like to do with it?

申 Monkey
Years: 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
Month: August roughly.
Monkeys! It’s the final month of the Snake year and I think it’s safe to say – you made it. Are you worrying unnecessarily?
Hint: You may feel the Tiger month coming already but for now it’s time to restore.

酉 Rooster
Years: 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Month: September roughly.
Bring it on home Rooster. Produce. Be produced. It’s hard not to be successful with all those hidden reserves. Refine. Finish. Less is more.
Hint: Talk, emote, listen, share your wisdom. Take a break. Repeat.

戌 Dog
Years: 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Month: October roughly.
In a month where small things add up to something bigger than you, receive support. Find out you are blessed. What holds you up? Who gives you everything?
Hint: Count up your blessings. Provide protection.

亥 Pig
Years: 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
Month: November roughly.
Prepare to open to what is new – it’s safe. You may find whatever has been opposing you seems more distant, less powerful; not as interested in you.
Hint: Send inquiries and applications. Share plans with trusted friends.

子 Rat
Years: 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032
Month: December roughly.
When the Universe is offering you a break, it’s usually best to take it. Helpers this month may slow you down, or outshine you by way of your intellectual property.
Hint: Consider taking the help anyway. 😲

I hope you enjoyed these monthly forecasts. For daily forecasts visit the Serious Dailies.

Monthly Meetup – Earth Ox Month

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

JOIN US!

The Earth Ox month opens on January 5th 2026 and the next Monthly Meetup will be held on Saturday January 10th from 9-10 am GMT-8 (Seattle time). Read more about the Monthly Meetup and how it works or sign up here.

The Guide for the Monthly Meetup will be sent out on Monday January 5th at the latest. The Zoom link for the meetup will be sent out on Friday January 9th.

Every month my Monthly Guide is the jumping off point for discussion but we are not limited by that. Bring your questions.

Potential topics for the next Monthly Meetup are the nature of the month and the Earth Ox, Hexagram 25, timing, stopping, the implications of expectations and more!

I always include ways to apply the knowledge I’m sharing to your every day life. In every guide there is a page dedicated to Practical Applications for the Month. Typical topics are travel, health, breakups, who is lucky and what that might entail…

If you have any questions please email me through my site.

Get to know more about Bazi by reading the Serious Dailies.

Fire Horse 丙午 2026 Feng Shui Basics

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

It’s time to start planning for for the year of the Fire Horse and moving things around to receive (or not receive) the new energies that are coming in 2026. How will this energetic shift affect you and your home? The information in this article will help you to set up and it is accurate, however, it’s somewhat generic because it doesn’t address the specifics of your situation. If you want to go beyond the basics, the application of Feng Shui must be tailored to you and your home.

As the energy shifts, some of the areas of your house that you have been avoiding or keeping quiet in 2025 will be more user friendly now. For example, in 2026 the energy of the east is safer, while the energy of the north and south are a bit compromised.

Following the Calendar

There are multiple markers for the start of any year – it’s not as if a switch is flipped and we’re in instantly new territory.

The first marker that I observe in the changing of the year is the winter solstice. The second marker (sometimes third) is the Solar New Year. This year, the third marker is the Lunar New Year. The order of Lunar and Solar New years varies. Check the Hsia calendar for accuracy.

冬至 Dong Zhi  Winter Solstice – December 21st 2025
立春 Li Chun  Solar New Year – February 4th 2026
農歷新年 Nong Li Xin Nian  Lunar New Year – February 17th 2026

Speaking generally, after the winter solstice through the Ox month most of the energy of the old year is weak but so is the energy of the new year. That means it’s usually a good time to rearrange and clean. This time around, I would recommend you find some auspicious dates to get the most out of your efforts. I’m calling January the tail of the Snake – it’s different than other Ox months you’ve experienced.

If you’re reading this after February 3 2026 and you’ve already missed that window, you can still make changes. Again, you will benefit from finding good dates for this. Let me know if you need help, or you might want to subscribe to my Monthly Guide.
This next part is a bit complicated so skip down to the end for 2026 Feng Shui guidelines if that’s how you scroll.

太歲 Tai Sui, 歲破 Sui Po and 三煞 San Sha

The Year of the Fire Horse opens on February 4th at 04:02. The Tai Sui or Year Boss is in the S where the 午 Horse is located because the Horse is the boss. The south is on top in the diagram above. Jupiter is in the N and the Tai Sui sits opposite, mirroring.

With the year of the Wood Snake in 2025, we entered a big season of Fire, meaning we have three years of Fire energy from 2025-2027. The Snake, Horse and Sheep branches (also years, months, days) relate to Fire and the season of summer. In a cycle of 12 years, we are now in the middle of summer.

If you’re not already familiar with the concept of the Tai Sui you can think of it as the ruling energy of the year. In some years people born under the same Animal branch as the year are considered to be offending the Tai Sui. The Horse is one of these signs.

Directly opposite the Horse in the S, is the Rat in the N. That means in 2026 the Rat is called the Sui Po or “year breaker”. The Rat is considered to be in opposition to the Horse. Their relationship is a clash, meaning they bring changes to each other.

Energetically the Horse sends force towards, pressures or stimulates the Rat. The clash between Horse and Rat is a clash of Water and Fire. To put it in the broadest terms, this clash might involve wake up calls, coming to your senses, disappointment, realism, stimulus, leaks, melting, flooding; south challenges north and all that entails.

If you’re feeling worried about the clash because there’s a Horse or Rat in your BaZi, book a BaZi reading with me and I will help you find practical and applicable solutions. I can help you to navigate safely, mitigate and sometimes take advantage of a clash.

The San Sha or Three killings in 2026 covers the entire area between Pig (NW3) and Ox (NE1) covering 322.5 – 37.5 degrees. The Rat, centering at 0 degrees in the north, is in a difficult position on the compass but we can’t ignore that Horse, centering at 180 opposite the Rat is too. As I mentioned earlier, the energy of the San Sha this year is Fire element (south) vs Water element (north).

Lest you get lost in the technical stuff, it’s important to remember that Feng Shui is all about relationships. You can take that perspective and work with Feng Shui every day. Stick to first principles: Wu Xing and yin/yang. If you want to know how the energy moves around, it’s elemental and elementary.
The annual calculations are expressions of the relationships of elements. They point out the Tai Sui, Sui Po, and San Sha: the relationships that may need more of your attention in any given year. You can think of them as representations of roles we may be called to play.

Flying Stars

Flying Stars is a system used to identify energy pockets within a building, city, country…The base energy for each area is indicated by the traditional Lo Shu where Star 5 is in the center. This arrangement is also called the Magic Square, partly because the numbers add to 15 in any direction.

Lo Shu or Magic Square

There are different layers to consider when working with Flying Stars. In addition to these base stars which are static, each house has it’s own collection of Flying Stars, which some would say is similar to a natal chart. The best results come when you’ve understood and dealt with these static and underlying energies first. There are dynamics in their interactions but they do not change.

Once you’ve done that, you can play with the dynamic stars, the ones that move and change. Those would be the stars of the time Period (currently we are in the 9 Fate), the annual stars, monthly Flying Stars and daily Flying Stars which you may be familiar with if you read my daily forecasts.

Each star corresponds to a trigram from the Later Heaven Bagua and so each one also has an elemental nature. Some stars naturally pair up. Some stars play well together and some don’t. Some are helpful and some not so much. I won’t try to explain it more here.

In 2026, we have the 1 White Star in the center, setting the tone of the year. The map below will tell you the locations of the annual Flying Stars within your home for the Fire Horse year. They will interact with the monthly Flying Stars in a guest/host relationship. This interaction of the annual and monthly stars is used for Feng Shui, forecasting and other forms of divination.

Annual Flying Stars for Fire Horse 2026


As a general practice, we want to avoid the annual Wu Huang or 5 yellow.

Guidelines for 2026

  • Don’t face S, meaning the Horse who is centered at 180 degrees. Take care with spending time in the S location of your house and don’t face that direction.
    If your head points S when you are in bed, you’ll want to consider changing that. Having your back to the S is fine.
  • Avoid Rat (N2) and the areas directly adjacent. The scope of the San Sha covers Pig-Ox as outlined above. Don’t have your back to the San Sha (north).
  • The energy of the Wu Huang or 5 Yellow is in the S this year indicating volatility and upheavals. Now that we are in Period 9, in 2026 Star 5 Yellow is paired with Flying Star 4 Green. This is not considered an auspicious combination. Avoid construction or other noisy activations in the S.
  • Star 1 White in the center expresses the Water/Fire conflict of the year. In Period 9 this may relate to emotions, health, hormones, or wealth, to name a few possibilities. I don’t recommend you do activations there however, without some knowledge and/or guidance. Make sure you know the underlying Flying Stars of your home before you try anything.
  • If your house faces S or N I recommend you have a Feng Shui survey and mitigate any potential issues, especially if an exterior door is located in the S or N.

Consult a professional if you want to activate or make major changes to either N or S locations.

These locations and directions can be fine tuned further by applying Ba Zhai (8 House or 8 Mansions). In 2026 I think West Group people may have an advantage over East group when it comes to helpful orientations.

When to Act

Moving things around the house, changing rooms, and placing Feng Shui cures and enhancements is best done between 冬至 Dong Zhi or winter solstice around December 21st, and 立春 Li Chun which is usually around February 4th or 5th. The exact dates vary slightly depending on the year. Details are above.

You can maximize the results of your changes and adjustments by using date selection. If you want help with that, I invite you to subscribe to my Monthly guide or, contact me to find a date that’s specific to you and your house. If you’d like to learn how to track these timings yourself, I recommend a copy of my Fire Horse 2026 Almanac.

Those familiar with applying Feng Shui can use the information in this article to set up your house. You’ll also need to know your Ming Gua to make the most of the energy of 2025. Just compare your good directions with the “rules”. And of course I’m available if you want to enhance or mitigate rather than simply avoid.

Thanks for reading. For daily Chinese Astrology content, visit the Serious Dailies.

Fire Horse 丙午 2026 – Your Good Directions

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Ming Gua, East and West Life Groups

The Ming Gua is a number that is calculated using gender and birthday in order to employ the Feng Shui method called 8 House, 8 Mansions or Ba Zhai. Each number corresponds to a trigram and an element in the Later Heaven Bagua. The Ming Gua is also known as the Natal Trigram, Destiny Number or Life Star number.

Do you know your Ming Gua? Send me your birthday and gender and I can tell you. Once you know your number you will be able to use your best directions for setting up your home and/or choosing a home that fits you.

The Guas fall into two categories in this system: East Life Group and West Life Group. If you already know your number, you can use the chart below to figure out which group you belong to.

East Life Group Numbers West Life Group Numbers
1 2
3 6
4 7
9 8

Your Ming Gua indicates the Life Group and the good directions for you. Each person has four, and they support in different ways, but all are considered beneficial. Use them to set up your desk, bed, computer, tv and other furnishings. If you’re remodeling your kitchen or moving house, you can use Ba Zhai to set up your stove as well. This requires a higher level of expertise.

Good Directions for East Group Good Directions for West Group
E W
N NW
S SW
SE NE

N.B. When you are lying in bed you are facing the direction your head is pointing. Think of your body as the compass needle.

What I haven’t addressed here is that there are also four house orientations that are appropriate for each Life Group. Do you know if your house supports your Ming Gua? Email me if you’re curious about your house. I also teach a beginner Ba Zhai Class if you’d like to learn more.

And one more thing – you’re going to need to know if any of your four good directions are not so good in 2026. You may want to rule some out temporarily. This will apply to both East and West Group people. I’ll be explaining that in my next post.

Thanks for reading. For daily Chinese Astrology forecasts please visit the Serious Dailies.

Announcing the Fire Horse 2026 Almanac!

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart
Back Cover and Front Cover

If you can’t read Chinese, but you work with Chinese metaphysics or medicine, the Fire Horse 2026 Almanac will help you bridge the gap and apply your knowledge in real time. It’s an English Language Chinese Almanac. I’m offering both a print and digital version this year.

Each year I compile the Almanac from various sources. The structure is based primarily on the lunisolar Hsia calendar, and the Tung Shing or Annual Chinese Almanac. I started publishing the Almanac because I use it! I had been making it by hand for myself for years. It’s the backbone of my practice and now I’m sharing it with you.

WRITE IN THIS BOOK. The Almanac is a reference tool, calendar, and learning journal. If you’re not familiar with Chinese Astrology, all of the information you need to navigate the Almanac is included before the calendar portion:

Part One

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
Elements
The Chinese Calendar and Cycle of 60
Chinese hours, days, months, seasons, and years
Date Selection Tips
Noblemen
Flying Stars (Period 9, Annual, Monthly)
Trigrams and Elements
Annual Hexagram

Part Two

Part 2 consists of one year’s worth of Gregorian calendar overlaid with the basic Chinese Astrology framework used for forecasting and date selection:

Day Pillar Stem and Branch
Daily Hexagram
Daily XKDG numbers
Daily Flying Star
Day Officer
Lunar Mansion
Monthly Flying Stars
Month Pillar
Solar Fortnight
Lunar Cycle/Month
Eclipses
Seasons
San Fu Tian Treatment Dates
Special Days
Ratings for the general auspiciousness of each day

For those interested in taking my Date Selection classes, you’ll want to know the Almanac is the text for the class. It will also be the text for a new class I will teach in 2026 which is a free class for you if you purchase the Almanac. The class is called Daily Flying Star Calculation : Two Methods.

NOTE: The Fire Horse 2026 Almanac begins with the Rat month of December 2025 and ends with the Pig month of November 2026.