Who is a Horse?

Years: 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002.
Month*: June
Hour: 11 am – 13.00
Day: Ask Us

* Caution: the start of the Chinese month can be as early as the 4th & as late as the 9th, depending on the year. I can let you know this too.

What is a Horse?

The Horse is yang fire, the charmer. The extrovert, the seducer of the Zodiac, the Horse is rarely caught out despite his high-risk strategy. He has an ego of course but is better able to laugh at himself than for instance the Dragon. Like the Dragon, the Pig and the Rooster though, he can not work with his own kind. The typical Horse is not a deep thinker and his ego can lead him to suppose that no one else is either. Brexit mastermind David Cameron, born in the Fire Horse, may be a good example.

There tends to be a belief in shortage at work in the Horse. She thinks he must be the first to the trough if they are to eat. In romance the Horse like the Rooster, can be what Leonard Cohen calls “a thin gypsy thief”. This means his weakness can be a failure to respect boundaries and property. Of all the animals, the Horse and Rooster are typically the marriage breakers and the home wreckers. This is not inevitable of course. If we know this about ourselves we can make wiser choices. Just because today is a good day to die, it is not necessarily a good day to kill.

Predictably the Horse is often not great at commitment. The yin and yang of this by the way is that a self-aware Horse is the most constant partner there is; an endangered species by the way.

Success matters a great deal to the Horse. He is not generally subtle. It is the winning not the taking part that tends to concern him.

The ever-fiery Horse is not keen on Water. He experiences this element whether expressed as a Rat year, excessive communication or actual Water as a dampener of enthusiasm. Water slows him down but does not halt him.

Interestingly the Horse’s charisma is best expressed either in a team with the other Plum Flowers, Rat, Rabbit and Rooster or with the Sheep. You will often find Sheep and Horse out and about together, the Horse radiating charm and the Sheep reflecting it. This actually is a good partnership; the Sheep is in awe of the sheer daring of the Horse and the reckless Horse may often need grounding, safety and a short term loan. Horse places the drinks order for his audience and the Sheep pays the tab; Sheep to the above-mentioned David Cameron was of course his stooge and gopher Nick Clegg.

The Horse’s home team all of whom have fire in common, is with the Tiger and the Dog. These are the hunters of the Zodiac: the Tiger kills, the Horse chases, the Dog guards. This support system is the most likely to bring the Horse rewards. On his own he is prone to burn brightly and extinguish early. He’ll have a good time though.

The Horse finds the Ox hard work also. There is metal hidden in the Ox which the Horse can turn to his advantage but the Ox’s preferences are so humdrum to him.

The Horse has visual, imaginative and intellectual gifts but is unlikely to value them enough to put them to good use. So many of the words we use about the virtue of work illustrate the unwillingness of the Horse to stick at things: harness, yoke, saddle, blinker etc. Again the yin and yang is that a Horse once-committed, never quits – think Boxer in Animal Farm.

A Horse who works with a Snake may achieve greatness because the Snake understands the Horse just as she understands the Dragon, additionally the Snake will not need to compete. In many ways the Snake is the perfect partner but it is more likely the Snake will recognise this than the Horse.

The Snake suffers in the short term and the Horse in the long.
Racing, partying, playing, the danger is burn out. The challenge for Horses far and wide is to defer gratification long enough that there remains a future.

Richard Ashworth © 2020.
www.imperialfengshui.info

The Horse in 2020

In a Metal Rat year, the Horse is the Sui Po, the Year Breaker, the Great Consumer. That may sound ominous but it’s meant to alert you. Which is fine; everything is cyclical and this year is likely to be demanding. Don’t take the year’s portents as a cue to run away from what isn’t working unless you’ve prepared for that. One of the most helpful things you can do this year is balance your natural speed and spontaneity (haste?) with planning. Plan farther ahead than you think you need to, by which I mean cover the next two years at least.

The average Horse is likely to be on a steep learning curve. You may be called to change your job or move house. Some Horses will have a change of heart but the Horse is among the most powerful of the Animals, especially in terms of visualization skills. Everything is cyclical and this is all learning. It might be hard work though, so take your time deciding what is important. Value and maintain relationships because there are likely to be losses, including money. Highest risk: January, May, June, July and December. Remember however that you can’t lose what you never had and at the risk of cliché, if you love something (or someone) let them go. Keep in mind that letting go is not the same as abandoning or rejecting.

The clash of the Rat is like a dash of cold water in the face. It’s not an emergency but it feels like one when it takes your breath away. Being creatures of Fire, Horses may be discouraged or even depressed; your best ideas may have to go on hold. Some Horses may turn these feelings outward in a destructive way. Both of these possibilities are rooted in refusing to surrender; to the power of Water and actually to any sort of rule or order. Horses who can do that will find new creativity of all sorts including the financial. Emotional disclosure is one way to surrender. Having a good cry is another. Music can help with moving through feelings too. The Chinese call that poignance “qing”, it means somebody gives a damn.

In her song Cellophane, FKA Twigs gives voice to the kind of poignant questions a Horse will have in a Rat year. She’s a 1988 Earth Dragon by the way. Dragons are helpful when Horses need to cry. As you may know better than anyone, this is related to Water and Fire, the problems of Period 9.

Didn’t I do it for you?
Why don’t I do it for you?
Why won’t you do it for me?
When all I do is for you?

In 2020 unlearned Horses who think the attention and approval of others is love will likely feel unloved. The wiser Horse knows better. You are still as powerfully charming and attractive as always, but most of the attention you’ll receive may be for your role in networking and matchmaking. Others may find you a bit careless in your introductions even when you don’t mean to be – you know this already! Your vision is compromised in a year when there are many proxy conflicts in play so double check degrees of separation. A best friend or partner is at risk of being pulled into your strife. Even if you want backup, I know you don’t want that kind of mission creep. Seek Dragons as a default, Tigers in emergency.

In the Year of the Rat, the Horse’s quiet truths will be more effective than dramatic confrontations. You have probably already learned that this method works best for you. Don’t waste time seeking attention for personal growth. Whether or not others notice it you will know. That’s enough. The only witness you need is yourself. It’s going to be okay. For sure by 2022 when you are back in your true power. Think of the year as cleansing perhaps. Be kind, be creative, be circumspect and remember your power. Everything is cyclical.