2026 Lunar New Year - your health and wellbeing in the year of the passionate Fire Horse

On the 17th of February this year, we enter the lunar new year of the Fire Horse, according to Chinese astrology.

There is a strong connection between Chinese astrology and Chinese medicine, both of which are governed by the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These elements are constantly interacting with one another, creating harmony when balanced. If one element becomes too dominant, it can be a source of special focus and strength but also may lead to imbalance in our lives and health.

This Chinese lunar year of the Fire Horse will be a year where one of the Five Elements is particularly emphasized: the Fire Element. However, it will feature double Fire Element: one relating to the element itself and the other relating to Horse symbolism, which in Chinese culture is also linked to Fire. In both oriental and western cultures, a Horse symbolizes dynamism, speed, freedom, strength, resilience, as well as nobility, grace, and beauty. Symbolically, the Fire Horse can be envisioned as Pegasus, the winged horse.

This year promises to be filled with blaze, heat, movement, and expansion. We are shifting from the year of the Wood Serpent, which embodied Yang energy for Wood but Yin energy for the Snake, to the double Fire of the Fire Horse, representing a double Yang. Yang energy is associated with an active, external, and masculine nature. Therefore, we will need to make a concerted effort to balance it with more Yin qualities such as rest, internal focus, and femininity. The double Fire energy is a rather rare combination in the Chinese astrological chart, so everything you are about to read regarding Fire qualities below will be doubly potent over the next 12 months.

What implications does it all have for our health and wellbeing to have a double Fire energy for an entire year?

Each element, Fire including, is a double-edge sword as it contains its Yin and Yang aspects within itself, manifesting either as an eccess or as a deficiency of the respective quality. Below we will consider some of the qualities of the Fire energy that may present themseves more prominently in your health and wellbeing in 2026. Let's consider them in three levels: physical, mental-emotional and psycho-spiritual.

Our physical health and wellbeing in the year of the Fire Horse

The fire element is unique in that it is associated with four energy channels and body organs, unlike other elements, which are connected to two channels each. These channels and organ systems include the Heart, the Small Intestine, the Pericardium, and the Three Heater. Consequently, any imbalance in the Fire Element can have a more extensive impact on the overall energy system and the physical body.

Physically, Fire energy may emphasise issues related to circulation, blood flow, inflammations, hormonal balance (especially related to hypothalamus, pitutary and thyroid glands), fluid and dryness balance, head, neck, shoulder, chest and throat related issues, just to name a few of many potential implication on the physical health.

Out of curiosity, the arteriovenous circulation is influenced by the balance between speaking and listening. Speaking activates the arterial circulation, while listening stimulates the venous cycle. The excess Fire in 2026 will lead us to speak more, particularly those who are already comfortable with it, so it's important to balance it with listening for the healthy blood circulation. Those who typically shy away from speaking may find that expressing themselves becomes more fluid.

The neck, arms, and shoulders and shoulder blades, often referred to as our "wings," will be some of the most affected body parts. If we find it challenging to align with the surrounding floating Fire energy and "take flight" or rise, we might experience symptoms in these areas. For instance, in 2026, life's burdens could seem heavier to bare, prompting us to lighten our load and to alleviate some internal stress. This year, it will be more harmonious with the surrounding energy, to adopt a more lighthearted approach to life in general.

This year will be fast, expansive and stimulating, requiring us to be more attentive to our physical needs to avoid burnout. Remember that we might not notice our fatigue because of the constant high energy. When burnout goes unnoticed, its signs can appear abruptly and unexpectedly, potentially leading to serious conditions like heart attacks or strokes.

We may easily get inflammations, especially starting in the Small Intestine that later arise more superficially and in higher parts of our body, such as skin and face. A light, simple and healthy diet with adequate liquids is the base for healthy Small Intestine. The best still for the Small Intestine are regular, on the clock, daily meals. This year especially focus on eating as ceremony, make it a scheduled ritual and your Small Intestine will cooperate.

According to the Chinese medical clock, the Small Intestine is most active between 1pm and 3pm. It takes an hour or two for food to arrive at it, so the ideal time to eat your lunch is between noon and 1pm. Breakfast is ideally eaten between 7am and 9am when the Stomach energy is strongest. Since the corresponding 7pm-9pm in the evening marks the weakest Stomach time, it is the worst time to eat a large meal. The time slot of 7pm-9pm is the Three Heater time, which is Fire energy, and sustains social interactions and intimacy. So, dinners should focus on sharing time together, igniting loving feelings, more than filling up the Stomach to its full.

Our mental and emotional health and wellbeing in the year of the Fire Horse

Mentally, our minds will receive much more stimuli in the fast changing life out there. It may be difficult to organise yourself mentally. People may actually feel more confused, unable to calm their minds or even mentally disturbed. It may impact their behaviour and they may behave in odd ways. According to the principles of Chinese Medicine, a well functioning Small Intestine influences our capacity to select and organise mentally. The other organ related to our mind is the Heart itself. In Chinese Medicine, mind and heart are not only connected but considered to be one entity. In our modern lifestyles that sounds impossible, yet if mind and heart are consistently unsynchronised, there is a chronic confusion, aggitation, anxiety, and if lasting for a period of time may lead to mental illnesses.

On a positive note, we may experience increased mental clarity and capability. With our heart and mind in harmony, this year presents an excellent opportunity for innovative thinking. The heart will enhance our intuition, and when paired with an open mind, it will lead to moments of brilliance and numerous eureka moments, prompting us to wonder: "why didn't I think of this earlier?!" As a result, we may be abe to accomplish something special in a flash of a moment.

Just to give one example of that, the other day I had to prepare promotional graphics and took a couple of days to think about a rather elaborated way of producing it. Then, unexpectedly, my colleague called me requesting it the same day. An idea came to me and as I had no time to overthink it, I just created what came to me in a flash of light. The result stunned even me. This is the brilliance of the Fire Element at work. Sometimes it requires our trust in the process too. Still, this year we are more likely to experience intuitive and mental surges.

Emotionally we will encounter numerous occassions to experience a profound joy of being alive. Joy is the emotion related to the Fire Element, and to heart as you may expect. While this is indeed thrilling, let's consider that in Chinese Medicine excessive joy and laughter disperse energy and may eventually damage the heart and lead to hysteria. Engaging in art, particularly music, can help nurture and channel joy and any excessive emotion. Writing, such as keeping a diary or composing poems, can serve as a beneficial outlet for overflowing emotions and help ground you in the present moment. For instance, you might write Haiku, a form of short, unrhymed Japanese poetry, traditionally composed of three lines with a 5, 7, 5 syllable structure. Here's an example:

"Walk by the water

See the fish swimming along

Take joy in the moment" - by Matthiew Anish

this Haiku balances the excess of Fire element with the element of Water.

Our psycho-spiritual health and wellbeing in the year of the Fire Horse

The Shen, or Spirit in Chinese Medicine, which represents our higher Self, is associated with the Fire Element. Therefore, this year makes it a unique opportunity to connect with our higher Self. The energy is elevated making it easier for our hearts to reach the realm of our Spirit, essentially leading to self-improvement.

Our Shen connects us to the divine, the source of all creation. As a result, our drive for creativity and nurturing our passions will be greatly enhanced. Unexpressed desires may resurface with overwhelming urge. Engaging in creativity, movement, such as dance, music, arts, or sports, in ways that resonate most with you, will aid in expressing these passions and serve as a powerful balancing act for your health and wellbeing in 2026.

Finding a healthy outpour for the Fire energy will not only nourish and sustain your inner Fire but also will prevent you from being drawn into the pursuit of mere pleasures, uncontrolled desires, or even obsessions that don't genuinely open your Heart.

Coincidentally, we might find ourselves falling in love more easily, and it can feel incredibly transformative. Cupid, also known as Amor, unexpectedly strikes us deep with an arrow of love, profoundly touching us to awaken our inner beauty. The person we fall for possesses those missing pieces that make us feel more complete. When we fall in love, we feel omnipotent, as this newfound completeness empowers us. It seems as if nothing else matters beyond this newly found experience of unity and bliss. However, this feeling may be as fleeting as it is powerful. An unbalanced Fire Element may crave more intensity than duration, flaring up only to fade unexpectedly, if not sustained by consistency that evolves into a relationship. No matter where a love affair leads us, we will experience a profound transformation that reveals more about ourselves, like a flower opening its petals to show its full beauty.

Everything is likely to expand, including social contexts and relationships in general. Relationships can easily become intense. We might feel overwhelmed by situations that become too close for comfort. There may be more manipulation and control observed or experienced in relationships. Stay heart-focused and be selective about what feels right or wrong to you. Remembering also Deepak Chopra saying: "People you feel repelled by have qualities that reflect yours, only you are not ready to accept them." In this case, I suggest a mantra to repeat: "I see the other in myself and myself in the others". This mantra connects us to the unity. The calm Fire at the centre of our Hearts ultimately gives us the opportunity to embrace the paradoxical duality that exists within ourselves and among us all.

Our intuition, the sense or awareness of something before it becomes a thought, will become more "tangible." Intuition requires grounding and anchoring in the Earth and Water elements; otherwise, it may manifest as anxiety. The excess Fire gets regulated by Water, so spend more time by water if things become too intense, heated, and out of control. Another method is grounding by walking barefoot, lying directly on the earth, or engaging in gardening or nature walks, especially when feeling unstable, anxious, or confused. The Earth Element calms Fire by providing a tangible sense for its existence. When our body and mind are anchored in the earthen reality, we can act on our intuitive insights, transforming them into fruitful action.

Finally, consider that Fire moves in an unexpected and unpredictable ways. The remedy for it is knowing how to be in the right place at the right time. This ability comes from your Heart, which will guide you and, in some situations, might save you. It makes me reflect on a car accident I witnessed recently. A small car in front of me was crushed by an out-of-control lorry. Although it resulted only in material damage, the man in that car just was not in the right place at the right time. Posssibly, something unsettling deep within him was reflected in the incident, which served to shake him up and help him reconnect with his Heart.

One way to stay even and balanced this year with the eccess Fire energy are rituals and ceremony. A simple example are mantras, prayers, or even Heart nourishing poems or verses you repeat daily. It helps your Heart express itself while flowing with the nature of its element.

Another way is to balance your energy with the Five Element Classical Acupuncture, known to enhances one's connection with the Source, divine energy, for physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. With my Lunar New Year Gift of 30% discount, you can take this opportunity to try it out for yourself. See for the details below.