What to know about the year of the Fire Horse, ahead of Lunar New Year
WORDS BY DAISY HENRY
“Fire makes things feel particularly intense.”
If you’ve been online recently, then you’ve probably seen a lot about the year of the Fire Horse. There have been TikTok videos with motivational quotes, a lot about ‘shedding skin’ and ‘moving forward’, and a lot of horse iconography.
Whether you follow the Chinese zodiac or you’re simply curious, you can’t unpack the year of the Fire Horse without taking a second to understand Lunar New Year.
Interested to hear how others navigate the world? Head to our Life section.
This year, Lunar New Year begins on February 17, marking the end of the Year of the Snake and the beginning of the Year of the Horse. Known in China as ‘Spring Festival’ (chunjie 春節), or ‘Chinese New Year’, it marks the beginning of a new year according to the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar.
“For many families, Spring Festival is the most significant celebration of the year, a time for reunion, reflection and renewal,” says Professor Xiaohuan Zhao 趙曉寰, a Professor of Sinology from the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Sydney.
Though its origins trace back to China, Lunar New Year is celebrated widely across East and Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and Korea, and in communities and diasporas around the world.
If the arrival of Lunar New Year this year feels a little later than usual, you’re not imagining it. The delay this year is due to a leap month (runyue 閏月) in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, Professor Zhao explains.
“In 2025, an extra intercalary month (run liuyue 閏六月) means the 12th lunar month is shorter. This shifts pushes the Spring Festival into mid-February, which is significantly later than in most years.”
People tend to celebrate the Lunar New Year in different ways. Some will clean their homes, ‘sweeping away’ misfortune, while others may decorate with red lanterns and spring couplets (chunlian 春聯, Chinese calligraphy on red paper). It’s also custom to gather with family or friends, and to exchange red envelopes (hongbao 紅包) filled with money.
How the Chinese Zodiac Works
According to Professor Zhao, the Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year representing an animal: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
As well as that, each year corresponds to one of five elements, including metal, wood, water, fire or earth. “Combining the 12 animals with the five elements forms a 60-year cycle,” Professor Zhao says.
“The Heavenly Stem (tiangan 天干) for 2026 is bing 丙 (Fire), and the Earthly Branch (dizhi 地支) is wu 午 (Horse), making 2026 a bing-wu 丙午 year.” This is also called the year of the Fire Horse (huoma 火馬).
Why is the year of the ‘Fire Horse’ so unique?
The Year of the Horse comes around every 12 years, meaning it last occurred in 2014 and will next take place in 2038. However, as Professor Zhao notes, not every year is a ‘Fire Horse’ year. That’s a rarity that only occurs every 60 years.
This is due to a few factors. Firstly, the ‘Fire’ element is determined by the Heavenly Stems bing and ding 丁. “Only when the Heavenly Stem is bing or ding does it correspond to the Fire element in the Five Phases (wuxing 五行),” Professor Zhao explains.
Within the 60 year-cycle, only specific pairings, like bing-wu, form the ‘Fire’ and ‘Horse’ combination. “Bing-wu appears only once every 60 years.” The last time this happened was in 1966, and the next bing-wu Fire Horse year will be in 2086.
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The significance of the ‘Horse’
In Chinese culture, the horse symbolises qualities like strength, perseverance and aspiration. According to Professor Zhao, the dragon-horse (longma 龍馬) is commonly associated with themes of self-improvement, while the expression, ‘dragon-horse spirit’ (longma jingshen 龍馬精神), connotes a sense of resilience, energy and determination.
The horse also sits right in the middle of the Zodiac, representing a climax of sorts. Although momentum has built, this is the time to turn long-held dreams and ideas into real, actionable projects. It’s about forward motion and forging habits, urging you to draw on a well of discipline and resilience.
Where the horse energy is about speed and independence, fire makes things feel particularly intense.
Wear pink, purple, blue and green for luck
Although red is traditionally seen as a lucky and auspicious colour in Chinese culture, there’s a case to be made for limiting bright shades of red in a Fire Horse year.
“These colours excessively activate in a Fire Horse year, adding fuel to the fire, potentially manifesting as impulsive expenditure, irritability or even financial loss,” Professor Zhaxo tells me. However, when used or worn in moderation, it can add harmony to the Fire element, supporting career advancement and financial gains.
On the other hand, shades of pink, purple, blue and green (and small accents of red) are considered ‘lucky’ colours this Lunar New Year. “These cooler colours are thought to balance the strong fire energy of the year, helping to calm the atmosphere and stabilise the flow of wealth.”
Dr Xiaohuan Zhao is Professor of Sinology (Religion, Literature and Theatre) at the School of Languages and Cultures. He is also a member of the China Studies Centre and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre.
For more on Lunar New Year celebrations in Australia, try this.
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