The Year of the Fire Horse

The Year of the Fire Horse

Tania Kurd Mirza, LL.M.

Gong Xi

Fa Cai

Today, February 17, 2026, marks the first day of the new Chinese year. This year is the Year of the Horse — the Year of the Fire Horse.

We have sent the Year of the Snake on its way. The snake departed with a final hiss, shedding its old skin for a fresh one, and handed its place to the horse.

The Fire Horse is the symbol of speed, warmth, and blazing flame.

This year is the year of speed. All those plans that were left untouched last year must now be started, and not only that, but fully completed and their fruits harvested.

This year is the Year of the Fire Horse: the year of warmth and the year of light.

The warmth of this horse is for our outer world, to melt the ice, lenses of last year and all the years before. The warmth of this horse is for our inner world, to light up the places we never noticed, and perhaps the very places that can now give us warmth and light in return.

This is the Year of the Flaming Horse. Its flames will drive out those ugly spirits that, under the excuse of “staying alive,” have carved themselves into the walls of our hearts and blocked the path of warmth and light from reaching us.

This year is the year of fire and passion, the year of enthusiasm and high spirit: the spirit of a strong-legged horse, the spirit of a proud, soaring horse.

The Flaming Horse is full of spirit. Its spirit knows no fear; it overflows with courage and fearlessness. Its spirit is rock-solid, a steadfastness that can carry the heaviest burdens of time and withstand every harsh condition and stormy weather around it.

Its endurance is not about suffering or being crushed under the load, No! Its endurance is about recharging, seizing the moment, galloping forward, advancing — about pulling itself out of the mud it’s stuck in and racing toward the peak.

The Year of the Flaming Horse is the year of hope: hope of reaching the light, hope of reaching the warmth. It is the year of freedom — the freedom to move, the freedom to leave those “places” that only look like places but are not places at all!

This year is the year of strength and power, the strength and power of a beautiful horse, a strong-legged horse, a flaming horse. The Flaming Horse does not hover between success and failure. If it fails and that failure means defeat, then it would be a truly terrible loser!

So for this year; Only success, without failure

Only radius, without twists and turns

Heat and light, light and heat and nothing else

Strength, working and reaching the top, just the top and nothing less!