If 2026 already feels louder, faster, and more emotionally charged… you’re not imagining it. 🔥🎠 We’re officially in the Year of the Fire Horse, and this energy can feel like momentum, truth, and intensity all at once. The good news: you don’t have to force anything. But you also don’t want to get bowled over by it either. In this episode,

I’m sharing 7 grounded ways to harness Fire Horse energy without burning out. No spiritual bypassing. No “just stay positive.” Real tools for real life, especially if you’re a sensitive, an empath, or someone whose nervous system feels the world deeply.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

🔥How Fire Horse energy may show up (decision pressure, urgency, reactivity, passion, intuition)

🔥A simple foundation on Five Element theory (Wu Xing ) and what “Fire” represents

🔥The spiritual meaning of Horse energy and how to use momentum with intention

🔥7 ways to work with this year’s energy, including boundaries, regulation tools, and intuition-based action

🔥Why your mantra this year might be: regulate first, then decide

Plus, I mention my favorite resource for Chinese astrology and free BaZi charts, Joey Yap, linked in the show notes (below)

This year isn’t asking you to sprint. It’s asking you to move in alignment, with self-trust, clarity, and a protected spark. ❤️‍🔥

Show Notes:

Mentioned: Joey Yap- Master Astrologer, Feng Shui and Metaphysics: https://home.joeyyap.com https://www.youtube.com/joeyyap

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Episode Transcript:

Hey, beautiful soul, welcome in for another episode of spirit speakeasy. This week, we are going to be talking about seven ways to harness the fire horse energy in 2026 without burning out this year really carries a strong momentum in the energy, and we don't need to force much this year, but we also don't want to get bowled over by this powerful fire horse energy. So how can we best work with it in our own real lives? The goal isn't speed for speed's sake, but alignment in the way that we're moving this year. If you have already felt like the energy shifted really quickly, especially lately. Things suddenly want, momentum, decisions, action, honesty, movement, lots of energy coming to light, lots of things bubbling around you. You are not imagining it. We are officially in the year of the fire. Horse, happy, Lunar New Year. It just passed a couple days ago as I'm recording this. And this particular combination of energy, this fire horse energy, has a very different feel. We have been in the element of wood the last couple years in the Chinese astrology, and now we're moving into fire. It's faster, it's bolder, it's more external, it's more action oriented. It's the kind of energy that could feel like the universe just turned up the volume on us. And I want to be clear, this isn't again, about forcing anything, but it's also about not ignoring it and hoping that it just passes. Because when the energy is strong, the momentum is strong. If you don't learn how to work with it, you can end up feeling like you're being dragged by it, or bowled over by it, or like life is just moving faster than your nervous system can keep up with. And that is valid. So we're going to talk all about that today, and how you can best greet and harness the energy, and then kind of a what to watch out for as part of this, because I really feel like this energy hits us in various different ways, so I want to make sure that you are primed and ready for this fire horse energy. Because when we greet it in the best possible way, it can be really powerful, transformative, life changing energy. But if we are not prepared, it can really feel chaotic. So today is going to be a bit of a lighter episode, still a deep dive, useful episode, but a little lighter than, you know, some of the heavier energy that we sometimes talk about here, and I'm going to share seven ways to harness this fire, horse energy this year in a way that supports your intuition, your peace and your real life, of course, without burning yourself out or spinning out and as you listen, just hold this as the core message for the whole episode. This year carries a stronger momentum energy than the last handful of years, and again, remembering that we don't need to force this energy, but we do want to harness this energy, because we really want to be using the energy that's available to us in our real day to day lives to get real results, to really be harnessing our intuition as well alongside this fire horse energy. So I'm going to talk a little bit about the energies themselves, and then we'll dive into these seven ways. I want to give you a quick Foundation, because to be able to really see and experience this energy as it's coming in this year, we actually want to be able to be able to use it right? So we need to understand enough about it that we can choose how to relate to it, when it shows up and recognizing when it's showing up in our real life. I often think of the element and the animal of the year this year, fire horse, almost like a personality for the year itself. Fire horse energy can look really quick in real life. And I'm going to give you a quick little what to watch for list, because I'm very curious to see if you've already been feeling this energy showing up, because we're in the first week of the Lunar New Year, and this episode is going to release the Monday after the Lunar New Year. So you might be feeling as part of this energy already showing up a stronger internal pull to make decisions you've been avoiding. You might feel that things that felt kind of fine, quote, unquote now feel intolerable, like your soul is done negotiating. Maybe you might have bursts of motivation or inspiration and the on the challenge side of this, you could then overdo it or have a crash out. As part of that, you could feel more aware of what you really want to say, and it might feel even harder to keep those words or feelings bottled up inside. You might feel called to be more visible, more public. In your own work or personal passion, or even just as a human yourself, you might feel more bold, you might feel more easily triggered and a little more impulsive right now, or a little more reactive right now. You might really start wanting like big change, but the energy can feel a little scattered as part of this. So we're making sure that we're working with intention and not necessarily just throwing our action at everything right. We're going to talk more about that as we go. You might feel this deep desire around this big change, especially as it relates to power, power over abuse of power, power to the people. These are all big themes happening this year, and when the fire horse energy is being used right now in the energy and creativity of the world, all the fire horse energy at once is kind of coming to light over this year, and it's our choice to choose how to see it and how to move with it. You might also be just feeling this general underlying sense of urgency, like, if I don't move now, I'm going to miss the window, even if you're not quite sure what that window is or what you're moving towards. So if any of those have been happening for you, or even if you're starting to feel that stirring in the energy that's perfect, because the seven ways I'm sharing today are going to help you take that energy and channel it, work with it, with more clarity and discernment, and, of course, with self trust, which is really important. So to understand this fire horse energy, you really need to know a little bit about the fire and a little bit about the horse. So we're going to dip just for a couple minutes indulge me into something called five element theory. You may not know this about me, but I'm certified in five element theory as part of my larger HHP licensure. So I am speaking from a little bit of education here. I'm not just throwing words at you. Chinese five element theory. It's also called Wu. Xing is a system that describes how energy moves through five phases in five element the five elements are wood, fire, air, metal and water. These are used to explain patterns in nature, our body, emotions, seasons, life cycles, instead of elements, quote, unquote, as fixed substances, they're more like processes, quick examples, wood grows, fire transforms air moves. Think of wind, metal refines, water, restores each feeds a balance, and each has two sides of a coin in this ongoing cycle. So in Chinese five element theory, the fire phase is known as peak Yang, which is essentially representation of the Divine Masculine the part of the cycle with fire is linked to things like heat and light and visibility and outward movement. Fire represents transformation and expansion. Things ripen and come to fruition and want to be expressed, rather than keeping things hidden. Symbolically, fire is connected with summer and the South and the color red, and it often carries themes of joy and vitality and passion inspiration with important reminders that too much fire without grounding can tip into a scattered, impulsive, even angry or burned out energy. Fire also holds the power of transformation, and that is why the element of fire is so fascinating. For example, it doesn't just warm things up. It changes what something is. Fire, for example, cooks our food and it becomes nourishing, and it sanitizes things that could make us sick, and it literally turns not safe into safe to take in and used properly, fire is a gift. It clarifies, purifies, strengthens, propels, makes things usable. But when fire isn't contained and used in the best possible way, it can stop being a medicine and can become a wildfire. It doesn't just burn the meal that we were using as the analogy, it can burn down the entire field that was meant to feed us. So that is a quick overview of what you need to know about the qualities of fire, transformative, illuminating, powerful, catalytic. And now let's talk quickly about the other half of this year's signature, the horse, because the horse adds a very specific spiritual texture to this Element of Fire. It's not just transformation, it's movement, it's direction, it's momentum that wants to go somewhere, actually, not just mindlessly. The horse is a spiritual element all of its own, as you probably know, and in. Gives this year a very specific flavor. Horse energy is strongly tied to things like movement, acceleration, freedom, and it's the part of the Zodiac that doesn't just think about change or ponder change. It wants to move. It wants traction. It wants forward motion. Horses are highly intuitive and sensitive beings as well. They move instinctively as part of their power. Spiritually, I think of the horse as the archetype of momentum with a conscience, that inner force that says we can't stay parked here in the comfort zone. There's some courage in there, yes, but it's also instinct. It's that inner, honest gut level knowing that something's ready, and the willingness to take the next step without needing 10 more signs from the universe, so to speak. And horses aren't afraid of putting in their own effort. If you think about horses in the way that we know them, right? Horses are also very hard working and have enough power to actually get things done. Think of how we use the term horsepower, even in our automotive world, right? Horses also symbolize passion. Have you ever heard of the saying or the song while horses couldn't keep me away? So horses have this representation of passion. But here's a big thing to remember. A key with horses being seen doesn't automatically equal progress. Horse energy can put you out there, right? Make you feel like you want to move more public, more visible, more in motion, more in the spotlight, but visibility only becomes progress when the movement that we're making is directed and backed by diligent, consistent, intentional work. So less wild, crazy horse, more moving with intention and power and diligently working horse, right? Because another aspect of the horse energy is this driving force and motivation that is empowered by inner strength, inner calling. You could even think of it as inner passion. The recognition of this visibility that we might be feeling called to this year is not what drives the horse though. Horses do enjoy a carrot to chase at times, right? It's not the visibility, the recognition of the visibility, we must remember, it's the mission, it's the passion, and then the validation comes from within, with this fire horse energy. So when the horse is in the driver's seat, like it is this year, the spiritual invitation becomes, where am I moving from alignment and where am I moving from adrenaline, because those are two different feelings, and because horse energy can be liberating when it's grounding, it can also feel chaotic when it's scattered or not being used intentionally. So that is a quick fire and horse explanation, and if we simplify it even further, you can just remember that the horse equals movement and power, freedom or independence, momentum, passion, intuition and fire represents intensity, visibility, action, passion, transformation, power. So you can see how these two elements, the fire and the horse, have some crossover similarity, and how that could also be supercharged together. Fire and horse are fast moving and bold and amplifying, of course, deeply powerful and intuitive and passionate, transformative. The opportunity in a fire horse year is progress and breakthroughs and clarity that arrives through consistent intentional motion. And as we know, there's always a shadow side right. The shadow side can show up as impulsivity over committing. Think about a shooting star that burns too fast, right. Emotional reactivity, especially with fiery emotions, and that can lead to feelings like burnout or overwhelm, which is why I want you to hold on to this line as we move into the practical how tos with these seven steps. This is not a year of do more, it's a year of move wiser. So hopefully that helps see how we can temper this energy to be harnessed and not wild and out of control because directed momentum, clearer yeses and nos, intuitive decisions, consistent, aligned action, grounded. Personal growth is really the best way to use this fire horse energy. And one more thing before we move on to these seven ways to use the energy, most people think that they only have one Chinese zodiac sign, but in a full Chinese astrology it's called the Bazi framework. It's that's your Chinese astrology chart. It's called Bazi you actually have four animal signs. You have your personal year, your personal month, your personal day, and personal hour of birth. So just like Western astrology, Chinese astrology, is multi layered. We all know the quote, unquote year animal. You might have even seen it growing up on placemats at restaurants and things, because that's the one everyone talks about. Is the year animal, right? The animal of the year. But in a full, Buzzy a full chart, you actually have many more events energies at play than just the sign for the year. For example, someone can also have a horse energy in their personal buzzy their personal chart in more than one place even, and they might be strongly influenced by that energy based on their chart, in addition to the overarching fire horse year, or they might even have other animals that they're influenced with in their own personal chart. So similarly, each also have the five elements in their personal chart, water, fire, air, wood, metal. Those are also in your personal chart. If you want to dig a little deeper. I'm not a Chinese astrologist, as you might know, hopefully. But the person I love and have followed for more than 10 years now is called Joey Yap y AP, and I actually think it I'm gonna link him in the show notes. You can find him on YouTube. He has a website. He teaches. He also does really deep work in Feng Shui, but he has this free thing. I'm not sponsored at all, just sharing a resource with you guys. He has a free offer on his website, or he has for years. I hope it's still there, where you can do your own free buzzy kind of how you can pull your own free astrology chart. This is your own free Chinese astrology chart called buzzy So Joey Yap, DJ, Joey Yap, or dato Joey Yap. He's a teacher. He's amazing. I will link him in the show notes if you want to dig deeper into your own personal Chinese astrology. Okay, now that we have set the foundation for the fire and the foundation for the horse, let's get into these seven ways to best harness this fire horse energy without getting burned by it. This is a bit of how to use the energy and a bit of what to avoid. So let's dive into these seven ways to hire to harness the fire horse energy in 2026 way. Number one, I want to encourage you this year to choose one lane and move forward in it, not moving forward in all the lanes at one time, this energy of the fire horse can make people feel inspired to overhaul their whole life all at once, and some people choose to show up that way, and it ends up being a little chaotic, with lots of half finished and half started projects and scattered momentum. And can leave someone really feel like nothing's actually getting done, or the ball's not moving forward in a significant way in any one area, because they're trying to sprinkle themselves over too many areas at once. So instead, fire, horse energy, best used is to take aligned action with intention on one area of your life, like an area of focus for the year, or even for the first quarter of the year, small steps, first, one by one, with consistency. Think of it like slow cooking, something to perfection, not a flash fire, a steady flame. And part of choosing one lane is also asking what needs to be released. So this can move as part of this, choosing one lane to really have fiery expansion this year you probably should be, or I don't love the word should, as you guys know, would behoove you, haha, horse joke, to look at things like your beliefs in this area of your life, your behaviors, your resistance, old roles you used to play, old stories you used to tell yourself, and the new energy that you're wanting to live into in this lane of your life, because releasing what's heavy is what loosens the reins to make space for new momentum. And maybe it's that you want to focus in the relationship zone of your life, or your Career Zone, or your home zone. I'm just going to give a quick little example, if it's the relationship zone, for example, and you're wanting to, let's just say, focus on your romantic relationship. Remember, it's also working the energy in all of the relationships you're in your life, because you're showing up in different relationships, in different ways, with different beliefs and behavior, and old roles that used to play, and new roles you're wanting to play. So make sure that we are aiming our fire this year and not just scattering it all over the areas of our life, but choosing a lane that we really want to have intentional, aligned momentum. And you can even sit with this one and ask yourself, what area of my life is asking for intentional movement right now? So that is number one. Choose one lane to really be fiery and get movement in. And not all of them. The second one of this fire horse Center. And how to best harness it this year, expect intensity and meet it with grounded boundaries. We were talking about the fire and how intense that fire can be, and horses can also bring, like we were saying, that strength, that power. But if we don't greet these energies, this fiery energy with grounded boundaries, it can be an all out war in some area of our life. So this is a little bit of a challenging aspect of this year. Remember, I told you, I'm going to give you some of the things to look for and some of the challenges. So this year, you may see or feel more overwhelmed. We are going to be receiving much more information, more pivots, even explosive surprises are on the docket for this year. And you may also notice people around you communicating with like intense, displaced emotions, meaning they're not actually mad at you for something you did, but you're the one standing closest to them and receiving the messy emotional spill, particularly anyone who works in a field that has some version of customer service, or you're dealing with the public in any way, be braced for and prepared for some emotional spills, some messy, fiery emotions from people in general. So your job this year isn't to avoid intensity. That's just the temperature, right? It's like saying, if it's raining outside, go outside and avoid the rain. Well it's raining, that the mood is going to feel intense at different times this year. It's about staying anchored inside of that chaos, getting grounded, getting still seeking truth, instead of running in avoidance, and when emotions get loud, whether it's yours or someone else's, holding boundaries with compassion is going to be really important because, again, it doesn't mean let someone you know crap all over you. It doesn't mean fighting back against that person in your checkout line that's really aggressive with you. It does mean holding your own boundaries of how you are going to respond to someone and what of someone else's emotions you are going to take on board, right? So working the boundaries in that way, because this is a big one. You're responsible for your own energy and emotions. We can't, of course, control other people's reactions. We're not responsible for that. We're not responsible for other people's projections. We're not responsible for other people's fiery urgency or intense emotions that have nothing to do with us, but we are responsible for our own responses, reactions, and how we show up. Just because someone is spitting a lot of fiery emotion at you in your checkout line, in this example, doesn't mean that you have to react in kind and do the same thing, but it doesn't mean you have to take it. You can have boundaries. You can step away. You can get quiet in your speech and say, Excuse me, would you like to speak to me on a calmer level, I feel that you're I can, I can feel that you're upset. Let's talk about this, right? You get to choose. Is my point. And the other bit here is just because you're greeting, that act, that reaction, with compassion, right? You're going to stay compassionate for yourself and others and hold boundaries and not let them treat you badly. But that compassion doesn't mean access. I'm going to give a couple of real life examples with this one, because I think sometimes, especially as sensitives, we can get a little convoluted and think like, Okay, well, if I'm going to have boundaries, that means I have to close someone out. And if I'm not going to have boundaries, that means I just have to take it, and if I'm being compassionate, that also means I have to just take it, right? It doesn't actually. So here's a couple of real life examples of what these boundaries might look like as we're preparing for this fiery emotion that might come our way from the outside world. Let's use the example of a family member who is spiraling and texting you non stop. You care about this family member. You could, instead of immediately taking the bait and taking a break at your job and going into their text messages and trying to soothe them, you could say something like, Hey, I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm not able to text about this today, but tomorrow, at 8am I have some time, and I can talk to you then. So you're being compassion, you're acknowledging them, but you're not giving them access to you in that moment, because they are feeling urgency and demanding. Right? I'm gonna give you a couple more examples, because I think sometimes these examples feel a little softer, and we might not always clock them right. Here's another example, a client or a student is really pushing boundaries with you. Maybe they're DMing you late at night. Maybe they're having things bubbling over in the cauldron of their own life, and they are wanting extra coaching from you or extra. A time from you that's not really a part of the agreement in the way that you service them. You could say something like, I hear how important this is. The best way to book a session or a consultation with me or work this energy is to bring it to the group. So you can either tell them to book with you, you can tell them when the appropriate time is to bring it, or I'll respond to your email during office hours, or even just not responding to the email until office hours, right? Someone else's urgency and emotional spillage does not mean you have to match that with the same urgency. You get to have compassion for them. Oh, I feel that you're really struggling. I can feel what I can feel the emotion and what you're saying, but it doesn't mean you have to take that on and fix it for them. You can validate them, but you don't have to give access to them. You keep it in that container. We've agreed that we're going to do coaching in group session, or we're going to do coaching in only one on one appointments you can get on my calendar, right? So keeping it boundaried for you, sensitives are going to have to really buckle up around this external energy this year, because there is going to be a lot of intensity. I don't know about you, but I am already feeling it in the world with the way people's responses and reactions and attitudes are it's not everybody, but it is the greater percentage in what I'm already experiencing this year, just out and about in the world. Here's one last example on this. Someone keeps repeating the same pattern and wants you to be their emotional regulator. I think we've all had friends like this at some point in our past where they're wanting us to regulate their emotions, and you see them repeating the same pattern and continuing to come to you for that emotional support, that validation, because you're sensitive. What could you do that's compassionate and boundaried? You can think I love this person so much. I'm not going to get upset with them because I can feel that they're struggling, but I'm also not going to be available to to regulate their emotions or their energy system. I'm not going to constantly rescue them so that one doesn't even have words that you're saying to them. You're holding the energy of love compassion, but you're not giving them that immediate access. And you're going to pull up in the lifeboat and save them every single time. That's not what you're agreeing to. So see how some of this is you getting clear about your own boundaries and what you're agreeing to. Horses are strong. You can use that horse energy to be grounded and strong this year, and you don't have to greet someone else's fiery emotional spillage with a matching energy, right? Okay? This third of the seven ways that we can really harness this energy for this fire horse year, I just want to encourage you this year and this fire horse energy to regulate yourself first and then decide this is going to be really important, especially as sensitives, when the emotional current, or the energetic current around us is fiery and fast paced and some version of aggressive or overwhelming, it can feel like the path of least resistance is to let ourself be swept into that river of chaotic energy. It is not the best solution that fast energy can overload our nervous system if we're not braced for it, right? And when your system is overloaded, your intuition can get muddy. We are taking all this chaotic energy in from the outside, and we're not remembering what it is that we want in the situation or need in the situation, because activation can feel like truth. That external chaotic fire energy can feel like the truth. So this is a body year as well. Regulation wise, we're learning to regulate our own nervous system, to regulate our own energy, to get grounded within ourselves, even if there's energetic chaos outside of us. Remember, it's also a one year. So if you missed that podcast, go back to January and learn about the one year, because it's also a one year in the energy. And in a one year, you are learning what you need and prioritizing your needs and your regulation first for yourself, you're going to be a good little egg, just like me. We're going to be good little eggs, and we're not going to go try to get someone else to regulate us. We're going to do it ourselves. And we're also probably not regulating other people's emotions, who are not our children, and teaching them to do it themselves. Right? So I have a short list of in the moment tools you can use quickly here, even one minute matters. Tapping is a great one for this. Again, I encourage you to find your own tools for regulating your nervous system, because one tool might work for you this year, another tool might work for you a different year. We're all such unique individuals. Tapping. If you don't know what it is, I'm going to try to explain it for those of you who are listening to the audio, it is essential. Be like, literally what it sounds like tapping using the tips of your fingers to tap on certain meridian points. A meridian is an energy point in the body. It's what acupuncture is using a lot of the time to direct our chi or energy. Acupressure, certain healing modalities and massage therapy use a little bit of this. There are two ways to do it that I feel like are the easiest, if you're out in public or just have like a 62nd and if you look at your hand, you can look at your dominant or non dominant hand, and you can see how your fingertips, if you just hold your hand gently out, kind of line up in a row. And you take this little row of fingertips that you have, you kind of make your hand in a gentle cup. And I'm going to give you two ways. One is if you just then make a fist, gently a loose fist with your other hand, and take those soft fingers like on your right hand, and then make your left hand into a loose fist, and just on the edge of your pinky finger, palm, there you just gently tap four fingers that are soft all at once right there. And this is a nervous system regulator, and it can help just bring your energy all the way back into your body. And you could do it for 30 or 60 seconds. Another one is to do that same tapping up here, right on your collarbone. And I'm going to use right hand, just because that's my dominant hand. But you take those four soft fingers again and just kind of make it into a gentle just kind of like Hold your hand out and relax. It almost like someone was going to put a tiny little pee in your hand, a bean or something, and then you just gently tap that collarbone area right on your own collarbone. I'm doing it. I know you probably can't see it if you're not watching the video version, but you're essentially just going to with four very gentle fingers, and it's tapping very, very softly, very softly and comfortably. And you could also do it right on that sternum, in the middle of your chest, if you feel better about that. There are several points for tapping these I feel like are just kind of inconspicuous, and I've done them for myself often if I'm in traffic or if I'm in a waiting room or a situation that grounding is just not cutting it. Breath is also really good for this. You could do something called Box breathing, which is, I use the count of four, but you could use any count you want. So essentially, you breathe in for the count of four, you hold your breath for the count of four. You breathe out for the count of four, and you hold your breath for the count of four. But you could even just do some slow, rhythmic breathing as part of a little bit of regulation of your nervous system. If you have a little more time or a little more access to space, you could do a quick walk, some stretching. You could do some shaking, like shake your energy out. You could do
hydration is really good for this, even like going to wash your hands and coming back is great for a little bit of nervous system regulation, but creating a little pocket of silence within yourself so your nervous system can kind of catch up with whatever is going on in your external world in that moment. And there are so many tools out there for nervous system regulation. If you guys want a deeper episode about this, let me know, and we will do it. I think these are the spiritual tools that we need for our day to day life. The rest is fun and important, but this is the real stuff I want to say. So another part of this regulation as just a baseline for us keeping our sleep boundaries tighter than usual this year. What do I mean? Sleep is spiritual. Sleep is regulation. Sleep is restorative, and even if you can't always get to sleep right away, if you're resting your body, resting your brain. So one of the things I might focus on this year is trying to dial in your sleep schedule. How many hours before you try to go to sleep? Do you need to stop watching the blue light of your phone, for example? Do you need a different calm down system? Do you need to drink tea in the evening to help you relax? Maybe creating a bit of a sleep ritual that is signaling to your body and your nervous system that we are settling down to sleep. Now maybe you know that you need x number of hours of sleep a day, and you're going to prioritize that. So getting your sleep boundaries a little tighter when the energy speeds up. Our body has to stay in the conversation. So we need to be restoring it and nurturing it and helping our nervous system along before any big decisions, I would do one or two minutes of grounding or tapping or regulating your nervous system, yeah, just because there is so so so much going on, I have a couple examples prepared for this one too that I'm going to just quickly give you. Here's one example, because there's so much going on, right? So I know that in the time of year that we're in when this is being recorded, although you might be watching it at a different time of year, there are lots of storm alerts and power outages. And sometimes when it's stormy outside, or we're getting storm alerts from other areas, we can feel a little urgent or panicky. And if you're getting non stop weather alerts and. And schedule changes, maybe even school cancelations or commute chaos that you're worried about for winter storms hitting wherever you are in the world, or summer storms, I guess if you're in the southern hemisphere. How just regulation shows up is that we can start to want to like Doom scroll. We can get snappy with people. We can feel like we need to rush and make decisions and cancel everything, or I'm driving there anyway, or I'm going to buy all the supplies, which you know is helpful to have supplies. Later, you might realize that you're operating from adrenaline, from that anxious flood of adrenaline on our body. If you regulate first 60 seconds of tapping or breath or water or grounding or walking, I you can't see I'm pointing to my place because I'm recording from home, but I have a little loop in my house, essentially, where it's like the way it's set up. You can kind of walk around in a circle over the whole house, which some places are like that, or you might even be able to walk around your kitchen island in a circle or your living room. But I will pace even in my own house, if the weather is inclement outside, so you don't need a lot of space to do that, and it's just about helping your body settle in. So your intuition can become clearer, and we're not reading those red alert adrenaline signals of our body, and then you can decide, okay, is it the is it the most aligned choice to just cancel my meeting so that I'm not stressed out about this, or to just keep these kids home from school, or whatever it is. Right now, I want to give another example about market volatility and inflation and GDP headlines and money panic, because I know that is a real life thing. So maybe hypothetically, you glance at the headlines and you realize that there's some volatile market stuff that's coming up in the economic data, and suddenly your nervous system is panicking. How dysregulation shows up is that maybe you are really getting stressed out in your body. You're stepping into making impulsive moves and panic, selling your investments, or making big financial decisions in the middle of the night, or firing off anxious text to your financial advisors, or catastrophizing your entire future. Regulate first, right? So what if you were instead of just going going into that panic spiral you would take two minutes and just ground or go for a short walk, or remember your sleep boundary, because if it's a midnight you probably it's not ideal for you to be scrolling financial charts in the middle of the night anyway. So and then you can get grounded and clear and regulate your nervous system, and then decide from a calmer place, you can check your actual budgets. You could talk to your advisor or partner in the morning. You could make a more measured plan. So this matters because money anxiety is activating, right? It activates our system and gets us panicky. And activation can feel like truth in the moment, but it's often just your system trying to help you feel safe. So even if it's something external from us, like money markets that we can't control or really impact or do anything about greeting the information with a dysregulated nervous system, versus getting regulated and then making intentional action is night and day in the way it'll change your life and the way it'll let you continue to access your intuition, for example. So I hope that makes sense as why we need to be regulating our own nervous system first, right? Like putting your own oxygen mask on first when you're activated, you don't communicate from logic or groundedness or truth or intuition. You communicate communicate from fear and protection. So finding little tools, whether it's the tapping we talked about, our breathing or grounding or walking or any of the other things, washing your hands regularly, your own nervous system first, please this next of these seven ways to
harness this. Fire horse, energy number four that I want to talk to you about in this year of the fire horse, let the fire horse energy reveal to you what is misaligned. Fire horse has a way of exposing what's brittle, what's delayed, what's dishonest, internally and externally. There is an old Chinese proverb that I love real gold. Does not fear the refining fire. This essentially means that what's true, what's solid, what's pure gold, and what's aligned can handle being tested, and it often comes out clearer and stronger on the other side of being tested by that proverbial fire, right? And that's the energy here. Fire doesn't always destroy sometimes it reveals what's real, what's true and what can and cannot. Move forward with you. In your path. So if something suddenly feels impossible to tolerate, it may not be just drama. It might be your system trying to help you with clarity. Again, regulate your nervous system this year might surface old obligations, old patterns, old programs, old people, pleasing behaviors, vague boundaries over functioning places where you've been carrying what was not yours to carry in the first place. Your job here is discernment, not blow ups, not scorched earth level reactions, discernment. It's okay to put those default behaviors of the old versions of you to the test. Do you still want to say yes to that obligation to that friend? Does something need to shift here? Right? Fire doesn't always destroy. Sometimes it reveals so what feels more obvious now that we're a little bit into this Lunar New Year than it did maybe six months ago. Maybe you're starting to outgrow roles that you used to play. Like for example, you're the helpful one. Let's just say maybe you're outgrowing that role. You're the reliable one, the fixer, the person who always says yes, the dependable one. And suddenly this year, you might feel allergic to it. In this example, the same request that you used to tolerate and spring right into action about now feels impossible and annoying and outside of what you're capable of. What fire, of this fire horse energy is revealing to you is that you've been over functioning, carrying too much or carrying things that are not in alignment with you. So the discern, the discerned move, is okay. To be really honest with yourself, I don't like this anymore. This is showing up, not in a way that feels good for me. I'm going to regulate myself, and then I'm going to decide what I can do, and even the verbal boundary might show up as I actually can't take that on anymore, but I am willing to do X instead, right? So redirecting based on your own boundaries and compassion and not blowing up. I'm going to give another couple examples here, because I know that it can feel a little scary to be purified by fire, but often fire, thus energy of fire, can reveal things to us. So let's take the example of a relationship dynamic that's been kind of slightly off. Maybe you have a friend, right who calls only when they need something, or maybe it's your partner, and maybe the conversation always circles back to you, swallowing your truth to keep the peace. I know a lot of people are going through this right now, this year, you might feel like you notice it faster. You might feel like you can more clearly see like, Okay, I see that this person doesn't want me to say my opinion, or I know this person's only calling me again because they need something. So what the fire is actually revealing. This energy of Fire is a pattern of people pleasing or emotional self abandonment and awareness is the most important key to making decisions that are aligned and in integrity. If we're not aware of how we feel, well, then we can't possibly be aware of whether a decision or an action is in alignment for us or not. So the way to do this with a discernment is to name the pattern calmly, and you might even be able to say to this friend, in this example, I really want this relationship to feel mutual. Can we talk about how we show up for each other in relationship as friends, or you can also change the way you relate to the relationship, and either it will fizzle, or this person will come and have the conversation with you, depending on the nature of the relationship and how you feel about it. So really not wanting you to be nervous that fire always means things are going to go wrong, because it doesn't. But sometimes our beliefs, our behaviors, our dreams, our goals, need to be tested by fire, and if they come out stronger or forged and proven worthy, then great. But also it can highlight that some things just need to fall away for us. And this next one, I'm going to talk about fire as purification. So this fire horse energy, can use the fire as purification to release what has to burn off, and the horse's momentum can help us then move forward in the more aligned way, right? This is the part that people don't always love, but it's real. Sometimes fire shows up as purification, something falls away not to punish us, but to make room for whatever is next for us on our path that if we're focusing only on this thing that has served its time, and it's time for it to go. We don't have the time and space and energy to be focusing on what's next for us, right? So sometimes things have to fall apart in a way that's less comfortable. And yes, when things fall away, it can feel like this emotion of like, Can anything go right? Or. Can anything be salvaged? But the wisdom really is, even when it's hard, there's often more salvage than you think, and what can't be salvaged was likely never meant to come forward with you anyway. And what's hard here is sometimes something like a relationship doesn't come forward with us to the next part of our journey, because the other person in the relationship is making their own free will choices that are not in alignment with the agreements that we originally made, right and that can feel hard. But just because a relationship is moving out of our life or changing form doesn't mean it's a bad thing. There is always new potential for us to grow forward. So fire also helps us rebuild from truth. It burns off what's false or weak or misaligned or has served its purpose, like the leaves of a tree falling away. Sometimes the clearing is the blessing, even when we don't like it. The best way to use this is to continue your personal development, release What's no longer serving you, explore what you've learned in your life so far and how you grew from any experiences, and remember to grieve. This is an important step that allows the energy to move forward using the momentum of the horse. Don't resist the emotional processing of whatever falls away or transforms, but we do need to grieve. We can grieve not only for the loss of a person or loved one that's transitioned to the spirit world, but the ending of a job, the ending of a project, the ending of a friendship or a relationship, the ending of
the way our body
works, right? I don't know about you guys, I've turned 48 in January, and some things in my body have shifted and changed that don't feel the same as they did when I was 25 and it doesn't mean that I have to like it. I can grieve the way things used to be, but by honoring and accepting what is I can choose how to move forward in a way that's most aligned for my personal health, for example. So it's important not to, like forego the grieving step that is spiritual bypassing, and we don't want to do that. And not everything. Can move forward with you in the same way on your bright, wonderful path forward. So this number six that I want to give you tip about harnessing this fire horse energy has to do with your intuition. In this fire horse year, claim your intuition and move like you mean it. Intuition and personal power are so intrinsically, a part of both the fire energy and the horse energy. And combined the fire horse energy can amplify your intuition, your decision making, but it can also amplify your hesitation, your second guessing. It can do either side of the coin, and if you let it, it can do something really liberating. It can help your inner knowing feel kind of too loud to ignore or too present to pretend it's not there anymore, right? I want to give a little caveat here, because the way I've received it in my life is essentially feels like sometimes the universe saying like, Are you uncomfortable enough to move yet? Or do you want to get more uncomfortable in order to move? You're going to move either way. But are you ready? Or do you need to be more uncomfortable? So just starting to notice what is bubbling up in your intuition, what are you noticing that might not be overt, that's in the unspoken, subtle energy, that's in the emotion, that's in the body language, that's in the way you feel in the room. For example, this is a year to practice personal power in a clear way. We're not forcing things, we're not trying to be tight and control. We're not proving this year, we're not performing confidence right. Personal power is quieter than most people think. It's the ability to say I know what I know, and I'm going to act accordingly for myself, within myself, right? We're not demanding this of other people. We're working where we are. And again, personal development this year, your intuition might come through less like a whisper and more like moments of clarity. It won't feel frantic or dramatic, just undeniable. So the work is learning to listen to that small still voice inside, learning to discern. Is this intuition? Is my nervous system unregulated? Do I need to get grounded or calm my nervous system right now and then have discernment and getting clear about next steps. What's the smallest, clearest next step that I can commit to and taking intentional action, right? It's not frantically going into a tailspin, because you've intuitive, intuitively realized this job is not for you, right? It is making a plan about, okay, if, in my story. Soul and my heart of hearts, I know this job isn't for me anymore. What is the smallest action step I could do? Okay? I could look at my finances. I could re tighten up my resume. I could talk to some colleagues that are in other positions and other companies and see what they know. Right? It's not moving from panic, it's moving from this intuitive sensibility and commitment is where personal power becomes real, because fire horse energy doesn't reward endless processing. This is an active energy. Remember, it rewards aligned motion. You grow in your personal power and intuition largely through personal development. That means getting clear about that resistance that's underneath, getting clear about that fear that's rising up for you, right? And how to work with it, so that you can sense your intuition, so that you can have discernment between the difference between that anxious, stressed out voice inside and that still quiet, intuitive voice inside, right? That's all personal development and some practical ways. It can look when your personal power and allowing your intuition to be active in your real life, it will start to look like you stop asking five people for their opinions when you already know inside the answer that is true for you taking a survey, unless it's like a wise, grounded mentor that has the same intention with the advice as you do. People are going to give you advice from their own fear, from their own unhealed emotions, from their own static or dysregulation, right? So be very cautious who you ask advice of, and also you have your own answers inside. And this year is going to really challenge each of us in deeper ways, to admit to ourselves that we know what we know. We might not know all the information about something. We might not know what's going to happen next with something, but we do know what we know about whatever that is. You choose the boundaries you've been rehearsing, and you say it simply, right, we all have boundaries inside of us, or know what feels good or doesn't feel good. Are you going to start honoring those boundaries this year in compassionate, calm ways, so that your intuition can have space, so that your nervous system feels safe, as safe as possible. You make the decisions when you are in your personal power and connected in with your intuition in real ways and doing your personal development, you make the decision, and then you stop re deciding or relitigating it every single day. Personal power is about trusting yourself, because it comes from a place of knowing yourself, being in relationship with yourself and in relationship with the voice of your intuition. So the first question here for you to play with is, where have I been negotiating what I already know? A lot of times I talked about this in a previous episode, we know what we know. We've got to start admitting to yourself that you know what you know. It doesn't mean you like the answer, or you like the outcome, or knowing this makes you realize, okay, I do have to make some decisions about my life if I admit that I know this. But starting to just ask yourself, Where have I been negotiating with what I already know? Right? Okay, now this last and final way to harness the energy of the fire horse to move yourself along in an aligned way this year is to protect your spark, not just your schedule, with this fire horse energy, this final piece I wanted to land softly but powerfully for you, protecting your energy isn't just about protecting your calendar. I know that we've been taught that in like a pop culture way, carve out time on your calendar, protect your calendar. Say no on your calendar. It's about protecting your spark, your essence, that soul fire that makes you you. Because a high energy year could be exciting, but it can also be draining. Every coin has the opposite side of the coin right, and sometimes shining our light even leaves us feeling tired. So protecting your spark means not spending your energy on low return situations, right things that leave you feeling drained, that have no real benefit to anyone in the situation, not leaving time in your week that could be taken up by other things being boundaried in your time. It is important. It's just not the only thing choosing who gets access to your fire intentionally. This is not about isolation, right? It's not about isolating yourself, but it is about energetic stewardship. You have to just give all of your fire away and pour all of your passion into someone else's projects so then you're depleted by the end of the day, right? It's about restoring and tending to that spark within yourself, giving people access, and how much access we give them to our energy, and being very intentional about that as well. I would really love as part of this one, the other side of this. This is to really start understanding this year what it what is passion for you, right? You also have to stoke your own fire in part of this fire horse year, what lights you up, what's inspires you, what makes you feel alive or curious or creative or playful, what gets you really passionate in life, right? We really, really, individually, need to be finding passion and joy and play and whatever lights you up even for a moment, whether it's like something that lights you up for just a quick minute or for several hours or many days. Do more of that because it fills your tank, it helps you stay resourced while this year moves forward fast. So just remembering that your fire is sacred. It's not for every room, for every person, for every problem and for sensitives. You don't need to match everyone else's urgency, you can move in powerful alignment, not from fiery pressure, but from this own inner fire, this own your own inner, sacred, passionate place, this life force energy that you have. And how are you filling that up so guarding your spark in a way that you're not going to let anyone blow out your light. You're not taking on board any criticism that's not valid or that's not from people who are grounded in
truth, right? You're not taking on anyone else's emotional spillage. You're going to guard that spark, and in the meantime, you're also going to be realizing what lights you up, what makes you feel playful or curious or filled with excitement, or that zest for life, whether it's a moment or many, many months that it lasts you, and really tending to that sacred spark, that life force, energy and fire within You. So before we wrap out up, I want to kind of zoom out for a second in our lens, because if you take nothing else from this episode, I want you to take this fire horse. Energy is powerful, but it's not here to run over you. It's here to move you, to help you clarify, to light up what's true for you and what's true for the next phase, for you to burn off what's false or what's not serving you, and to help you step forward with more honesty and courage and momentum and intuition. And I know that could sound really intense, so I want to offer you a little bit of a softer reframe this year. Isn't asking you to sprint, it's asking you to get honest, to get clear and to let your choices come from a deeper place, rather than external pressure. Because the truth is, momentum can feel like anxiety when our nervous system is overwhelmed, but momentum is actually alchemy when you're grounded enough to direct it. That's why these seven ways matter. They help you stay out of the big traps of a high momentum year, forcing and overdoing or avoiding and getting dragged by the energy. So if 2026 has already felt faster and louder or more emotionally charged, let this be your reminder. You don't have to fear the pace of the energy this year. You do just need a better relationship with it. And here's the part I want you to feel curious about, because I think this is where the fire horse becomes exciting. What if this year is actually trying to show you how powerful you are when you move from alignment? What if the heat of the fire this year isn't there to punish you, but to refine you? What if the things you can't tolerate anymore are not problems but signals? What if the momentum you feel is life saying to you you're ready, so you don't need to try to master all seven of these tips that I gave but just maybe pick one to practice with this week. Just one, because in a fire horse year one aligned choice can create a surprising amount of forward momentum. And if you're not sure where to start, start here. Regulate first. Then decide that could even be your mantra for the whole year, regulate first. You'll be amazed how much clearer everything becomes when your nervous system is on your side. I'll also put a link, like I mentioned in the show notes, to DJ Joey Yap, in case you want to dive deeper into your buzzy your Chinese astrology, since his work is a big part of my education about Chinese astrology, and then there's a lot of information about Chinese five element out there, which he also melds into his work. So he's a wonderful resource, and I will put him in the show notes. All right, friends, thank you for being here with me today. If this episode supported you or gave you some nourishment. Or some energy that you might have needed. I would love it if you would consider sharing it with a friend who is worried about the intensity of 2026, and I would love it if you would follow or subscribe wherever you're watching this. And if you want to send me a message and tell me which of the seven you are going to work with first for this fire horse year of 2026, until next time. Big hugs. Lots of love. Bye for now from inside spirit speakeasy