2026 — Year of the Fire Horse
2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. It begins at Lichun, on February 4, 2026, Beijing time (in Moscow it is still February 3, 23:02), and lasts until February 4, 2027. Chinese New Year, the lunar calendar holiday, falls on February 17, 2026.
The Year's Animal
The Horse is the seventh sign of the cycle, a symbol of movement, freedom, and energy. Horse years are traditionally seen as a time of change, travel, and quick decisions — and not the best time for anything that requires patience and persistence.
The sign's own profile is on the Horse page; a detailed look at the combination is on the Fire Horse page.
Element and Color
The element of 2026 is Fire (the last digit is 6), and its polarity is yang. The year's colors are accordingly red, crimson, and orange.
Fire amplifies the already restless Horse: the year promises to be eventful and fast — and impulsive. The previous Fire Horse year was 1966; the next will be in 2086.
The Japanese superstition of hinoeuma deserves a separate mention: girls born in a Fire Horse year are believed to grow up headstrong. In 1966 the birth rate in Japan fell by about a quarter because of it — a rare, well-documented case of a superstition noticeably affecting the demographics of an entire country.
Who Will Be Lucky
By traditional rules, the year favors the signs in the Horse's triangle — the Tiger and the Dog.
It is considered harder for the Rat — the sign opposite the Horse — and for Horses themselves, for whom it is their "own year."
All the combinations are in Chinese zodiac compatibility.
The Year by the Numbers
- Year pillar: 丙午, yang fire over the Horse branch.
- Astrological year: from February 4, 2026, 04:02 Beijing time (February 3, 23:02 Moscow time) to February 4, 2027, 09:46 Beijing time (04:46 Moscow time).
- Chinese New Year: February 17, 2026. The lunar year has 354 days and no leap month.
- The year's flying stars: 1 in the center, the 5 in the south, the 2 in the northwest. You can see them on your own home's chart in the flying star calculator.
- Tai Sui: south, the Wu mountain (午); Sui Po: north, the Zi mountain (子); Three Killings: north (branches 亥 子 丑).
- Kyusei Kigaku year star: 一白水星, the 1. Check the year's directions for your own star.
All the dates of 2026 in the Chinese calendar — solar terms and lunar months — are collected on the Chinese calendar 2026 page.
How to Welcome the Year
Tradition advises paying off debts before the New Year, cleaning the house, and wearing something red — the color of luck and also the color of this year's element.
The practical side, minus the mysticism: a Horse year is a good excuse to plan a trip or a change you've been putting off, and a bad one for starting something that demands long, monotonous work. Treat it as an occasion rather than a prediction, and it works quite well.