Happy New Year- Preparing for the Year of the Yang Fire Horse
A January Reflection on Rest, Release, and Illumination
January often comes with an unspoken expectation: set goals, move fast, start fresh.
But this year is asking us to slow down before we speed up.
While many people are already talking about the Year of the Yang Fire Horse, we are still officially in the Year of the Snake until February. From a Chinese medicine and lunar calendar perspective, that transition matters energetically, even if our culture tends to rush past it.
This makes January a threshold month—a time to prepare rather than push.
The Energy of the Yang Fire Horse
The Yang Fire Horse is not subtle energy.
It is movement, momentum, and action. It’s bold, expressive, and impossible to ignore. I like to imagine the horse from the Disney movie Spirit—a powerful desert stallion, untamed, forward-moving, and deeply embodied.
This is the kind of year that brings big shifts:
rapid change
emotional truth coming to the surface
a strong push toward authenticity and action
But unchanneled fire can burn things down just as easily as it can move us forward.
Preparation matters.
January Is Still the Snake
The Snake is introspective, wise, and slow by design. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Snake energy is connected to shedding—letting go of what has already served its purpose.
This is not a month for constant productivity.
It is a month for awareness.
Snake asks us to notice:
what we’ve outgrown
what feels heavy or restrictive
what we are still carrying out of habit
If you feel less motivated or more inward right now, that’s not a failure. It’s seasonal intelligence.
The January 3rd Super Moon: Illumination Before Action
On January 3rd, we experience a super moon, amplifying emotional and energetic awareness.
Fire and the moon share an important quality: light.
Both illuminate.
Both reveal what has been hidden.
Both make it easier to see clearly—sometimes uncomfortably so.
This is a powerful time for reflection, journaling, and nervous system awareness. Rather than adding more to your plate, this moon supports clarity around what no longer belongs there.
Gathering What You’ve Shed
Instead of rushing into New Year’s resolutions, consider a different approach.
Use January to intentionally gather what you are releasing:
outdated beliefs
patterns that keep you stuck
expectations that don’t align with your body or mental health
Like a snake shedding its skin, these layers were once protective. They helped you survive. But they are not meant to come with you into the next season.
And here’s the key part:
What you consciously release now becomes fuel later.
The Yang Fire Horse doesn’t just bring movement—it brings transformation. Fire needs material to burn. When you take time to reflect and let go, you give that fire something intentional to work with rather than letting it consume whatever is closest (like your own being).
How to Work With This Energy
January supports:
slowing down
resting your nervous system
reflecting before acting
choosing release over hustle
This is an ideal time for acupuncture, nervous system regulation, gentle detoxification, and emotional processing—especially for anxiety, burnout, and trauma stored in the body.
Let this be the quiet before the thunder of hooves.
A Question to Sit With
As we move through the rest of the Snake month, consider:
What am I ready to release intentionally?
What patterns are asking to be illuminated?
What do I want to carry into a year of movement—and what needs to be left behind?
The fire is coming. The movement is coming. Let’s make sure we don’t burn out!
January is your chance to prepare your body, mind, and spirit to meet it with clarity instead of chaos.
Health and Harmony,
Dr. Bobi Farrow
