Global Trends for 2026
nake of 2025 slithers off the podium, with a manifesto hanging in the balance. Yang Fire Horse 丙午 is crowned torchbearer, primed to trailblaze a path to the summit. With an unapologetic entrance on 17 February, a spirited tenure begins. Horse promises powerplays from a playbook written for Black Swans.
Chapter One’s elemental elephant in the room is excess fire. Several astrological fire manifestations line up under a ring of fire solar eclipse on Lunar New Year, bringing the fireworks to lunar celebrations. It illustrates fire’s proclivity to emphasise, multiply and amplify. Horse 午 sits cardinal south, fires direction, symbolising noon, the summer solstice and a pregnant pause before relinquishing power to yin. Bing 丙, the Heavenly Stem, brings the stereo effect. Two Suns compete — clinging and fighting for independence and supremacy.
It’s a year of vying for mantels of power in all its iterations, not least how to harness, control or wield excess power. Yang is male, Horse a metric for horsepower and triangle, fire’s glyph, nods to hierarchy pyramids. Globally, uprisings, the second wave of feminism and revolutions feature under this archetype, as double fire battles to outshine. Ancient Chinese cosmology saw Sun as representing emperors, eclipses their failings, and comets foreshadow ominous events. On Fire Horse’s watch, the 1006 supernova foretold a new dynasty, Halley’s comet coincided with the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Great Fire of London 1666 and the Cultural Revolution in China 1966. In Chinese culture, Fire Horse forebodes apocalyptic omens. The 2025 discovery of the oldest comet (in Horse month) and August’s equally fiery total solar eclipse bring airs of déjà vu.
Fire fuses technology, intelligence, transport, aviation and telecommunication advances, born from fire’s associations to rising, winged animals and futuristic visions. Expect a greater political shift toward geopolitical space supremacy as superpowers wield soft power. SpaceX’s Internet satellites dominate Earth’s orbit, leaving the US government’s wares behind Russia’s, China third and UK fourth. As an all-Seeing Eye harvests data (sight and reaping fires domain), satellite light pollution alters solar systems. Noting star trek, Australia’s UFO sightings, the Soviets’ Luna 9 landing, Pine Gap Treaty and the Outer Space Treaty preventing weapons in space all occurred in ’66. Expect solar storms and armies of drones to disrupt. Space dominance gets real.
On a lighter social note, optimism, joy and love (twin flames) are fire’s wheelhouse. Against intense socio-political backdrops, excessive firepower needs targeted outlets. Horse favours liberty, freedom of expression via music, arts, even psychedelic highs, served as vents during Counterculture. Spiritual appetites are fed with higher powers, ascension, trinity and spirited symbolism. The longest Papacy began on the Solstice of 1846 (three Horse day). Sport is another social example of wielding power via speed and stamina — a winning Horse’s competitive trademark. The archetype also brings fame, status, recognition and rewards — firsts for Intercalated Olympics, Grand Prix and World Cup classic examples.
Economic empowerment requires taking the rough with the smooth. Stock markets peak and trough; stability seems intangible and risky overexposure worrisome. Globally, futureproofing careers reaches fever pitch as AI looks to outshine. Horse’s correlation with trade and travel is famed; commodities yo-yo but metal industries usually do best, and countries/seas with North/South, Red, Black or Coral prefixes loom large. Straits are another playground for White Horses as shipping routes become chokepoints. Yemen, Djibouti, Canada and Iceland’s astro charts stand out.
Power, forged from the furnace of the Fire Horse, is harnessed as energy. But sources of fuel to generate power stations or fuel transport are hotly debated, reaching fever pitch in 2026. Solar battles intensify with blackouts, oversupply and storage, provoking ire. Historically nuclear power flips from flicking the sinister switch to electrical switch. Hopefully the emphasis is on the latter. However, Fire Horse’s lengthy legacy with energy is greatly tied to its nemesis — water via steam, hydro, nuclear cooling and even power-hungry AI. All need vast quantities of water. Discussions of desalination and water rationing become equally topical.
Mother Nature brandishes her power, unleashing chaos. Excessive water controls excessive fire, implying forceful floods, while mercury hits extremes. Wildfires leave arid paddocks as drought creeps — South /South-East regions are emphasised, with April, May, September and January spotlit. Fire governs the body’s circulation of food. There are feast verses famine themes, both over and under supply, while warfare and climate contribute to starvation signatures (seeded in 2023). Agriculture suffers, with endangered wildlife and domestic livestock feeling the heat. Bats (flying vermin) host Hendra virus, lethal to horses, replicating rat / horse clashes. Hello again to plagues, especially vermin. While rainfall mirrors 2025, humidity fuels insect outbreaks. Rewilding talks reignite.
Nine is fire’s calling card, emphasised as 999, the oldest emergency number. Dispatchers answer “What’s your emergency?” calls and rapid responders send in the calvary.
Horse’s flame isn’t quite extinguished as 2027, the Goat year, brings déjà vu.
