Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Horse › 2026
Year of the Horse 2026
The Fire Horse, 丙午: from Chinese New Year on 17 February 2026 to 5 February 2027.
Energetic, independent and straightforward. The Horse loves open space and company in equal measure, and is happiest in motion. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
The Fire Horse
Element
Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Fire Horse came last in 1966 and returns in 2086. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 天河水.
Company
The Horse shares a trine with the Tiger and the Dog; its secret friend is the Goat. Those signs are said to find a Horse year easiest. 马到成功, "success as soon as the horse arrives", is the wish written on Horse-year greetings.
Years of the Horse
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1930Metal Horse, from 30 January 1930
- 1942Water Horse, from 15 February 1942
- 1954Wood Horse, from 3 February 1954
- 1966Fire Horse, from 21 January 1966
- 1978Earth Horse, from 7 February 1978
- 1990Metal Horse, from 27 January 1990
- 2002Water Horse, from 12 February 2002
- 2014Wood Horse, from 31 January 2014
- 2026Fire Horse, from 17 February 2026
- 2038Earth Horse, from 4 February 2038
Questions
When does the Year of the Horse 2026 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 17 February 2026, and ends on 5 February 2027, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Horse in 2026?
Fire (火), from the heavenly stem 丙. Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth.
Is a baby born in January 2026 a Horse?
No. A baby born before 17 February 2026 belongs to the previous animal, the Snake. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Fire Horse years?
1966. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Horse in ink
The Horse painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
Make the poster
Enter your birthday; we set the animal, the element, the lunar date and your name, and add a Chinese name as a seal if you have one.
Start with my birthdayMore about the animal: Year of the Horse. All twelve: the zodiac.