Fire Horse

Completing the Sixty-Year Cycle

I turn sixty this year.

Fire Horse year. Born 1966.

I've known about Chinese astrology for a long time. When I met my husband, we figured out together that I was born in a Fire Horse year—the combination that comes around once every sixty years. Twelve animals cycling through five elements. Most people get their birth year animal every twelve years. Fire Horse? Once every sixty.

And now I'm completing the sixty-year cycle. Fire Horse returning to Fire Horse.

What Fire Horse Means

In Chinese astrology, Fire Horse women are described as passionate, independent, strong-willed. The element (Fire) combined with the animal (Horse) creates intensity. Energy that doesn't do well with containment.

The traditional stories say Fire Horse daughters were considered difficult. Ungovernable. Too much for traditional family structures.

Whether that's historical fact or cultural mythology, I'm reclaiming it.

The 60-Year Cycle

In Chinese tradition, turning sixty in your birth year is called huàjiǎ (花甲)—"return to the beginning." You've experienced every possible combination of the twelve animals and five elements. You've completed one full cycle.

The first sixty years, you learn. The second sixty years, you use what you learned.

I'm completing the first cycle knowing what Fire Horse energy has cost me and what it's created. The boundaries I've had to set. The family dynamics that didn't understand. The refusal to perform what was expected when it cost too much.

My husband and health come first. That's Fire Horse clarity—knowing what matters most and refusing to negotiate it away.

My mother died in mid-year 2024. Nineteen months ago. I'm approaching the second anniversary in the same year I complete my Fire Horse cycle.

Grief and completion woven together.

This Year

2026 is a Fire Horse year. My year returning.

I'm going to the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco specifically for this. To witness the Fire Horse year beginning while I'm completing my first cycle and preparing for my second.

My word for 2026 is "bamboo"—strength through flexibility. Fire Horse energy with bamboo wisdom. Intensity that bends instead of breaks.

My husband turns 80 this year. I turn 60 this year. We're both completing significant cycles.

I don't know what the second Fire Horse cycle holds. There aren't many models—women born in 1906 who made it to their second Fire Horse in 1966 were rare, and their world was different.

But I know what I'm bringing into it:

The both/and framework I've developed. The REAL Process. The boundary work. The clarity about what matters. The refusal to apologize for being clear about capacity and priorities.

My husband comes first. Health matters. Presence over performance. Quality over quantity.

That's Fire Horse wisdom earned over sixty years.

I was born in 1966. I'm completing the cycle in 2026. Fire Horse to Fire Horse.

I'm excited about this year.

To the other Fire Horses born in 1966: we're all turning sixty this year. What does completing the cycle mean to you?