The Horse in the Year of the Wood Dragon 2024

Horse Pic by @elliespinelli

Who is a Horse?

Years:         1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014.
Month*:      June
Hour:          11 am – 13.00

Day: you’ll need a Chinese Calendar.

* Caution: the start of the Chinese month can be as early as the 4th & as late as the 9th, depending on the year. We can let you know this too.

What is a Horse?
The Horse is yang Fire: the charmer, the extrovert, the seducer of the Zodiac and is rarely caught out despite his high-risk strategy. He has an ego of course but is better able to laugh at himself than for instance the Dragon or the Rat. Like the Dragon, the Pig and the Rooster though, he can not generally work with his own kind. The typical Horse is not a deep thinker and his ego can lead him to suppose that no one else is either. Brexit mastermind David Cameron, born in the Fire Horse, may be a good example. Needless to say, thinking ahead is often not the Horse’s forte.

There tends to be a belief in shortage at work in the Horse. They think they must be the first to the trough if they are to eat. In romance the Horse like the Rooster, can be what Leonard Cohen called “a thin gypsy thief”. This means his weakness can be a failure to respect boundaries and property. Of all the animals, the Horse and Rooster are typically the marriage breakers and the home wreckers. This is not inevitable of course. If we know this about ourselves we can make wiser choices. Just because today is a good day to die, it is not necessarily a good day to kill.

Predictably the Horse is often not great at commitment. The yin and yang of this by the way is that a self-aware Horse is the most constant partner there is; an endangered species by the way.

Success matters a great deal to the Horse. He is not generally subtle. It is the winning not the taking part that tends to concern him.

The ever-fiery Horse is not keen on Water and especially not on her diametric opposite the Rat. They experience this element whether expressed as a Rat year, excessive communication or actual Water as a dampener of enthusiasm. Water slows him down but does not halt him.

Interestingly the Horse’s charisma is best expressed either in a team with the other Plum Flowers, Rat, Rabbit and Rooster or in a pair with the Sheep. You will often find Sheep and Horse out and about together, the Horse radiating charm and the Sheep reflecting it. This actually is a good partnership; the Sheep is in awe of the sheer daring of the Horse and the reckless Horse may often need grounding, safety and a short-term loan. Horse places the drinks order for their audience and the Sheep pays the tab;

In the Beatles, Water Horse Paul McCartney was the pr man but the corresponding long-suffering Sheep was George as Peter Jackson’s documentary Get Back bears out, not John or Ringo, both resilient Metal Dragons. Now there’s a key; perhaps we can all let Linda and Yoko off the hook now!

The Horse’s home team all of whom have Fire in common, is with the Tiger and the Dog. These are the hunters of the Zodiac: the Tiger kills, the Horse chases, the Dog guards. This support system is the most likely to bring the Horse rewards. On his own he is prone to burn brightly and extinguish early. He’ll have a good time though.

The Horse finds the Ox hard work. There is Metal hidden in the Ox which the Horse can turn to his advantage but the Ox’s preferences often seem humdrum.

The Horse has visual, imaginative and intellectual gifts but few Horses value them enough to put them to good use. So many of the words we use about the virtue of work illustrate the unwillingness of the Horse to stick at things: harness, yoke, saddle, blinker etc. Again the yin and yang is that a Horse once-committed, never quits – think Boxer in Animal Farm.

A Horse who works with a Snake may achieve greatness because the Snake understands the Horse as well as she understands the Dragon. And the Snake is smart enough not to compete. In many ways the Snake is the perfect partner but it is more likely the Snake will recognise this than the Horse.

The Snake suffers in the short term and the Horse in the long.
Racing, partying, playing, the danger is burn out. The challenge for Horses far and wide is to defer gratification long enough that there remains a future.

Horse in The Wood Dragon Year 2024

Hong Yim Home Wrecker

Tsai Sha Calamity Curse

Helter Skelter

The Fire of the Horse feeds the Earth of the Dragon. This can be a very tiring process. At times it may feel like you are pushing a boulder uphill this year. That effort will tend to boost your reputation professionally, especially if you are on the sales/promo /marketing side of things. If you are set upon making a massive and rapid impact you could make some equally massive and rapid blunders if you move too fast. Which is what Horses do. And you know that territory.

Horses generally attract limelight because they are brilliant and are comfortable within its glow. On the other hand the fool that rushes in is so often a Horse. The Metal of Autumn will tend to magnify this.

Meanwhile your home and social life may be disrupted. Hong Yim suggests that there are close connections with which you are dissatisfied, possibly the closest. This could include your most intimate relationship(s). It is possible that you are harbouring unspoken reservations. These are best expressed. Still unspoken in 2025 they could be very damaging. Express them carefully and trust your sincerity. The Horse craves light in dark corners.

Horses are often poor at research and preparation. They are so immediate, so in the moment, that they can behave rashly. Watch for this especially in February, June, July and October when your passion could be quite self-damaging.

There is a trace here of the Yik Ma Racehorse Star (which affects some but not all Horses this year) One sign is that you may change jobs or houses, possibly countries. Along with the domestic uncertainty this makes for real upheaval. Have your bags ready.

Upheaval does not need to be distressing. It is often a function of truth being told and always an expression of choice which may have lain unexpressed. To make the best of it you are advised to cultivate humility. One aspect of this is owning up to past misdeeds. Another is executing your new duties with integrity. If any new role is simply a step to greater elevation, you may come a cropper. The Horse is typically swift to act, which may translate to hasty and without forethought.

This year’s Tin Yutes, that is Nobleman Helpers are Ox and Sheep. Of whom the Sheep is inclined to serve you anyway. He is your natural henchman, amanuensis and gofer. Try not to abuse him, this year he can’t help himself: he will be your footman, tracker and food taster, Sancho Panza to your Don Quixote. This of course implies a relatively easy time during the Summer at least for Wood(1954) and Water(2002, 1942) Horses .

The Year is dominated by the Water Triad of Dragon, Monkey and Rat. There’s Water everywhere – which is one sign of the brand new 9^th Fate Period. The hotter Horse such as 1966’s Fire Horse or one born in June or a Horse Day and every Horse in May, June and July (and October actually) needs Water. Take on a little in the form of blue decor, late nights, hydration and discussion and you’ll feel saner. Invite also those feelings of grief and regret that may linger just outside your consciousness. Breathe into them, own them, risk self-disclosure. Emotion and authenticity are your friends this year.

Seek actual literal Water, Rats and Pigs to help you pace yourself. As you move to the natural rhythms of time and space, you will be more thoughtful, more considered and hence safer. Water represents advice and discussion, be prepared to be disagreed with, allow those with greater knowledge to guide you. Your passion is infectious and your desire to get things done admirable in context. Pick your fights and your moments. Harness your spontaneity rather than having it run you.

You may be bored professionally by May as your new job may involve many tasks that you thought you had risen above. Expedite them with care and you’ll find fresh nuance. Repetition is often a sign of a choice to master something; don’t rush through it. If you are elevated too rapidly you are likely to make the same mistakes as last time.

So two possible types of outcome this year: a confident and rapid rise which has little life expectancy and a more sober one that may last. You rarely under rate yourself but others may.

There’s no one else pulling your strings which on the one hand offers you freedom to soar this year and on the other no excuses. And don’t blame the Sheep.

Romance: passive at best. Mid-to late year suits gay Horses.

Wealth: mercurial

Health: heat-related ailments.

Hexagram: 30 Lei Enlightenment

This forecast is prepared by comparing your own Chinese year Animal with the Wood Dragon of 2024. Your Year Animal is just one of the four that make up your Ba Zi or Four Pillars of Destiny. A fully-drafted ba zi can indicate possible futures and probable pasts as well as moments of decision. Knowing these moments can heal and prevent heartbreak as well make success and happiness more easily achievable. What is a ba zi?

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