2026: Year of the Fire Horse

When does 2026 begin?

• Chinese New Year (the lunar calendar): February 17, 2026.
• BaZi (the solar calendar this page uses): the Start of Spring, February 4, 2026, 4:02 a.m. Beijing time — 3:02 p.m. on February 3 Eastern, 12:02 p.m. on February 3 Pacific.

Anyone born between those two dates falls in different years under the two calendars: already the year of the Horse in BaZi, but still the year of the Snake by the lunar calendar.

The Heavenly Stem: 丙 (Fire)

Yang Fire is the sun overhead — expressive, generous, and impossible to miss; it warms a room just by entering it.

The Earthly Branch: 午 — Year of the Horse

The Horse is energetic and independent — restless in the best sense, drawn to movement and reluctant to be fenced in.

Which years are Horse years?

1930 Metal1942 Water1954 Wood1966 Fire1978 Earth1990 Metal2002 Water2014 Wood2026 Fire

Born in January or early February? In BaZi each of these years begins at the Start of Spring, around February 4. Born before it, you belong to the year before.

What 2026 holds in the sky

Computed from the same ephemeris as the charts: every date below is a position, not a prediction, and can be checked against any astronomical almanac.

Eclipses

• February 17Solar eclipse
• March 3Lunar eclipse
• August 12Solar eclipse
• August 28Lunar eclipse

Retrogrades

• February 26 – March 20Mercury retrograde
• June 29 – July 23Mercury retrograde
• October 3 – November 14Venus retrograde
• October 24 – November 13Mercury retrograde

Slow planets changing sign

• January 26Neptune enters Aries
• February 14Saturn enters Aries
• April 26Uranus enters Gemini
• June 30Jupiter enters Leo