Millennials get a bad rap these days. According to Gen-Z, we’re innately uncool, still using phrases like digital native and kudos, still wearing skinny jeans with Christmas jumpers and vintage Topshop. To our parents, we’re perma-children, frittering our income on avocado toast and failing to get on the property ladder. So, isn’t it time we were given some good news – something to remind us that being a millennial is not the tragic burden so many Buzzfeed articles imply it is? Enter the Year of the Fire Horse.
What is the Year of the Fire Horse?
Part of the Chinese Zodiac calendar, the Fire Horse year runs from 17 February 2026 to 20 February 2027. It represents a year full of movement, decisive action and finding your rhythm to make change a possibility. “In Eastern culture, the horse represents action, freedom, speed and breakthrough,” Susan Gu, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and acupuncturist at the HVN in Knightsbridge, explains.
Unlike the previous Year of the Wood Snake – a time for shedding old habits and stories, recalibrating the habits and practices that make you feel good and honouring internal intelligence – the Year of the Fire Horse is a transformative, fast-paced, motivating time. For millennials, it’s especially fruitful.
Particularly susceptible to burnout, millennials are especially prone to feelings of all-consuming physical and emotional exhaustion – something existential psychotherapist Nino Sopromadze puts down, in part, to the profound shift from face-to-face to digital communication in their lifetime. “Psychologically, this generation often holds a paradox: feeling more globally connected than any generation before them, while simultaneously experiencing an increasing sense of loneliness and anxiety.”
According to Sopromadze, Zodiac years can offer structure and meaning to millennials who feel out of rhythm, or lack motivation. The Year of the Horse, which represents consistent movement with adequate rest, is a potent metaphor for millennials trying to better conserve their energy and make positive change in their lives.
“For millennials, the Year of the Fire Horse is about reclaiming personal sovereignty,” says Gu. “It invites you to stop living only for safety and start choosing what makes life feel meaningful.”
In spite of it being a year of big change, Gu cautions that the Fire Horse is not here to exhaust you. Instead, “it’s here to help you run on a path that actually belongs to you.” In her book, it’s about rethinking the balance between work and freedom, bringing side projects and personal branding into reality, and protecting physical health and emotional boundaries to prevent burnout.
How the millennials of team Vogue feel about the Year of the Horse
2025 was an illuminating year, but it was also very, very hard. I juggled multiple projects at once, and then, in October, I was diagnosed with post-viral fatigue, which meant I was in bed for six weeks. I’ve never known boredom like it. This year is already – already – looking better. I want to have fun. I want action after so much lack of it, and I want movement and change. After the seriousness of last year, I want dopamine – lots. To conclude: Snake year? Bad. Horse year? Good.
Daisy Jones, acting news & features editor
The year of the snake was a very transitional year for me, a true shedding in every sense of the word. I broke up with my ex, moved house and started a new job. There was not a single thing that was the same as the previous year. It turned out to be the best year of life, strangely. I am optimistic about the year of the horse, however. It’s defined by bold movements and that’s exactly what I’m looking to embody. I’m hoping to fill it with adventure – discovering new places (South Korea, Costa Rica) and fun with my best friends. If love finds me, I won’t be mad about that either.
Ellie Davis, senior beauty commerce writer
Almost everyone I know had a terrible 2025 – so it’s no wonder that so many of us are excited about the fact that we’re transitioning from the Year of the Snake (a year of shedding, recalibrating) to the Year of the Horse (a year of action and forward movement). In fact, I have never known so many of my friends to be suddenly interested in Chinese astrology – whether you believe it or not is a moot point: clearly, we’re all just looking for some positivity in our lives right now.
Emily Chan, senior sustainability & features editor
The Year of the Snake definitely coincided with a year of shedding for me, I moved into a new flat and got rid of so many things I’d had for too long, relationships that no longer added to my life started to fade into the distance and so it felt like it was the start of a new chapter. In the Year of the Fire Horse, I feel ready to do more than just shed – I want to push forward, whether in my life or career – travel, be unafraid to love and be in the best shape of my life. I want to exude confidence as I become more sure of myself than ever before. This feels like the right year to just reach out and grab what I want.
Zee Waraich, social video creator
When I heard it was the Year of the Horse, my first thought was maybe I want to… ride horses more often? I only tried it for the first time a few years ago, and found it strangely calming – maintaining your balance requires just enough concentration to stop the mind wandering, but it’s also just brainless enough that it becomes almost meditative. (The gear is kinda chic too – we love a jodhpur round here.) I’m not planning to be a showjumping champion any time soon, but maybe I’ll splurge on a trot (or two) around Hyde Park in the lunar new year.
Liam Hess, senior lifestyles and weddings editor
Astrologer @chriscorsoni is who I (and a million others) seek out when trying to make sense of all things pertaining to the universe. In 2025, Chris’s guidance for Sagittarians revolved around breaking unhelpful behaviour loops, habits and ending relationships which don’t serve us. “Shedding” is what the year of the snake was all about... but I’d be lying if I said I took that advice on fully. In reality, my 2025 (and final year of my 20s) was my “one-last-time before-you’ll-have-to-give-it-up” year. With the pressure of turning 30, my 2025 was chaotic, rash and impulsive. But, my grand finalé approach actually sets me up nicely for this new Year of the Horse. I’ve got the “if I don’t do it now I might regret it” feeling out of my system. I’m hoping that, in 2026, I make choices with confidence and not from the fear of time running out, or the pressure to have everything figured out.
Rashida Josiah, producer