Happy New Year (Times Three)!*
Understanding the three Daoist New Years
After almost one month experiencing cloudy days and freezing cold weather here in Stockholm, we have finally had the perfect bluebird day. Although the temperatures were still quite low (the hair peeking out of my daughter’s hood on our early morning walk to school was covered in ice crystals, frozen in place from the condensation from her breath), we actually felt the nice warmth of sunshine penetrating the chill, all which has provided me some inspiration to send this greeting!
Figure 1- Blue skies and fresh snow is a wonderful combination
Unlike the unseasonable warmth we experienced in November and December 2025, the temperatures made a sudden drop once we entered 2026. Much like the US, we have had some heavy snow since then. As I mentioned in my Welcome 2026 writing, my family and I have always enjoyed real winter-Qi, which is the greatest source for rejuvenating all new life energy. Even though spring season is arriving today, February 4, 2026, we will continue to take advantage of the winter Qi for our personal cultivation.
Today, the first day of spring, also marks the beginning of BingWu 丙午, the Year of the Yang Fire Horse. I would like to share some special cultivation ideas for this new energetic year with you all.
Utilize the rhythm of Nature
According to ZhouYiCanTongQi 周易參同契, one of the most important Daoist internal alchemy classics, the rhythm of nature has great influence on human beings, and it is therefore important to understand the rhythms of nature and know how to cultivate with the changing rhythms.
By doing so, we optimize our potential for inner transformation and for deep healing in our lives. There are three important shifts in the rhythm of Qi in each energetic year, which reveal themselves in the three Daoist New Years.
Three New Years!
In light of Daoist SanCai 三才, or Trinity philosophy, every object, phenomenon, or event in the universe is the sum of three parts. Accordingly, we have three New Years each year, each associated with a different kind of Qi (universal energy):
Cosmological New Year – Alchemical Qi
Animal New Year – Yang (Solar) Qi
Chinese New Year – Yin (Lunar) Qi
1. Cosmological New Year – Alchemical Qi
The Cosmological Year, this year, BingWu 丙午, began on January 20, 2026
A Cosmological New Year starts on DaHan/Major Cold, one of the 24 15-day segments in the annual solar cycle that marks the yearly rhythm of nature.
The Heavenly Stem 丙 Bing represents Yang Fire and the Earthly Branch Wu 午 represents the Fire and also carries the Horse as its spiritual animal. According to Chinese cosmology, I expect that the coming year’s climatic pattern to be influenced by Revenge Fire, Dry Metal, and Cold Water energies.
This gives me the information to predict that there will be more natural disasters than average this year, with storms, wild fires, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. I also expect that the current weather pattern will last until late March.
2. Animal New Year – Yang (Solar) Qi
The spring season officially begins on February 4, 2026.
A yearly animal sign begins on LiChun 立春, which also marks the beginning of spring. LiChun is another one of the 24 15-day segments in the annual solar cycle. According to WanNianLi 萬年曆, the Chinese Ten-Thousand Year Calendar, this year the spring season begins on February 4, 2026.
In my tradition, the coming of spring correlates with the start of a new annual animal sign – and this year it will be BingWu, the Year of Yang Fire Horse. In Chinese astrology, one of the four pillars that make up the basic chart is the animal which correlates to the Solar year of birth.
For example, all babies who are born between February 4, 2026-February 4, 2027 will have the Yang Fire Horse as their yearly animal sign.
Whether you have a Horse in your chart or not, we will all be affected by the Horse energy this year!
3. Chinese (Lunar) New Year – Yin (Lunar) Qi
This year we will celebrate the New Year on February 17, 2026.
The Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the Winter solstice each year. This year we will celebrate the New Year on February 17, 2026. In China, we also call the New Year ChunJie 春節, or Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival is the most important and longest holiday of the year in China, as well in as many countries throughout Southeast Asia, the one in which we all prioritize spending time with family and friends. Traditionally, the celebration begins on the Lunar New Year’s Eve and lasts for almost an entire month.
BingWu and your Health
While the combination of BingWu energies will be good for those of you who need support from the Fire elements, it also carries the possibilities for added challenges for those of you who have weak lung Qi, low kidney Qi, heart disease, poor digestive function, and/or a lower sexual drive. Clinically, you might see more people suffering from weak heart function and blood circulation problems over the next couple of months.
BingWu New Year’s Qigong – Horse Internal Alchemy
As I always emphasize, Qigong, when practiced regularly, is great medicine to help you maintain balance and a sense of wellbeing in your life. In order to support Qi-friends’ cultivation practices, I have scheduled some online classes as well as several opportunities for in person workshops this spring, both in Europe and the USA. Please check our website events page for the details.
In summary, I would like to share one of my Horse internal alchemy practices from the first article I ever published in English, The Cauldron and the Horse --Internal Cultivation and Yijing (available for sale on my website). I recommend that you challenge yourself practice this standing form for at least 20 minutes a day!
The horse stance takes the shape of a person riding a horse. One stands with feet parallel, shoulder width apart, gripping the ground with the toes and letting the body sink down into the earth. Knees are bent slightly and opened so that the thighs and crotch form an arch. The chest is open...The abdomen is low, and breathing is smooth and deep. The neck is straight and the head and upper body are always in an upright position in empty relaxation.
If the body posture is correct and the breath is adjusted to be soft and deep, then the lower abdomen, Dantian, changes in temperature from warm to hot. The Dantian is described as the internal space underneath the navel and between the kidneys. This
Dantian - literally the “alchemical smelting field” occupying the lower belly - is the source of life energy.
Figure 2 - Horse stance, a version with open arms
I wish you all ride this Fire Horse peacefully into the year and it brings you to Happiness, Health, and Harmony!
*A portion of this article has been modified from the New Years Greetings I wrote to my subscribers in 2015.