Lunar New Year and the Year of the Horse: Why This One Feels Different

Lunar New Year is a time for intentional forward motion. Here's why the Year of the Horse hits differently for some of us.

I'll be honest. I'm a little more invested in this Lunar New Year than most years.

I was born in the Year of the Horse.

Energetic. Independent. Driven. Apparently a little unstoppable when we decide to go for something.

I'll take it.

Lunar New Year 2026 begins on January 29th, marking the Year of the Wood Horse. And whether you grew up celebrating this tradition or you're simply someone who pays attention to natural transition points throughout the year, this one carries a specific kind of energy worth understanding.

What Lunar New Year Actually Represents

Lunar New Year is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world, observed across Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and many other Asian cultures. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar cycle and is traditionally associated with family gatherings, honoring ancestors, releasing old energy, and intentionally setting the tone for the year ahead.

The celebration typically spans 15 days, beginning with the new moon and ending with the Lantern Festival. Each year is associated with one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac cycle, and each animal carries specific characteristics, strengths, and themes that are believed to influence the year's overall energy.

2026 is the Year of the Horse.

The Year of the Horse: What It Means

The Horse is the seventh animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle. Horse years are traditionally associated with:

Energy and momentum. Not frantic, scattered energy. Purposeful forward motion. The kind of momentum that comes from knowing exactly where you're going and deciding to move toward it without waiting for perfect conditions.

Independence and confidence. Horse energy supports stepping into your own authority. Trusting your instincts. Moving forward based on your own judgment rather than waiting for external validation.

Action over hesitation. Horse years favor people who decide and move. Waiting for ideal timing, perfect circumstances, or universal agreement tends to work against the energy of this year.

Breaking through stagnation. If something has been stuck, held back, or postponed indefinitely, the Year of the Horse carries energy that supports finally moving it forward.

For those of us born in Horse years (1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014), this is considered a particularly significant year. The energy of our birth year returning tends to amplify both the strengths and the challenges associated with our sign.

Why Transition Points Matter

Lunar New Year is one of several natural transition points throughout the year when people pause, reflect, and reset intentionally. January 1st is another. Birthdays. Significant life changes. Career pivots. New seasons.

What makes these moments valuable isn't superstition or symbolism. It's the intentional pause they create in otherwise continuous forward momentum.

Most of us don't stop often enough to ask: Is how I'm currently showing up aligned with who I've become? Is my professional presence, my visual identity, my daily habits actually reflecting the version of myself I've grown into?

Usually the honest answer is: not entirely.

We grow. We evolve. We build expertise, change careers, launch businesses, step into leadership, reinvent ourselves after significant life transitions. But our external representation doesn't always keep pace with internal growth.

Lunar New Year creates a cultural permission structure to address that gap intentionally.

What I'm Releasing This Year of the Horse

Letting go of old energy is as important as setting new intentions. Lunar New Year tradition includes clearing out physical spaces and releasing what no longer serves the next chapter.

Here's what I'm personally releasing this year:

The habit of waiting for perfect conditions. Perfect conditions don't arrive. Forward motion creates conditions. The Year of the Horse supports this principle completely.

Imagery and representation that reflects old chapters. As someone who photographs people at transition points, I believe strongly in practicing what I preach. Updating professional presence isn't vanity. It's alignment.

Hesitation about claiming specific expertise. After 14+ years photographing professionals at career transitions, dating reinvention, personal transformation, and life chapter changes, the expertise is earned. The Year of the Horse is good energy for claiming it directly.

Three Intentions I'm Setting for the Year of the Horse

Intention setting works differently than goal setting. Goals focus on specific outcomes. Intentions focus on how you want to show up regardless of specific outcomes.

1. Intentional forward motion over reactive busyness.

Horse energy is about purposeful momentum, not frantic activity. This year I'm prioritizing movement that's deliberate over movement that's just constant.

2. Helping more people close the gap between who they've become and how they're currently represented.

This is the core of what I do. Career transitions, business launches, leadership visibility, personal reinvention. The Year of the Horse feels like exactly the right energy for people stepping into bigger versions of their professional and personal lives.

3. Documenting families during the ages that won't last.

Your kids won't look like this next year. The Year of the Horse supports forward motion, but it also honors what deserves to be captured before it changes. Family documentation matters as much as professional forward motion.

Lunar New Year Traditions Worth Adopting (Regardless of Background)

You don't have to celebrate Lunar New Year culturally to benefit from its intentional framework. Here are traditions that translate across backgrounds:

Clear one physical space. Releasing physical clutter creates mental clarity. Start with one drawer, one corner, one surface. The act of physical clearing creates psychological space for new energy.

Write down what you're ready to release. Specifically. Not just "old habits" but the actual specific things that are no longer serving this version of your life. Writing makes it concrete.

Set three bold intentions. Not twenty goals. Three intentions about how you want to show up this year. Professional, personal, relational. What does the best version of this year actually look like?

Wear something red. Traditionally associated with good luck and positive energy in Lunar New Year celebrations. Even if you don't believe in the symbolism, the intentional choice creates a moment of acknowledgment.

Take a quiet moment of gratitude. Before moving forward, acknowledge what the previous year actually provided. Growth often comes from difficult circumstances. Gratitude for hard years is possible and valuable.

The Year of the Horse and Professional Forward Motion

For anyone feeling called to step into something different this year, the Year of the Horse offers specific support.

Career transitions that have been considered but not acted on. Professional imagery that's been outdated for years but never updated. Business launches that have been planned but not executed. Visibility in your industry that's been earned but not claimed.

Horse energy supports the decision to move. Not waiting for ideal timing. Not postponing until perfect conditions arrive. Deciding what's next and moving toward it with intention.

If there's a gap between who you've become and how you're currently showing up professionally, this is the year to close it.

Updated professional imagery. Strategic branding photography. Headshots that match current expertise. Family documentation of ages that won't last. Dating photography for people ready to invest in their relationship future.

The Year of the Horse says: stop waiting. Move forward. Do it now.

What Are You Calling In This Year?

Every significant transition has a before and after. The before is where you are now. The after is who you're becoming.

Lunar New Year creates the cultural moment to acknowledge that transition intentionally. To release what belongs to the before and step deliberately into the after.

The Year of the Horse supports forward motion with purpose. Intentional momentum over frantic energy. Deciding and moving rather than waiting and hesitating.

For those of us born in Horse years, this energy feels particularly familiar. Energetic. Independent. Driven. A little unstoppable when we decide to go for something.

I'll take it.

What are you intentionally stepping into this year?

Emily Cummings Photography | Studio 25 Naperville | Serving Chicago & Naperville Professional headshots, branding photography, family sessions, dating profile photography, and The Luminous Project