Last week we stepped into the year of the Fire Horse. A few of you asked how the animals get along, so here is the next piece.
The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac are not just a line of twelve. They are woven into friendships and rivalries that shape how the years feel for each of us.
The deepest friendships fall into four groups of three, animals four years apart who naturally understand each other, think alike, and bring out the best in one another. The Chinese call them the three harmonies.
Tiger, Horse and Dog. The champions. Passionate, independent and loyal, driven by ideals and a cause worth chasing.
Rat, Dragon and Monkey. The doers. Quick, clever and charismatic, the ones who start things and make them happen.
Ox, Snake and Rooster. The thinkers. Steady, determined and deep, the long game players who plan while others rush.
Rabbit, Goat and Pig. The peacemakers. Kind, gentle and artistic, the ones who soften the world and hold people together.
Then there are the clashes.
Each animal sits directly opposite another, six years apart, and these two pull in opposite directions. Rat and Horse. Ox and Goat. Tiger and Monkey. Rabbit and Rooster. Dragon and Dog. Snake and Pig.
A clash is not a curse. It is simply friction, and friction is how we grow. The person who rubs you the wrong way is often the one with the most to teach you.
So what does this mean for 2026?
This is the Horse’s year. The Horse and its two allies, the Tiger and the Dog, feel the wind at their backs, carried along by a year that moves at their natural pace. The Rat, sitting opposite the Horse, feels the year asking more of them, a year to slow down, choose carefully, and not try to outrun a Horse on its home turf.
As always, this is about energies and tendencies, not fixed fate. Knowing the weather does not decide your day. It just helps you dress for it.
Not sure which animal you are?
Your birth year holds it, though if you were born in January or early February, check the date of the Chinese New Year that year, as you may be the animal before.
- Horse: 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
- Rat: 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
- Ox: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
- Tiger: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
- Rabbit: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
- Dragon: 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
- Snake: 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
- Goat: 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
- Monkey: 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
- Rooster: 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
- Dog: 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
- Pig: 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
So tell me, what animal are you, and does your trine ring true? Do you find yourself drawn to your three, and rubbing up against your opposite?
Come and tell me in the Perth Spiritual Learning group on Facebook.