丙午 Year of the Fire Horse Wuyun Liuqi Part I: 五運 Wuyun
Happy Year of the Fire Horse! 丙午年 Bǐngwǔ Nián
Welcome to the start of 丙午 Bingwu, the Fire Horse Year! Today, February 17th 2026, marks the Lunar New Year and the beginning of Fire Horse energy in full.
Each year, using the Classical Chinese Medical system of the Wuyun Liuqi 五運六氣 I explore potential climate patterns and resulting health effects of the coming year, as well as how to stay healthy through the seasons.
The Fire Horse Wuyun Liuqi overview is divided into two separate sections: this one covering the Wuyun view of annual energetic patterns, and a companion post covering Liuqi analysis of seasonal climate and health patterns.
brush painting by 20th-century Chinese master Xu Beihong
Introduction to Wuyun Liuqi
The Wuyun Liuqi system examines two overlapping patterns in nature: the 五運 Wuyun or “Five Movements” as well as the 六氣 Liuqi, or “Six Qi”. This is a Classical science Space and Time, exploring dynamics of health and climate for any year.
The Wuyun represent Space, or how energy moves through physical systems - the climate, environment and humanity - in a given year. The Liuqi examines Time, outlining seasonal patterns of climate and illness, with resources in the form of diet, lifestyle and herbal strategies to promote health throughout the year.
We’ll begin with a look at the Wuyun, the aspect of Space. Our exploration of the Wuyun is further divided into three sections: Heaven, discussing climate and natural disasters, Earth covering health impacts, and Humanity, exploring the psychological, social and political implications of the Wuyun. For a month-by-month breakdown of climate and health, along with yearly guidelines for diet and herbal strategy, check out my companion blog on the Liuqi. I have tried to tailor this blog to be approachable and useful for those unfamiliar with the Wuyun Liuqi system as well as experienced practitioners.
Enjoy, and may the year of the Fire Horse bring us all abundant blessings!
五運 Wu Yun
The way the Wuyun describes the energy of the year is through a vibrational “tone,” that moves through all physical systems throughout the year. I refer to this vibration as the “Annual Tone.”
The Wuyun Annual Tone represents a pattern of energy (Qi) making everything in existence subtly resonate with its particular frequency. All things manifest this resonance differently according to their nature. When this vibration moves through the planet Earth, for example, resonant weather events and climate patterns are generated. When the Annual Tone moves through human bodies, it similarly creates emotions thoughts, and physical health effects. As it moves through the collective body of society, the Wuyun vibration has an effect on the organization and activities of humanity as a whole. These represent the three tiers of Heaven, Earth and Humanity we will explore in depth below
This year, the Annual Tone is the major Yu 羽 tone, which represents Excess Water. In Chinese Cosmology, Water is not a static object, but a dynamic process that plays a part in the Five Element network of living forces. When any of the Five Elements is imbalanced, others act to restore balance. Understanding how the various elements move in response to an excess of Water will help make sense of the connections between climate, health and social dynamics, as all of these follow the same fundamental patterns.
In the Five Element system, Water controls Fire, and is in turn controlled by Earth. When Water is excessive as it is this year, it over-expresses its controlling function & douses Fire. The Wuyun Liuqi system calls this Water “Oppressing” Fire. With Fire weakened and unable to generate Earth, Water can even move in the “Insulting” cycle, acting out against the weakened Earth as it tries sedate the excessive Water.
The outer, circular flow of the elements shows the natural transformation of one element into another.
The inner, star-shaped pattern illustrates the elements “control” another. Moving backwards in the control cycle is known as “Insulting”
“Insult & Revenge” | “Oppression and Uprising”
When the Excess Water of the year overwhelms Fire, this is called “Oppression” and when Fire eventually becomes strong enough to push back, it flares up in dramatic and dangerous fashion: this is called the “Uprising” of Fire. Similarly, Water’s “Insult” to Earth eventually comes back around with Earth taking “Revenge” on Water.
The last piece of the puzzle, what we can do to avert the worst of the disasters of Revenge and Uprising. To preemptively balance these energies, it is advised to supplement the Wood element during the first half of the year, which drains the excessive Water and generates the weakened Fire, which in turn supports the insulted Earth, preventing the need for Revenge and Uprising.
The effect of Oppression, Revenge and Uprising varies depending on the medium it is moving through (ie. climate, the human body, the social/collective body) but the pattern itself remains the same. Likewise, supporting the Wood element takes on different forms, but always has the same effect of harmonizing the energies of the year to restore balance with the least disturbance.
So the overall pattern of the Wuyun this year is Water overacting on Fire and Earth, creating the potential for systemic imbalances and a build up of pressure that can cause further disasters if balance is not restored. With that basic pattern in mind, let’s explore the specific effects of Excessive Water and the Yu 羽 tone this year.
“Dragon Horse” 龍馬 Longma woodcut from Qing Dynasty. Source: 古今圖書集成
天 Heaven
Wuyun Yearly Climate Patterns
The Wuyun Annual Tone is a fundamental pattern of the year, which plays out everywhere, but it is most visible where these is existing vulnerability, meaning it shows up most dramatically when a system under stress. The Wuyun system explains how stress will express in a given year, and also how living systems will adapt and respond to that expression in order to restore balance.
As this applies to climate, it tells us about overall climate patterns in the year, and also which kinds of extreme climate events are likely to occur. Where or when these climate events will occur is not predicted. That is determined by where there is the greatest environmental stress is due to the effects of climate change or the influence of the Liuqi disrupting seasonal weather patterns.
This year the Excessive Yu 羽 Water Tone indicates that extreme climate events characterized by Cold, Frost and Rain are likely to occur. This may look like atmospheric rivers, cold snaps or snow storms - any combination of freezing weather and heavy precipitation. We are already seeing extreme climate events characterized by Cold and Rain/Snow as of February 2026: the “Bomb Cyclone” that hit the eastern United States brought snow and ice to 40 states occurred just after the Wuyun climate cycle of Excess Water & Cold began on January 20th, 2026, and many local winter storms with unusually heavy snowfall have followed. Generally speaking, extreme climate events related to the Yearly Tone of Excess Water take place in the first half of the year, and again late in the year. So we can expect extreme winter storms to pop up throughout spring, calm down in the summer, and flare up again this winter.
The “Revenge” of Earth and the “Uprising” of Fire manifest climate patterns in the summer to counterbalance excessive cold early on in the year. Earth’s Revenge takes place in late-summer, and is characterized by flooding, fog and dust.
The Uprising of Fire takes place the fourth Liuqi period from July 22nd - September 21st, where there is a likelihood of extreme Heat. When the Uprising of Fire begins, the Niejing describes the following: “flaming fire prevails, massive heat arrives. Mountains and forests burn and blaze, smoke surges, covering the sun. The soil is covered by “salt frost” (this is possibly a reference to ash on the soil, or Fire scorching the Earth, which crystalizes the soil and makes it impermeable to water, as can often happen in forest fires). Standing waters decrease. Plants and herbs are scorched and turn yellow. Wind prevails. Dampness of late summer fails to sedate the heat of summer.”
This is sadly a familiar scene to many of us. The dry, late-summer months here on the west coast are now considered “wildfire season”. The Wuyun, recall, describes vulnerabilities of a given year, so this pattern of summer fires is most likely to occur where there is existing stress to the local environment. Unfortunately, that accurately describes the Pacific Northwest where I am writing this post. There is virtually no snowpack on the mountains, resulting from unseasonably warm that itself can be understood through the lens of the Wuyun:
Looking back to 2025, the Wuyun indicated a tendency toward excessive heat, emphasized from June 2025 - January 2026 by the additional influence of Liuqi seasonal climate irregularities. In Europe, June-September 2025 saw record-breaking heatwaves killing thousands, and here in Portland, Oregon, there wasn’t a single freeze before late January 2026. Unseasonably warm winter weather resulted in irises blooming in December, daffodils sprouting, magnolias blooming and leaves budding on trees in January 2026. All of these are signs of an ecology especially vulnerable to dryness and wildfires this summer.
Crocuses in Portland Oregon, January 2026
So what can we do? The idea of “Supplementing Wood” to avert the worst of this year’s disasters can be understood on a micro-and-macro level for climate. One large-scale image of supporting Wood would be to divert the water from heavy rain events into forests, giving the excess water someplace to go and keeping the woods from drying out and becoming susceptible to wildfire: thus using Wood to drain Water and keep Fire from flaring. Caring for our State Parks and forests through brush clearing and controlled burns is another way to support healthy Wood energy, which in turn could lessen the intensity of wildfires.
On a smaller scale, we may have late-spring freezes that kill off annuals, leaving gardens and local ecologies vulnerable to extreme heat in the summer. Planting ground-cover in your yard, especially after any freezes that kill new plants, can keep the soil and other plants from getting parched in the summer. This is an image of “Supporting Wood” on the personal level to counteract the excess of cold/Water, and soften the effect of Fire Uprising.
In the companion Liuqi post I take a deeper dive into dietary and lifestyle resources to preserve health through extreme weather events. These tools can have a profound impact on personal and collective health, as we are living in a world where healthcare is increasingly inaccessible for many, and contemporary models of healthcare are unable to quickly recognize or respond to the health consequences of unseasonal climate patterns.
Woman on Horseback - Tang Dynasty
地 Earth
Personal Health Impacts
We’ll now turn to the health impacts of the Wuyun Annual Tone and its associated climate events. When an extreme climate event occurs, this disrupts natural seasonal rhythms which in turn can cause illnesses. While human health is our main focus, these effects impact the health of all creatures.
The health impacts caused by the year follow the same pattern of Oppression, Revenge and Uprising as before. When a snowstorm or cold snap occurs, yearly Excessive Water “Oppresses Fire” in the human body. Fire represents the Heart, so illnesses of Cold affecting the Heart result. This leads to the Heart being unable to distribute warmth to the body via blood, resulting in constrained heat above in the chest, and cold below. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, bloody noses, and dry throat with cold in the stomach, chest pain and aching low back can all occur. The pattern of Water Insulting Earth can also create digestive symptoms of bloating, diarrhea and thirst.
The presence of extreme cold in the first half of the year leads to the Outbreak of Fire later, which appears as severe heatwaves or wildfires. These result in shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, sides, head, and upper back, heat rashes, fever burning in the eyes, nosebleeds, agitation, and mental distress. There can be painful joints, bloating, heaviness in the limbs, and depletion of body fluids through sweating, diarrhea and vomiting. In extreme cases, there can be stabbing abdominal pain and even death. These extreme symptoms are characteristic of heatwaves and wildfires, which can cause severe respiratory and heat symptoms, and even be deadly. Fire acts fast, so both the climate events and associated health pathology arise suddenly. It is therefore advisable to be prepared for wildfire season by stocking up on herbs and foods that can counteract this heating, drying effect. Chrysanthemum tea is wonderfully cooling on hot days, Bitter Melon 苦瓜 is extremely effective at clearing heat from the body, and Pang da Hai 胖大海 is a Chinese herb that specifically supports the membranes of the Lungs, preventing dryness and irritation in the case of smoke events.
As before, the best way to avert the worst of these physical symptoms is by Nourishing Wood, which is best done in the first half of the year. This time, we are thinking about Wood in the human body. The primary Wood organ is the Liver, which is nourished by building blood, coursing Liver Qi, or softening stagnant Qi.
Nourishing the Liver:
Building Blood: encapsulated Beef Liver Supplements or red meat help build blood.
Coursing Liver Qi: Acrid foods such as Mint, Ginger, and Scallions all help to gently circulate Liver Qi in the body, keeping things from getting stuck and stagnant, which in turn can be addressed by…
Relaxing Stagnant Liver Qi: When there is already a feeling of frustration, heat and irritation affecting your mind, the Sour flavor helps to relax this stagnation and keeps Liver Qi moving. Plums and other tart fruits are a great way to cool and relax the body in the first half of the year, to prevent the build-up of constraint that can lead to the “trapped heat” symptoms mentioned above.
For further dietary recommendations from the Wuyun Liuqi system, check out the companion blog on the Fire Horse Liuqi.
人 Humanity
Psychological, Social and Political Impacts
Psychology:
By now the pattern of Water oppressing Fire and insulting Earth is familiar. In terms of human psychology, each element has a an associated emotion or mental state. For Water, that is Fear, which Oppresses Joy, the emotion of Fire and “insults” 思 Thought, the mental state of Earth.
What this means is Fear will be a dominant emotional force this coming year. Fear often gets a bad rap as a purely “negative” emotion, but in lens of East Asian Medicine there is no “good” or “bad” emotion. All emotions have an important role to play in our survival and fulfillment, yet too much or too little of any emotion can cause issues. Fear, for example, is a helpful emotion when it keeps us from going in to dangerous situations or taking unnecessary risks. that is how it restrains overactive Joy (Fire), which could otherwise lead us to do risky things. When Fear is over-emphasized, however, it keeps us from enjoying life by imagining danger around every corner. It is in this way that Excessive Water/Fear, can “Dominate” Fire/Joy and keep us from enjoying life. Fear drains our energy and agency, leaving us in a state of reactivity rather than freedom and autonomy.
Thought keeps Fear in check: someone might fear monsters under the bed in childhood, but they eventually learn that monsters aren’t real and can rationalize or “think” their way out of fear. This is the cycle of Earth controlling Water, which consolidates our energy in a focused Thought so it cannot be easily drained by Fear. Having a concrete task to focus on or an absorbing distraction is a great to overcome Fear with Thought.
However - when Fear is too strong, as it is this year, it “Insults” Earth and causes thought to be ineffective in restraining fear. Instead, Fear can creep in and color our thinking, leaving us to ruminate even more on our fears. This is a pattern to look out for in the Fire Horse year, especially with the endless news cycle of crises and atrocities worldwide: we can easily get sucked into a applying our thinking mind to Fear, itself, rather than using our capacity for thought to get clear on what we can do practically, and focusing our attention on these tasks.
Wood serves as the bridge to balance out this pattern, and is associated with the emotion of Anger, which makes qi rise. Anger counteracts the “drain” of Fear, pushing us out of paralysis and into action. It gives us direction, and a sense of how to apply our energy in contrast to what we fear. This is like a bully intimidating another child, who eventually lashes out in Anger in an attempt to reassert their right to exist peacefully and with Joy (as Wood/Anger generates Fire/Joy), rather than being ruled by Fear. Wood is also associated with the sound of Shouting, so raising your voice to say speak your truth in the appropriate moment - not just “speaking your mind”, but speaking from the heart - is another way to unblock this emotional pattern of Fear suppressing joy and co-opting our thinking.
N. Tsultem - Appeal - 1972. Oil on canvas.
Politics and Culture
In the Confucian text The Book of Rites, the Tonal system of the Wuyun is expanded to describe the functions of state and government which must conform to the patterns of nature in order to endure. Like a failure to model our health after the patterns of nature leads to disease and even death, a failure to use the patterns of nature as a model for society invariably leads to disharmony and dissolution.
The associations of Tones/Elements and government offices are as follows:
Water - Yu 羽 Tone. Represents material conditions and resources.
Wood - Jue 角Tone. Represents the common People
Fire - Zhi 徵 Tone. Represents the affairs of daily life in politics, business and society.
Earth - Gong 宮 Tone: represents the emperor/ruler
If we apply the pattern of Domination, Revenge and Uprising to these socio-political associations, we see a year in which Material Conditions are the central theme. The Yu 羽 Tone being “Excessive” does not mean that resources will be abundant, instead it is a sign that resource distribution will be lopsided to the point of collapse. The strong presence of Yu 羽 Water Tone does not signify a time of abundance, but instead a tipping point when imbalance in the distribution of resources can lead to catastrophe.
“If the Yu tone is irregular, this is a signal of impending ruin; the resources (of the state) become exhausted.”
- Book of Rites: Record of Music
This year, we have Yu 羽 Excessive Water dominating, leading to the oppression of Fire, or political and business affairs. This is a sign that the economy will impact the ability to conduct business and live our lives as normal, and also destabilize political coalitions built around “business as usual”. This situation also “Insults” the Earth tone, representing the Ruler, which means the stability of leaders can also be shaken by the poor economy, which can lead to Rulers “taking Revenge” by trying to forcibly manage the economy, whether successful or not.
This exact pattern can be seen in previous years with an Excess Water Annual Tone: in 1986 in the Philippines and Haiti, economic crises resulted in political upheaval and the ouster of reigning rulers. In 1996 a similar pattern repeated in Bulgaria, with Prime Minister Zhan Videnov resigning amidst protests against economic mismanagement. In 2016 in Brazil, revelations of widespread money laundering by government officials amidst skyrocketing inflation and unemployment was the catalyst for the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff. In all of these cases, rulers fell from power after their political coalition fell apart due to economic turmoil.
As with all Wuyun patterns, the process of economic instability leading to regime change is a tendency of the this year, showing only what can happen at points where there is extreme stress and existing vulnerability. Whether or not we see something this dramatic in the coming year, it is useful lens to view what is going on around us: pay attention to how economic turmoil is damaging business and upsetting political coalitions, in turn disempowering rulers across the globe. As with the other aspects of Heaven, Earth and Humanity, the way to balance this volatile process is by nourishing Wood, Jiao 角. In the political aspect of the tones, 角 Jiao represents the common people. Taking care of one another and supporting the best interest of all people in a sovereign state, not just those of the ruling class, is the way to avert the greatest disasters. To this end, we can all play a role. In spite of the enormous problems we are facing as local communities and a global community, the mandate for the coming year is to focus on helping one another, and to raise our voices when necessary. Small acts of solidarity and support encourage us to work together, and can be especially impactful this year, even if we can’t see exactly how our voice matters just yet. What begins inside each of us is reflected in our work and our relationships, rippling out into wider spheres of influence and becoming a piece of the change we wish to see in the world. To quote another famous Confucian text, the 大學 Dà Xué, on the matter:
身修而後家齊，家齊而後國治，國治而後天下平。
Only after cultivating virtue in oneself is the family harmonious;
Only when each family is harmonious is the state well-governed;
Only after the state is well-governed is there peace throughout the earth
May it be so.
To continue exploring the Wuyun Liuqi of the Fire Horse, check out our companion blog on the 2026 Liuqi and my series on the Symbolism of the Fire Horse.
