Very soon the year of the snake is coming to an end and with it comes the arrival of the fire horse,
One of the most powerful and dynamic symbols of the Chinese zodiac.
Let us take the next couple of minutes to quiet the body and mind and then we will reflect on what we are prepared to shed and part ways with in order to create the space and energy to allow for the gifts brought by the coming year.
What weeds must be dug out in our mind,
Heart and soul's garden in order to bring new life in.
What patterns,
Narratives and beliefs have been shaping our decisions and keeping us restricted from new growth and development.
Let us start this practice by taking a few deep and slow breaths in through the nose exhaling through the mouth.
As you exhale,
Feel your shoulders dropping away from the ears.
As you exhale,
Feel your muscles releasing tension.
As you exhale,
Feel yourself more centered,
More still.
With a quiet mind,
We have more chance to access the deeper self.
If you would like to use a pen and paper or indeed your phone to keep notes of the following reflections,
You are most welcome to do so.
We will be using the aspects of mind,
Heart and soul to bring clarity to our deeper self.
Let us begin with the mind space.
What have you been telling yourself or ruminating on that has been unhelpful and has no evidence to back its supposed truth?
What are some patterns of thought that you notice impact your mood and your self-esteem?
When is your mind rigid and inflexible and how does this limit you and your life?
What parts of your mindset are you ready to release and let go?
In your mind's eye,
Imagine seeing your mind as a garden.
Create image to all the before mentioned aspects that you're ready to part with.
Imagining emptying the contents of the mind no longer serving you.
Maybe they resemble weeds or cobwebs or compost.
Give the contents shape,
Color.
See it moving towards one of your ears,
Moving through the ear canal and outside of your ear.
Completely draining from your mind like water from a bath and leaving the body and even the surrounding aura completely.
Once having done that,
See the mind scape now.
Maybe already planted out with flowers and trees,
A space to be developed upon.
Or maybe you see a green,
Clean,
Luscious space ready and waiting for new seeds to be planted.
Let the corners of the mouth curl ever so slightly up with the image of this cleared space and the idea of new positive beginnings.
If you would like more time,
Feel free to pause at this point and return when ready.
Let us now move to the heart space.
How are you holding back from sharing love or blocking opportunity?
Who or what are you shutting out?
Are there parts of yourself that you aren't accepting and have become exiled?
Is there shame lurking there?
The feeling of not good enough or the idea of being too much for people?
How are you resisting the calling of your heart?
How might you be restricting flow in and out of the heart space?
How much attention are you giving to interpersonal relationships?
Are you staying in a relationship for fear of being alone?
Perhaps a relationship that is no longer fulfilling or offering you support?
What would you need to let go in order to grow?
Tap into an image which makes sense to you around a restriction of your heart space.
You might visualize a wall or a suffocating vine that has overgrown your space.
Once you find an image that feels right for you,
I ask that you see yourself or a representation of yourself.
It could be your childhood self,
For example.
Taking whatever tool or implement needed to bring that wall down.
See yourself smashing it down or chipping away brick by brick.
If it's a vine,
See yourself with a machete slicing away the vine with power and determination.
Perhaps it's a kind of mesh that needs cutting back.
Find a form or technique that makes sense to you and uncover that heart space.
As you pull back the vines and break down that wall,
You find a heart glowing golden and emanating a vibrant luminous green,
Getting bolder and brighter as you clear that space.
Again,
Let the corners of the mouth curl up.
Let us now move to the spirit,
The divine essence inside you.
How much attention are you giving to feeling spiritually fulfilled or satisfied with currently?
Are you allowing yourself time to tap into that inner divine power?
Are you allowing yourself time to connect with greater spirit?
Do you have the feeling that you are here for a purpose?
And if so,
Are you living in accordance to that intention?
In what ways do you doubt your own power and intuition?
What parts of your spirit have been left behind in the past and in various locations and needing to be retrieved?
Are you feeling spiritually fatigued and would like to focus on getting that spark back?
Picture your solar plexus below your heart space.
Have a sense if your light has been dimmed,
Maybe dull or sluggish.
Maybe you have been fearful of what happens when you show your pure light to the world.
Maybe others have stripped you from your power.
Inhale the intention to bring more light and energy to your spiritual center.
Exhale the dullness,
The old ways,
The fears and anxieties.
Inhale again noticing the solar plexus becoming brighter as you do so.
Exhale releasing all that which blocks your power.
Inhale again seeing the solar plexus glowing like a sun under your heart space.
Exhale all the dust and debris that has been collected over the years.
Let it go.
Let it go.
See that little sun inside you turning clockwise,
Building momentum with each natural breath now.
The rays of it moving into your heart space,
Moving into your arms and hands,
Legs and feet,
Connecting you with the action centers.
See the rays moving up and into your crown chakra,
The light moving up and out of your head.
A bright,
Superb ray of light shooting up out of the head,
Traveling into the ceiling above,
And now shooting even higher outside of the roof up into the sky above you.
Shooting up into the heavens,
A pillar of light connecting you with great spirit.
With your ancestors,
Your guides,
Your oneness with the universe deeply felt in this moment.
A sense of peace and connection and bliss throughout the body and the outer body.
Again let the corners of the mouth curl up if they're not already.
Now bringing your attention to the power of the coming year,
The bold movement and action that will occur,
And the innovation,
Creativity and courage which will take you there.
What will you be calling in and manifesting this year of the horse?
Again let us turn to the areas of mind,
Heart and soul as a compass.
Take yourself to that beautiful mind garden again.
If you could create any,
And I mean any,
Mindset for the coming year,
What would it be?
How would you ideally like to deal with challenges,
With the inevitable curveballs that life will throw at you?
Think of some power words here,
For example flexibility,
Courage,
Determination.
What support might be important for you to access when it comes to better managing your mental health and mind space?
What are some achievable realistic steps that you could take to tend to your mind garden?
You might like to imagine yourself planting seeds as you think this through.
When you're ready take yourself to that green and golden heart space of yours now.
How would you like to live according to your heart this coming year?
How would you like to give love and receive it?
Who or what would you like to target your passion toward this year?
What would living look like if you let your heart do the talking this year,
Opposed to your monkey mind?
If you were to follow your dreams without fear,
Where would this year take you and your spirit?
Who are the people who mirror your soul energy and how could you connect with them this year?
Is there a way to motivate yourself to do the spiritual work or build a sense of community this year?
If you were to visualize your spirit without the vessel of the body you're in,
What does it look like?
If you were to paint it out on a huge canvas,
What colors would you use?
What medium?
What shapes or patterns or textures or design?
Once you've played with that idea,
Can you visualize it expanding and becoming more bright,
More bold,
More defined and bigger?
Imagine it could fill the room you're in.
Imagine it could move through the ceiling and through the roof and grow like a cloud or a tree that fills the sky.
If you were to start the coming year with your soul as your guide,
Again,
Curl those corners of your mouth up and notice how you feel in your body and mind in this moment.
When you're ready,
Take one last deep inhale,
Really bringing in the positive intention and exhale or sigh out the very last bits needing to be shared.
Gently open your eyes.
I encourage you to sketch or list aspects of this near future you if you haven't already,
To pop it up on your fridge or on your mirror as a gentle reminder to retain that focus.
Best wishes,
Friends.
May 2026 and the year of the firehorse bring the much needed peace to each of us and our society at large.
Be kind.
Be you.
Follow your intuition.
Let go of that which you can't control and always keep the hope that working on our own journey will have a ripple effect on this beautiful world we call home.
