The new moon in Aquarius on the 31st January marks the Chinese New Year - the Year of the Green Horse or Wood Horse. Those born in 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 and 2002 are all born in the Year of the Horse.
In Eastern philosophy, the Horse is considered to be energetic, charismatic, intelligent, self-reliant, good with money and fond of travel, roaming from one place or project to the next. This incessant activity and searching often disguises a deep-seated desire to fit in though paradoxically, Horses feel a simultaneous yearning for independence and freedom.
Horses generally have good health, due to their positive outlook in life and huge amounts of energy. They thrive on being the centre of attention and love to entertain a crowd with their humour and wit. In love they are spontaneous and ardent and tend to throw themselves into relationships without too much thought.
On the career front, horses enjoy positions where they can interact with others. They prefer to lead rather than follow, are effective communicators, can grasp new subjects with ease and dislike routine. Their impatient and headstrong streak can cause difficulty in the workplace and they often have short tempers. Another problem is that Horses don’t always finish what they start, being constantly on the lookout for the next exciting opportunity.
Once Horses have matured and found some kind of inner peace, they tend to curb their wandering tendencies, develop stronger, more stable relationships and learn to appreciate what is in their own backyard.
2014 will be a year when Horses can really shine, both personally and professionally and overcome any recent setbacks or obstacles. For the rest of us, the Year of the Horse is a chance to develop our own sense of adventure and do something fresh, exciting and spontaneous. Wood is the element of spring, when plants have new growth. And, in the Five-Element Chinese Cycle (Wood to Fire to Earth to Metal to Water to Wood), Wood comes before Fire and so has a favourable relationship with it - when you stoke a fire with wood you get a big blaze. 2014 is a year with the potential for lucky breaks when you can take more chances than normal and strike out in new directions. Have fun!