2026, the Year of the Fire Horse (Bing Wu, 丙午): what it means for each day master
Your day master is the stem of the day you were born — the part of a BaZi chart that stands for you. There are ten, and the same year is a different thing to each: wealth to one person, authority to another. Below, 2026 is worked out for all ten, and then the question of who “offends” the year — Fan Tai Sui (犯太岁) — is put the way the classics put it.
Chinese New Year 2026: 17 February 2026. The BaZi year starts earlier, at the Start of Spring (Li Chun, 立春) on 4 February 2026, 04:02. Born in January or February? Find your sign. The animals that offend Tai Sui in 2026, by the folk lists: Rat (clash); Ox (harm); Rabbit (break); Horse (its own year and punishment).
Year pillar
丙午 Fire Horse
- Stem
- Yang Fire (Bing, 丙)
- Branch
- Horse (Wu, 午) · hides Yin Fire, Yin Earth (Ding, Ji, 丁己)
- Nayin
- Water of the Heavenly River (Tian He Shui, 天河水)
- Begins
- Start of Spring (Li Chun, 立春), 4 February 2026, 04:02
- Ends
- the next Start of Spring, 4 February 2027, 09:46
What “Bing Wu” means. Every Chinese year is named by two characters from a cycle of sixty. The first is one of ten heavenly stems — here Yang Fire (Bing, 丙). The second is one of twelve earthly branches, the zodiac animals — here the Horse (Wu, 午). So 2026 is the Fire Horse year. The same pair comes round every sixty years — the last was 1966, the next is 2086.
Times are UTC+8 — the clock in China, Malaysia and Singapore. A BaZi year turns at the Start of Spring (Li Chun, 立春), not at Chinese New Year, which in 2026 falls on 17 February 2026. Anyone born between the two is still in the old lunar year, but their year pillar is already the Fire Horse.
What the Fire Horse means for each day master
A ten god is the relation, by element and polarity, between the day master and the year’s stem or a stem hidden in its branch — arithmetic, not a verdict. Each year-stem god comes with its definition; where that says “the tradition reads”, it is the common reading, not this site’s.
| Day master | Year stem: Yang Fire (丙) | Hidden in the Horse (午) | What that ten god means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 甲 Yang Wood The Great Tree | Eating God (食神) What you produce, same polarity. Output that comes easily: making, feeding, expressing, without strain. | Yin Fire: Hurting Officer Yin Earth: Direct Wealth |
What you produce, same polarity. Output that comes easily: making, feeding, expressing, without strain. |
| 乙 Yin Wood The Vine | Hurting Officer (伤官) What you produce, opposite polarity. Output with an edge on it. The name means it injures the Direct Officer (正官), which is why the tradition reads it as talent that does not sit well with authority. | Yin Fire: Eating God Yin Earth: Indirect Wealth |
What you produce, opposite polarity. Output with an edge on it. The name means it injures the Direct Officer (正官), which is why the tradition reads it as talent that does not sit well with authority. |
| 丙 Yang Fire The Sun | Friend (比肩) Same element, same polarity as you. A peer: someone standing where you stand, competing for the same thing and equally able to share the load. | Yin Fire: Rob Wealth Yin Earth: Hurting Officer |
Same element, same polarity as you. A peer: someone standing where you stand, competing for the same thing and equally able to share the load. |
| 丁 Yin Fire The Candle | Rob Wealth (劫财) Same element, opposite polarity. A peer who takes rather than shares — the tradition reads it as what draws on your resources through people close to you. | Yin Fire: Friend Yin Earth: Eating God |
Same element, opposite polarity. A peer who takes rather than shares — the tradition reads it as what draws on your resources through people close to you. |
| 戊 Yang Earth The Mountain | Indirect Resource (偏印) What produces you, same polarity. Support of an indirect kind — the tradition treats it as nourishment that can also crowd out the Eating God (食神). | Yin Fire: Direct Resource Yin Earth: Rob Wealth |
What produces you, same polarity. Support of an indirect kind — the tradition treats it as nourishment that can also crowd out the Eating God (食神). |
| 己 Yin Earth The Garden | Direct Resource (正印) What produces you, opposite polarity. Straightforward support: what teaches, shelters and backs you. | Yin Fire: Indirect Resource Yin Earth: Friend |
What produces you, opposite polarity. Straightforward support: what teaches, shelters and backs you. |
| 庚 Yang Metal The Sword | Seven Killings (七杀) What controls you, same polarity. Pressure with nothing softening it: demand, risk, and whatever you answer to whether you chose it or not. | Yin Fire: Direct Officer Yin Earth: Direct Resource |
What controls you, same polarity. Pressure with nothing softening it: demand, risk, and whatever you answer to whether you chose it or not. |
| 辛 Yin Metal The Jewel | Direct Officer (正官) What controls you, opposite polarity. Authority in its orderly form: office, rule, the structure you fit into. | Yin Fire: Seven Killings Yin Earth: Indirect Resource |
What controls you, opposite polarity. Authority in its orderly form: office, rule, the structure you fit into. |
| 壬 Yang Water The Ocean | Indirect Wealth (偏财) What you control, same polarity. Wealth that comes sideways rather than by salary — the uneven kind. | Yin Fire: Direct Wealth Yin Earth: Direct Officer |
What you control, same polarity. Wealth that comes sideways rather than by salary — the uneven kind. |
| 癸 Yin Water The Mist | Direct Wealth (正财) What you control, opposite polarity. Wealth held steadily — earned, kept, accounted for. | Yin Fire: Indirect Wealth Yin Earth: Seven Killings |
What you control, opposite polarity. Wealth held steadily — earned, kept, accounted for. |
Who stands against 2026’s Tai Sui (太岁): by zodiac sign, or by day pillar?
The usual list of who “offends” the year — Fan Tai Sui (犯太岁) — sorts people by the zodiac sign of their birth year: a twelfth of everyone per entry. The Song-dynasty manual Yuan Hai Zi Ping (淵海子平) judges Tai Sui by the day pillar instead: the element and animal of the day you were born, against the year’s. Both are set out below.
By zodiac sign (folk practice)
- Rat (子) — clash (Chong Tai Sui, 冲太岁)
- Ox (丑) — harm (Hai Tai Sui, 害太岁)
- Rabbit (卯) — break (Po Tai Sui, 破太岁)
- Horse (午) — same sign and punishment (Zhi Tai Sui, Xing Tai Sui, 值太岁、刑太岁)
Each sign’s animal against the year’s, the Horse (午): the same animal, or a clash, punishment, harm or break.
By day pillar (Yuan Hai Zi Ping, 淵海子平)
Offending the year’s lord (Fan Sui Jun, 犯岁君) — the day stem controls the year stem · 12 day pillars
Water Monkey (壬申), Water Rooster (癸酉), Water Horse (壬午), Water Goat (癸未), Water Dragon (壬辰), Water Snake (癸巳), Water Tiger (壬寅), Water Rabbit (癸卯), Water Rat (壬子), Water Ox (癸丑), Water Dog (壬戌), Water Pig (癸亥)
「太岁乃年中天子，故不可犯，犯之则凶。且如甲日见戊年，太岁是也。」
“Tai Sui is the emperor within the year, so it must not be offended; to offend it is ill — as when a Yang Wood (甲) day meets a Yang Earth (戊) year.”
War (Zheng, 征) — the day branch clashes the year branch · 5 day pillars
Wood Rat (甲子), Fire Rat (丙子), Earth Rat (戊子), Metal Rat (庚子), Water Rat (壬子)
「征者，战也；如臣触其君，乃下犯上之意。日干支冲剋太岁曰征。」
“Zheng means war: like a minister affronting his ruler, the lower offending the higher. A day stem and branch that clash with or control Tai Sui is called Zheng.”
Gloom (Hui, 晦) — the day stem or branch binds the year’s · 10 day pillars
Metal Goat (辛未), Metal Snake (辛巳), Water Goat (癸未), Metal Rabbit (辛卯), Wood Goat (乙未), Metal Ox (辛丑), Fire Goat (丁未), Metal Pig (辛亥), Earth Goat (己未), Metal Rooster (辛酉)
「日干支合太岁干支曰晦，岁运合岁干亦然；遇此者主晦气，一年反覆、欲速不达。」
“A day stem and branch binding Tai Sui’s stem and branch is called Hui, and so is a luck period binding the year’s stem. Whoever meets it has a gloomy year: back and forth, and haste gets nowhere.”
The same work adds that “with a rescue in the five elements, that year brings wealth instead”, and that one should “look only at whether the chart holds help” (五行有救，其年反必招财；但看八字有无救助). Whether any of this becomes trouble is a judgement on the whole chart, and this site does not make it for you. Source: “On Tai Sui, good and ill” (论太岁吉凶) · “On Zheng Tai Sui” (论征太岁)
Each sign on its own page, birth year by birth year: Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Dragon Snake Horse Goat or Sheep Monkey Rooster Dog Pig
The twelve months of 2026
BaZi months run from one solar term (Jie, 节) to the next, not from new moon to new moon. Each begins at the moment shown (UTC+8).
| Month pillar | Solar term | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 庚寅Metal Tiger | Start of Spring (Li Chun, 立春) | 2026-02-04 04:02 |
| 辛卯Metal Rabbit | Awakening of Insects (Jing Zhe, 惊蛰) | 2026-03-05 21:59 |
| 壬辰Water Dragon | Clear and Bright (Qing Ming, 清明) | 2026-04-05 02:40 |
| 癸巳Water Snake | Start of Summer (Li Xia, 立夏) | 2026-05-05 19:48 |
| 甲午Wood Horse | Grain in Ear (Mang Zhong, 芒种) | 2026-06-05 23:48 |
| 乙未Wood Goat | Minor Heat (Xiao Shu, 小暑) | 2026-07-07 09:56 |
| 丙申Fire Monkey | Start of Autumn (Li Qiu, 立秋) | 2026-08-07 19:42 |
| 丁酉Fire Rooster | White Dew (Bai Lu, 白露) | 2026-09-07 22:41 |
| 戊戌Earth Dog | Cold Dew (Han Lu, 寒露) | 2026-10-08 14:29 |
| 己亥Earth Pig | Start of Winter (Li Dong, 立冬) | 2026-11-07 17:52 |
| 庚子Metal Rat | Major Snow (Da Xue, 大雪) | 2026-12-07 10:52 |
| 辛丑Metal Ox | Minor Cold (Xiao Han, 小寒) | 2027-01-05 22:09 |
Good dates in 2026 from the Chinese almanac: Wedding datesMoving-in datesBusiness opening dates
Does 2026 help you or not?
That means setting the Fire Horse (丙午) against all four of your pillars: what your chart is short of and has too much of, and every clash and harmony with your natal pillars. It needs your birth time and place, corrected to true solar time with the timezone actually in force that year.
About this page
The year pillar, the solar-term moments and the month pillars are calendar arithmetic; the ten gods are relations by element and polarity; the Tai Sui (太岁) section quotes the Yuan Hai Zi Ping (淵海子平) and links the text. Nothing on this page is a forecast for anyone.