If the last year felt heavy, confusing, or quietly confronting (and quite honestly, a bit of a shit-show at times) - you’re not imagining it and you’re not alone.

For many of us, 2025 hasn’t been a year of clarity or momentum, but one of unravelling. Of things quietly falling away. Questionning who we are, what we tolerate, and what no longer fits.

It’s been a year that’s asked us to sit with discomfort, rather than to rush past it - and to confront head-on what we really want (or don’t want), even if it’s a raw truth. In some cases it’s felt like we’ve been pushed to release old ways of being, before we’re really sure what comes next.

Some seasons aren’t here to build us - they’re here to prepare us for what’s about to begin. And 2025 did just that.

2025, in the Chinese zodiac, was the Year of the Snake - and the snake doesn’t rush - it SHEDS.

Not always dramatically.

Not always loudly.

But always deliberately.

The Quiet Work of the Snake

The snake doesn’t force change - it doesn’t chase growth or announce transformation. It sheds when it’s ready.

That’s what 2025 has been asking of us - not to push forward, but to let go. To notice where we’ve been living on autopilot, clinging to old roles, habits or relationships, or versions of ourselves that no longer fit, simply because they once kept us safe.

This kind of change is subtle and uncomfortable. It can feel like loss before it feels like freedom. But the snake teaches us something important: growth doesn’t always look like expansion. Sometimes it looks like release - quiet, intentional, and deeply necessary.

Because what comes next requires space.

2026: The Year of the Horse - Movement, Momentum, Becoming

After shedding comes motion. 2026 is the Year of the Horse, and the energy couldn’t be more different.

Where the snake is introspective, the horse is expansive. Where the snake shed quietly, the horse moves forwards with purpose.

The horse represents:

Freedom and forward momentum
Confidence and self-belief
New opportunities and open horizons
Stepping into viability and expression

But don’t misunderstand - this isn’t reckless energy - it’s embodied confidence. The kind that comes after you’ve done the inner work.

Numerology: 2026 and the Energy of 1

Numerology is the idea that numbers carry a certain energetic quality - not in a mystical sense, but as a way of understanding themes, cycles and focus points. Just as we move through seasons in nature, numerology suggests we move through energetic seasons in time, and each year carries a different emphasis.

You work out the number of each year by adding each digit individually until you reach a single digit. So:

2+0+2+6 = 10 and 1+0 = 1

1 energy is all about beginnings - it marks the start of a new cycle, a fresh chapter, a shift in identity.

Year 1 energy asks questions like:

Who am I becoming?
What do I want to initiate?
What am I ready to lead or claim for myself?

So whilst 2026 is about momentum, isn’t about rushing forward or reinventing yourself overnight. It’s about choosing a direction, planting new seeds, and allowing a different version of you to begin - one that’s lighter, clearer and no longer carrying what you’ve outgrown.

What This Might Look Life in Real Life

The shift doesn’t always show up as something external straight away. Often, it begins quietly. You might notice:

A stronger pull towards what feels right (and if you know me, you know I will always tell you to trust your gut!) - or a lower tolerance for what doesn’t!
The urge to simplify, refine or choose differently
A growing sense that you’re ready to stop circling round old patterns and move forward

It’s not so much about doing more - it’s permission to move differently.

A Moment of Reflection at the End of 2025

As we move towards 2026, take a moment to pause - not to plan, but to listen. Ask yourself:

What have I already outgrown, even if I haven’t fully let it go yet?
What feels ready to begin - not because it’s safe, but because it feels right for me?
What would it look like to move forward lighter, without carrying the old story?

And remember - you don’t need certainty.

You don’t need a 5-year plan.

You just need willingness.

The Next Chapter

If 2025 has stripped things back, or asked you to confront some uncomfortable truths, it hasn’t been wasted. Even if you’re feeling a little battered and bruised from the ride! It’s been doing exactly what it needed to do.

The next chapter doesn’t arrive through force - it arrives through release.

And, as the energy shifts from shedding to movement, and from reflection to renewal, this isn’t about becoming someone new - it’s about returning to who you’ve always been, without the weight of what no longer serves you, or what no longer belongs.

Welcome to the quiet rebellion of deeply being yourself.