This is the year of the fire horse. It starts officially today, February 17th. I’m no expert about these things but I have been reading plenty about this particular phenomenon. It goes something like this.

2025 was the year of the snake. A year of misery for many of us consisting of trying to rid ourselves of the shit that no longer serves us. For some of us this is an overwhelming and nearly impossible undertaking. It’s a good thing that I didn’t know it was happening while it was happening because I would 100% have fought to cling to the comfort of things that have held me back. I won’t say that these things have been because of poor judgment or bad decisions but things that no longer serve me. Maybe they did once but no longer.

This shedding is not easy. It hurts. It is a struggle. It is exhausting. I’d even say it’s physically painful. And maybe more than anything, it takes courage to endure the process. I think a lot of people have experienced shedding this year in a million different ways. But all are hard to take.

The beauty of this now that it is almost over is that there is an end in sight. An end to those things that I should have thrown in the pit sitting below me long ago – a pit that holds all the shit that has pinned me down and that I will now fondly call my “shit pit” .

It’s hard to let go of those parts of us that have not exactly been productive – even if we didn’t know it. By unproductive I mean parts of us that may prevent us from being who we really are or are maybe meant to be. Of course, as the saying goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know”. So I think a big part of this shedding business lies in forgiveness. Not being angry for time that might have been wasted or a slew of left turns instead of right. No regret for what that old scaly skin has put us through. In fact, it may have been protecting us in some way. Thick skin can do that.

Instead, I am trying to focus on forgiving myself for clinging to that skin for so long. My mother would have said “Stop wearing that hair shirt. No need to punish yourself, life can be hard enough.” Maybe I’m finally ready to give up that old hairy rag.

The idea of forgiveness for me is more about saying thank you to the skin. I needed you for some time. You have served your purpose and now it’s time to join the rest in the shit pit. Easier said than done of course.

I think it will be very interesting to see if there is a vivid enough shift to notice. If there will be a moment or maybe many, that we actually feel enough to recognize it and allow it to direct or motivate our next move. Or I wonder if it will be more subtle and just happen. Like more of a slow wave we will ride into new space. Space that we have longed to fill but have not been able to step into before. Maybe we will just notice a desire to do something we never thought we would want or be brave enough to do. And then do it.

And I think it might also be about the actual jump itself. Recognizing what is possible – releasing hesitation and jumping head first.

I have already seen a glimpse of this in myself. An opportunity that just showed up. One that I mistook for something else and when I realized what it was – despite my fear and hesitation – did it anyway. This opportunity turned out to be the opening of a door. A new door that I would never have even noticed existed. What lies on the other side of this door remains to be seen. It’s really only open a crack. But it absolutely is exciting, hopeful and I think maybe the start of something. Actually to be blunt about it there appears to be a new Karen in town. I think she’s Karen11. More about her in another post. But for now I am so thankful that the fire horse nudged the door open and presented something I would never have expected.

So, I am saddling up and hanging on for dear life with anticipation and hope as my fire horse heads out.

Look at that. The last shred of scaly skin might actually have just dropped into the shit pit.