The New Year That Belongs to Everyone
In order to remain unaffected by the intensity of the news stream, you might need to live on another planet and even that might not protect you from the loudness of all that is very wrong within humanity. The thing is, we are living at a time of immense change and there are many who do not want that change because the order as it is, serves them; it makes them money, ensures their power and enables abuse. Those people will get louder. They already are. But change is happening and it requires a very different way of looking at it than the lens used by most. There is another lens through which is more hopeful and can help us feel less powerless and that is by drawing on ancient calendars and spiritual observances. My own interest in belonging is also satisfied in this way as we can draw upon much that includes us all, as a global community that cares about our planet, about the life that rests upon it and about peace.
On the 17th February 2026, the world’s great calendars spoke in unison. In a convergence that has not occurred in living memory, the Chinese Lunar New Year, the onset of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and a rare annular solar eclipse in Aquarius arrived within hours of one another. Whether these events are understood through the lens of astronomy, cultural anthropology or spiritual practice, the confluence is extraordinary and it offers us a way to understand that we are in a liminal space between who we have been and who we are becoming, individually and collectively.
First up, The Year of the Fire Horse commencing on the 17th February 2026! The last Fire Horse year was 1966, a year that witnessed the outbreak of China’s Cultural Revolution, the escalation of the Vietnam War and profound social upheaval across the globe. National Geographic reports that sinology professor Xiaohuan Zhao of the University of Sydney has noted a long-standing association between Fire Horse years and periods of social or political disruption in Chinese historical tradition (National Geographic, 2026). The Fire Horse carries intense yang energy, representing speed, courage, independence and decisive forward movement. In Chinese culture, the phrase ‘mǎ dào chéng gōng’ encapsulates the Horse’s promise that upon the arrival of the horse, success is secured. The best way to think this is to think about the energy that the year ahead has in store.
Next, let’s talk about Ramadan. In the Islamic lunar calendar, the ninth month of Ramadan is traditionally announced by the sighting of the new crescent moon. In 2026, this sighting is expected to fall on the evening of 17th February, with much of the Muslim world beginning fasting from the morning of the 18th, though the precise date varies by country and moon-sighting methodology (Human Relief Foundation, 2026). What makes this moment particularly resonant is its astronomical basis. Ramadan begins, by definition, at a new moon and this new moon is also a solar eclipse.
Ramadan is far more than a month of fasting. It is the period during which, according to Islamic belief, the Qur’an was first revealed, making it a month saturated with spiritual significance, communal prayer, charitable giving and renewal. For approximately 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide, this is the beginning of the holiest stretch of the year. The fact that Ramadan’s new moon in 2026 falls in precise astronomical alignment with a solar eclipse and the Lunar New Year is at a minimum, a striking coincidence.
Other astronomical events have implications astrologically (which far supercede my knowledge base) but my wonderful friend Nikki Leader talks to me in planets and offers much guidance in this area. Nikki reliably informs me that Pluto has recently entered Aquarius for a multi-decade restructuring of collective power dynamics, adding yet another layer to this extraordinary celestial architecture.
Beyond the three major convergences, 17th February holds additional resonance across traditions and my particular interest in it is further sparked by the fact that it is also my birthday! Having left behind such an intense year (the one where I nearly died), I’ve been keen to think about what all this means on a personal level as well as looking at all this through a ‘world order’ lens.
Other cultural convergences that might be of interest are that many Hindu practitioners observe periods of prayer and abstention during eclipses, viewing the temporary dimming of the Sun as an invitation to turn inward. The new moon additionally marks Amavasya, the darkest night of the lunar cycle, which in several Hindu traditions is considered sacred to ancestors and to Shiva.
In Vietnamese tradition, the Lunar New Year (Tết Nguyên Đán) begins on the same new moon, honouring the Kitchen Gods and the Land Genie who protect each household. Korean communities celebrating Seollal, also aligned to the lunar calendar, share in this collective turning of the year. Across East and Southeast Asia, hundreds of millions of people are simultaneously marking the threshold of a new cycle. In the Celtic and pre-Christian European calendars, mid-February sits at Imbolc, the cross-quarter day between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, sacred to the goddess Brigid and associated with the first stirrings of new life beneath frozen ground.
But what might these convergences mean? I am approaching this question with both humility and curiosity and with the caveat that I am no expert on any of the areas that I have written about in this post. I am merely curious, intrigued and can feel the shifts in energy that we are confronted with. Drawing everything together is helpful because I don’t believe that any single tradition holds the exclusive key to what these convergences mean but when looked at collectively, they are powerful in their hope!
Reading this may also remind you that are sceptical of astrological or spiritual interpretations of the world we live in. But everyone can recognise that when billions of people from radically different cultures are simultaneously oriented towards renewal, reflection and intention-setting, something significant is happening at a sociological level. This collective attention is a force in itself!
The dominant symbolic message of 17th February 2026 (apart from the fact that I made it to another birthday) read across these multiple systems is one of being on the cusp of something new, a liminal space. The old is shedding its skin, as the Wood Snake year demanded and what replaces it is a very different energy. The Fire Horse insists on courageous movement. The eclipse in Aquarius demands that we question which communities and ideologies we truly belong to and those which we have simply inherited. Ramadan invites a month of radical inner cleansing and renewed commitment to what is sacred. These are not contradictory messages; they are remarkably the same message in different languages, from different traditions. The world’s oldest calendrical systems, developed independently across millennia, are pointing, with unusual unanimity, towards the same place. That is not something that can be ignored, regardless of your philosophical, spiritual and social starting point.
