There has been so much buzz for 2026’s year of the Fire Horse. Buzz is nice, but is it necessary? Who cares? Buzz away.
You know, the saying that the year of the Fire Horse comes every 60 years is 废话 (it means redundant for my non-Chinese readers) because that’s as good as saying the Sun will rise from the East. If you know BaZi is based on the sexagenary cycle, then of course, it happens every 60 years.
Do you know what happens every 60 years, too? Yes, every bloody year happens once every 60 years. Emphasising the “once in 60 years” is so f***ing dumb because 2021 to 2025’s 辛丑，壬寅，癸卯， and 甲辰 year also happens once every 60 years.
Why is 2026’s 丙午 such a big deal when it was 2020’s 庚子 that f***ed the entire world over with a pandemic?
It’s not just because it’s a Fire horse year; people are also saying it’s Period 9, and because Period 9 is the 离 Trigram, 2026’s Horse year activates it. I don’t disagree with this hypothesis, but people need to realise Period 9 has started way before 2024, as argued in my blog post here:
You should have bought Nvidia way back in 2020. You would be retired by now instead of having to listen to the nonsense people are spouting about how much they know about Feng Shui and Period 9.
I’ve been thinking about what to write about for a while now, especially since Chinese New Year is a time when I’m indubitably triggered. I can already feel my next reincarnation being triggered. There are many reasons, and reasons that everyone who knows me well enough should know by now, but I figured I should write an evergreen post that can be shared every Chinese New Year, so I don’t have to keep repeating what I say.
I don’t want anything to be seen as me simply ranting or taking a chance to take a swipe at practitioners again. These are things I’ve spoken about for more than a decade. Whatever I talk about here is important, at least to me, and whether or not you agree is up to you.
This post should be seen as a summary of everything important I’ve spoken about, and it will link back to many previous blog posts that will take you a long time to digest.
The Zodiac Forecast Debacle: Misleading, Unreliable, And Downright Hogwash
There’s nothing that quite triggers me like Chinese zodiac forecasts, and I need to reiterate, categorically, that one needs to have a severe lack of critical thinking skills to think that zodiac forecasts are reliable. I have spent my entire career trying to explain this to people.
If you don’t have time to read the entire blog post, this Instagram post is more than enough to let you know what zodiac forecasts will always be hogwash:
World Leading Practitioners Admitting That Zodiac Forecasts Are Nonsense
Fun fact: I was approached by the media company above, but I turned it down for reasons I shall not bother to explain.
Now, it is no surprise that they approached the globally known practitioner for his take on zodiac forecasts. To quote him, “The stuff that I put up online is just for fun and entertainment.” Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise that I didn’t end up being the one in the video, because who else could make a better point than I than the arguably leading practitioner in the world?
There are other comments about bringing their own flavour and personal bias, which I won’t say are entirely wrong, but they are a distraction tactic. Perhaps it’s the years of BSing that make one able to throw such an effective red herring.
The core of the debate here is whether zodiac forecasts are a thing and reliable or not, and I think to hear the world’s leading practitioner say it’s for “fun and entertainment” is more than enough to conclude things. It doesn’t matter if it’s about personal bias or different flavours by different practitioners. Annual zodiac forecasts are simply BS. It doesn’t matter what anyone says and how they want to spin it – and that’s all you have to know.
I’m sure this practitioner knows annual zodiac forecasts are hogwash, but people do it because the masses enjoy it, it generates buzz, traffic, and sales. Who else is gonna buy those courses for USD1,997?
It’s just business. If that’s what people want, so be it.
I don’t get it, though. If it’s just for fun and entertainment… Why bother in the first place? Because some people do take it seriously and end up making the wrong decisions.
The Ridiculous Spinning Of Legitimacy By Local Practitioner’s With Lineages
Now, let’s be fair, objective, and point out some obvious facts. Just because one’s father is a practitioner, genius, politician, or some high-achieving individual doesn’t necessarily mean the scion will follow suit. Similarly, just because someone’s father is a degenerate doesn’t mean the offspring will be one too.
There is a very weird belief in my industry that if your father (for some reason, it’s always the father) is a famous practitioner, you will somehow be imbued with the natural talent of being a practitioner. I don’t think you need to be a genius to know that’s a logical fallacy.
The above screenshot is yet another video from a competing media company, trying to convince the masses that annual zodiac forecasts are legit. The practitioner put his MBA to use and came up with a really sensible framework to assign stars to each zodiac sign. It sounds convincing, but I hope people realise that a framework is only useful when the underlying theory is sound.
Business frameworks such as SWOT, RACI Matrix, Blue Ocean Strategy, Porter’s Generic Strategies, and BCG Growth-Share Matrix are examples of frameworks we use in business school. But if someone were to try to correlate traffic accidents and shark attacks and create a framework from it, I think anyone would call it nonsense.
It really doesn’t matter what kind of framework you want to use to try to mansplain zodiac forecasts. If faeces go in, then faeces come out – no matter the framework.
The above image is perhaps the greatest irony because we started off the year with one of the greatest scandals in decades. The same practitioner commented that Ox and Rooster are gonna have a great year. Heavens are on my side this year because it keeps giving me God-tier examples of why annual zodiacs are such bloody bulls***.
I’d like to see how the two people in the above blog post can feel like they have a positive 2026. Melvin Lim and Grayce Tan are living embodiments that annual zodiac forecasts are, indeed, full of s***, and it’s amazing practitioners whose daddies are Grandmasters can speak as though it’s something legitimate.
So please, tell me, why are we still believing in such BS?
Positive Stars Can Be Useless; And ‘Negative’ Stars Can Be Positive
Coming back to the point about the severe lack of standards. Most annual zodiac forecasts interpret the stars at a surface level. As long as the star is labelled a positive star in the classic texts, it’s regarded as a good thing, but any practitioner worth his or her salt knows that’s not true.
If you really go into theory, we only bring in stars last in BaZi analysis. Just because 天德 or 月德 appears in a given year doesn’t automatically mean your year goes well.
Similarly, negative stars like 劫煞 or 白虎 can be positive when the right conditions are met, and they will represent power and victory. Of course, conflict can still be expected during such years, but it is part and parcel of life and bound to happen at some point.
I’m not going to link the above two reels as I can’t be bothered, and I don’t think anyone needs to be reminded of what common sense, or lack thereof, is.
What I’ll say is this, and I don’t say this with any disrespect or malice to other practitioners. When challenged with logic, theory, and sound thinking, you will realise anyone who does forecasts either admits it’s for fun and entertainment, which is the smart move to be frank, or tries to wriggle their way out of a proper explanation, but comes up with baseless theory about how the star ratings are aggregated, or conjuring delusions like such as comparing zodiac signs being enough to determine your year.
It is true that there was a period when BaZi was analysed based on one’s birth year or Year Pillar, but BaZi theory has developed to the point that we no longer use the Year Pillar; instead, we use the Day Pillar and the Daymaster.
Whatever it is, all you need to know is that without the full chart, absolutely nothing meaningful can be derived.
Please Remember The Chinese Metaphysics & Esoteric Industry Are Unregulated
The Problems That Come With Being Unregulated
The problems that come with being unregulated should be common sense, with the most common and salient one being quality control. It is a joke that you practice Chinese metaphysics, but cannot read or speak a proper sentence of Chinese. The people in the West who practice Chinese metaphysics make things way, way worse.
The Hypocrisy Of Some ‘Practitioners’
If you want to claim that an item has magical effects and wish to make a profit from it, please just go ahead. I understand that practitioners are humans too and need to put food on the table. If people feel good about buying items and enjoy the placebo effects, so be it.
What I personally cannot stand is that the sale of items comes with grand claims of wanting to help you, coupled with acts of virtue signalling. If you want to sell an item for a profit, just focus on that. There is no need to preach kindness or empathy when more than 80% of your time as a practitioner involves livestreaming on TikTok and Shopee, peddling pathetic items late into the night, even during weekends, during your children’s formative years, while masquerading as if you’ve done 20,000 chart readings when it’s all generic reports that are copy-and-paste.
Unpopular Opinion: Practitioners Get Away With A Lot Of Things
I need people to remember that the esoteric industry is not regulated, and it likely never will be regulated. It touches on beliefs and even religion. It is not important enough, or perhaps too complicated to be regulated,
The fact that it’s not regulated, coupled with the fact that the knowledge is esoteric and that it’s a field people turn to when they feel hopeless… Imagine what practitioners can get away with?
I’m not trying to chastise other practitioners and imply that I’ve broken any rules or codes. I don’t think counsellors or therapists can get away with dressing down their clients, but unfortunately for some clients, I can. Do I do it because I can? Maybe. Do I do it because I ought to? Perhaps.
My point is not to debate who is doing their job better or who is the more ethical one. It is simply to remind you that you are entering uncharted territory, without a map, blind, fearful, and in search of hope. The exact same state that allows cults to form, and the exact environment to allow hidden, sinister agendas to get what they want. Now, I’m not saying the people in my industry have sinister agendas, and my focus here is on your state of mind as you seek the services of a practitioner.
Autonomy & The Gift Of Cognition
Autonomy is something that I’ve always advocated. Seeking the services of a practitioner does not mean you surrender your autonomy or cease to think for yourself. This is the last thing you should do. If anything, your exposure to Chinese metaphysics and astrology should make you question everything even more.
How does Chinese metaphysics and astrology work? Why does Chinese metaphysics and astrology work?
If you can’t even be bothered to ask yourself these questions, then I don’t think you should touch Chinese metaphysics or astrology.
Autonomy (自治) is a gift and something ought to be taken seriously. If anyone reading this wants to even entertain the slightest notion of changing fate and transcending charts, then autonomy is something you should embody. Autonomy is the notion that gives you hope that free will exists and that not every decision you make is a reaction.
If you exist only to believe whatever is fed to you, even when it’s utter garbage, I’d personally love to see how you’re going to live an effective life, and how you can even call that life yours. If you don’t have autonomy, then whatever is in your chart, especially the negative aspects, will definitely come true.
The lack of autonomy is what allows toxic Asian values and culture to persist, and the insidious cancer that slowly erodes your life away.
Your Playbook To Get Past Every Year Is The Same – And It Always Will
Your playbook each year, and perhaps for life itself, is not in reading annual zodiac forecasts, nor getting your chart read every single year. Your playbook for a better life is knowing yourself, why you’re here, and understanding that everything in your life is about a series of cause-and-effect.
The keyword is “cause”.
Action has a cause-and-effect.
Inaction also has a cause-and-effect. Most people fail to realise this and end up regretting it because they drifted through their lives, never once feeling they truly lived.
The Mindset To Survive Any Tai Sui And Chinese New Year
You know the “Prosperity Guides” that almost every practitioner releases every Chinese New Year? They’re basically handbooks filled with nonsensical zodiac forecasts, with the main purpose being marketing and brand visibility.
If you really wish to survive any Tai Sui year, you simply need to accept that karma is a real thing, and you need to accept that Saturn will come mess with you once in a while. We will all have good years and bad years, but the key is to understand why we go through those bad years and appreciate the good ones. We do not get complacent when things are good, and neither do we get fatalistic when things are bad.
There is no such thing as “luck” in the eyes of Chinese metaphysics.
Ever Year & Every Chapter Of Your Life Is Connected
Suppose annual zodiac forecasts are legit, or you’re someone who gets an in-depth reading done every year, one thing you should not do is to live life in silos, thinking only an individual year matters. I’ve written about this before. People need to understand that seeds of the fated events you go through, good or bad, are planted way before. Your BaZi or astrological chart can only be interpreted meaningfully if you are able to string all your years together and understand that cause-and-effect does not happen within a year.
What Is The Point Of Chinese Metaphysics & Astrology?
Always remember this quote I mentioned in the blog post above:
I asked her what a birth chart actually represents. Her response was that, from a Buddhist perspective, the chart is a picture of our basic karmic situation in life, as the fruition and result of our actions from previous lives. As such, it represents our limitations and negative emotional patterns, which are the source of our suffering. However, simultaneously, the birth chart is a picture of what we would look like as enlightened beings if we were able to transform the negative karmic mental patterns into their corresponding wisdom qualities through meditative practice and right action
It’s hard to fathom why people still feel that inanimate objects can do anything for their lives, rather than questioning how they think, act, and live. It is preposterous.
If you wish to learn about BaZi and Chinese astrology, then please, do it properly. Let’s care about what other practitioners are like. Why? Because everything you need to know and learn about Chinese astrology, history, and philosophy is already out there, well-documented, and is free.
To end off, may reiterate that I have no interest in shutting down the businesses of other practitioners. They are entitled to their views and opinions of zodiac forecasts are legitimate and useful, and I am also entitled to my opinion that it is pure BS and a complete waste of time.
I’ve been saying the same things for more than 12 years.
As I’ve said before, I am grateful for their existence because they filter out the majority of the population I don’t wish to deal with: people who cannot be bothered to learn more, people who want shortcuts, and people who generally lack self-awareness and common sense.
I write for those whom I am fated to cross paths with, and as always, you are more than welcome to think and live however you wish to.
It’s frankly none of my business.
– Sean
