On Christmas Eve, I shared a short video about something that had been quietly coming together for me — the symbolism of moving from snake energy into horse energy, and what that transition might represent as we move into a new year.

**“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose.”** — Viktor Frankl

At the time, it felt like a personal realization. Something intuitive rather than planned.

A few days later, something unexpected happened.

My brother-in-law casually mentioned that he had watched the video. That alone surprised me because I didn’t even realize my husband’s family actually paid attention to my work! I was pleasantly surprised. But what stayed with me was what he said next.

He told me he found it “funny… but not funny” that horses are so often used as symbols of freedom — when in reality, they’ve been among the most broken, controlled, and domesticated animals in human history. Used for labor. For war. For transport. Their power harnessed. Their movement shaped by human hands.

That comment landed deeper than he probably realized. Because in that moment, the symbolism sharpened my interpretation on a deeper level.

The horse doesn’t just represent freedom. It represents freedom after conditioning. Freedom after control. Freedom after being told who to be and how to move.

And suddenly, the timing of this transition — culturally, energetically, historically — felt impossible to ignore.

Living Between Energies: Why This Moment Feels Unsettled

It’s also worth naming something important about where we actually are right now.

While the calendar year has turned, energetically we’re still in a transition. Chinese New Year doesn’t begin until February, which means we’re hovering in the space between cycles — carrying the shedding energy of the Snake while beginning to touch the initiating energy of a 1 year.

This in-between state can feel confusing.

You may feel moments of clarity followed by uncertainty. Bursts of motivation followed by hesitation. A desire to move forward paired with a need to pause. That doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.

It means you’re integrating.

The Snake doesn’t rush. It sheds deliberately. The 1 year doesn’t demand instant action. It asks for conscious direction.

Right now, we’re being invited to stay present, grounded, and intentional — not reactive — as one cycle completes and another begins to take shape.

This is not a time for forcing momentum. It’s a time for gentle, steady movement.

The Energy of an Ending: 2025 as a 9 Year

In numerology, 9 represents completion. Not resolution. Completion.

Nine carries the energy of:

endings
emotional exhaustion
truth coming to the surface
reckoning with what no longer works
releasing what cannot continue

Nine isn’t gentle. It doesn’t tidy things up neatly. It brings cycles to a close by revealing what can’t be sustained.

This helps explain why so many people experienced 2025 as disorienting or heavy — even if nothing was “wrong” on the surface. Many described it as feeling like they were living between chapters, between identities, between versions of themselves.

Symbolically, this aligns closely with the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.

The Snake: Shedding What No Longer Fits

**“The serpent sheds its skin to become whole again.”** — Ancient proverb

The snake is often misunderstood. Its power isn’t about destruction — it’s about transformation through release.

A snake sheds its skin not because the old one was bad, but because it no longer fits. Growth requires release.

Snake energy is associated with:

shedding outdated identities
releasing false structures
heightened awareness
intuitive truth
transformation without drama

Placed side by side, 9-year numerology and snake symbolism tell the same story in different languages:

What no longer serves cannot move forward unchanged.

That isn’t punishment. That’s evolution.

Why So Much Has Felt Like It’s Falling Apart

Since 2020 (COVID), many people have felt as though foundational systems — political, religious, social, professional, even personal — have been cracking.

It’s hard to ignore how many people were forced to stop, isolate, and reflect during that time. Whether viewed psychologically, spiritually, or socially, the outcome was similar:

old identities stopped working
fear-based choices became visible
unquestioned authority lost credibility
inner truth became unavoidable

When structures are solid, they adapt. When they’re hollow, they collapse. What we’ve been witnessing isn’t random chaos. It’s exposure.

The Shift Into Initiation: 2026 as a 1 Year

If 9 marks an ending, 1 marks a beginning — but not an instant rebirth. In numerology, 1 represents initiation:

choice
intention
conscious creation
the first step taken with awareness

A 1 year doesn’t rebuild your life for you. It asks: Now that you see more clearly, what will you choose to create?

This is where the symbolism of the Horse becomes especially meaningful.

The Horse: Freedom After Awareness

**“Freedom is movement without fear.”** — anonymous

The horse has long symbolized freedom, movement, vitality, and momentum. But there’s an important paradox here.

Horses — symbols of freedom — have also been among the most controlled and conditioned beings in human history. Their power harnessed. Their instincts overridden. Their movement dictated.

That paradox mirrors something many humans are waking up to.

We were taught to equate structure with safety. Control with stability. Endurance with virtue.

But survival isn’t the same as freedom.

Horse energy doesn’t represent chaos or escape. It represents movement after awareness. Freedom guided by consciousness. Motion rooted in choice — not fear.

From Shedding to Movement

Seen together, the symbolism forms a clear arc:

The 9 year / Snake asked us to shed what no longer fit
The 1 year / Horse asks us to move forward intentionally

This isn’t about pretending collapse didn’t hurt. It’s about recognizing that clarity comes after disruption — not before it.

And that freedom isn’t rebellion. It’s alignment.

Why So Many People Feel the Tension Right Now

Many people sense a quiet unease beneath daily life — not a dramatic crisis, but a persistent feeling that something fundamental has shifted.

This isn’t just happening “out there.” It’s happening within each of us.

When collective energy changes, sensitive systems feel it first. That’s why so many people feel tired, emotionally raw, ungrounded, or unable to return to “how things were.”

You weren’t meant to.

The discomfort wasn’t failure. It was preparation.

What This Moment Is Asking of You

Not blind optimism. Not fear. Not spiritual bypassing.

This moment asks for:

discernment
nervous system support
energetic sovereignty
conscious choice
grounded faith

The old skin has been shed. The question now isn’t what collapsed —
it’s what you choose to build next.

A Grounded Intention for the Year Ahead

As you step into this new cycle, consider this intention:

I choose awareness over fear.
I choose truth over comfort.
I choose sovereignty over survival.
I choose to move forward with intention.

Nothing meaningful is ending without reason.

Something wiser is asking to be created — and it begins within you.

The Daily Centering Checkpoint

A one-minute practice for staying grounded during transition. This isn’t a meditation or a healing exercise. It’s a moment to locate yourself before you move forward.

Set a daily reminder on your phone. When it goes off:

Pause whatever you’re doing.
No breath control. No fixing. Just stop.
Place one hand on your body:
Chest, belly, or thigh — wherever feels natural.
Say silently or out loud:
“I am here.”
Name three things you can see:
This anchors you in the present moment and reduces internal noise.
Ask yourself one question:
“What is one honest, grounded step I can take today?”
Not the whole plan. Just the next true movement.
End with this statement:
“I move forward with awareness, not urgency.”

When Everything Falls Apart, Something Wiser Begins

Living Between Energies: Why This Moment Feels Unsettled