The Fire Horse: A Year I Can Feel in My Bones

By Stephanie Bucklin

A Soul Declaration After a Dark Night

I can feel it in my bones. This is going to be an amazing year. Not because everything will be easy. Not because life suddenly becomes predictable or pain-free. But because I am no longer at war with myself.

The last two years stripped me down to my essence. Trauma does that. A dark night of the soul doesn’t ask politely — it dismantles illusions, identities, and survival strategies you once needed but have outgrown. I didn’t walk through it gracefully. I walked through it honestly. And that made all the difference.

What remains now is clarity. Tenderness. Truth. And a deep, embodied knowing that something has shifted for good.

What kind of year do I want to be living by the end of this year?

My best life.

But not the version I once chased — the hustle-coated, externally validated, achievement-driven idea of “best.” I’ve learned that kind of life costs too much of the soul. My best life now is one that fits me. It’s a life where my nervous system feels safe enough to rest. Where my mornings don’t begin with dread or bracing. Where joy doesn’t need justification.

My best life is slower, deeper, and more spacious. It is lived from the inside out. It’s a life where I am not constantly recovering from yesterday or fearing tomorrow — I am present with today. After everything I’ve endured, my best life looks like peace in my body, truth in my voice, and devotion to what actually matters.

What will be different?

Me.

Not because I’ve become someone new — but because I’ve finally stopped leaving myself behind. The dark night revealed where I overextended, over-explained, and over-gave. Where I mistook endurance for strength and self-sacrifice for love. Where I silenced my intuition to keep the peace or stay connected. What will be different now is my relationship with myself.

I listen ~ I pause ~ I honor my limits without apology ~ I trust the quiet voice inside me more than the noise outside. I no longer need consensus to know what is true. I am less reactive, more rooted. Less available to chaos, more devoted to clarity.

• I am softer – not weaker.
• Clearer – not closed.
• Wiser – because I paid attention when life taught me.

Pain did not harden me: it refined me.

What will finally take priority in my life?

Me.

This is not selfish. It is sacred. For a long time, I put myself last — in the name of love, responsibility, service, survival. I thought disappearing was noble. I thought exhaustion meant I was doing it right. The dark night corrected me.

Now, I am the relationship I tend first. My body gets rest. My soul gets space. My truth gets air. My joy gets a seat at the table.

When I choose myself, everything else becomes more honest — my work, my relationships, my creativity, my service to the world. I am no longer pouring from depletion or proving my worth through sacrifice. I am learning that caring for myself is the work. And from that place, everything I offer is cleaner, kinder, and sustainable.

The Year of the Fire Horse

In astrology and numerology, 2026 carries the unmistakable energy of the Fire Horse and a Universal 1 Year — a rare convergence of momentum, courage, and initiation. Fire Horse energy is bold, visionary, and untamable; it asks us to move from knowing into doing, from preparation into inspired action. Paired with a 1 Year in numerology — the beginning of a new nine-year cycle — this is not a time for hesitation or self-abandonment. It is a call to stand in our truth, claim our creative authority, and lead with integrity rather than fear. Collectively, we are being invited to step out of survival mode and into sovereignty, to trust our inner fire, and to build lives aligned with who we truly are. This is the year to choose ourselves, to move with intention, and to remember that when one person lives in alignment, it creates a ripple that empowers us all.

Lessons the Dark Night Left Me With

Healing is not linear — but it is faithful when you stay present. Self-abandonment is not love. Peace is more valuable than potential. The body never lies. You don’t need to earn rest, joy, or belonging. Sovereignty is quiet, not aggressive. The most powerful choice is staying true to yourself — even when it costs you comfort or familiarity.

Namaste,

~S

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A Gentle Invitation

If this reflection resonates — if you, too, are emerging from a season of reckoning, healing, or soul-level transformation — you are not alone. My work is rooted in walking beside others as they come home to themselves through:

• intuitive guidance
• holistic lifestyle practices
• nervous system regulation
• spiritual integration
• and deep self-trust

Whether through my Soul Journey offerings, my writing, or our shared reflections — you are welcome exactly as you are. This year isn’t about becoming more. It’s about becoming true.