Year of the Fire Horse
Dear Revelers,
The Year of the Fire Horse has come galloping in with sparks in its mane and a drumbeat in its hooves. In the Chinese zodiac, the Horse already carries a reputation for vitality, independence, and bold motion. Add the Fire element and the creature becomes incandescent. Not reckless, but radiant. Not merely fast, but fervent.
In the traditional calendar, the Fire Horse appears once every sixty years. 1966 burns bright in American memory. It was an era of protest songs and psychedelic posters, of civil rights marches and cultural boundary breaking. The country felt like a forge, hammering itself into new shapes. The Fire Horse archetype speaks to our spirit: charismatic, headstrong, allergic to stagnation, capable of both dazzling brilliance and dramatic overreach. Our founding year, 1986 was also a fire element year. As we enter our 40th anniversary year, we look forward to the next 20, and beyond!
In American culture, we often celebrate the Horse as frontier companion and mythic mustang. From the wide skies of the West to the muscle cars of the 1960s, there is a familiar romance in the idea of motion and self determination. The Fire Horse layers passion onto that mythology, as does Revels.
What might this mean for our community? Quite a bit, actually. Revels has always been a hearth gathering disguised as a pageant. We build worlds with song and story, stitch together old traditions with new voices and invite our audience into the circle. That is Fire Horse work. It is kinetic, communal, a little wild at the edges.
The Fire Horse nudges us to lean into creative courage. Try the unexpected harmony. Sing something in 9/8. Stage the YP dance that feels just beyond reach. Commission the new piece alongside the medieval carol. Let the energy surge, but remember that ensemble is both our bridle and our north star. We move together or not at all.
With props to Susan Cooper, as the new year's sunshine blazes awake, we will shout, reveling, not as spectators but as fellow riders. May our hopes be bright, our footing sure, and our Revelry pound the joyful thunder of many hooves.
