Happy Lunar New Year and welcome to the year of the Fire Horse. The horse sign of the Chinese zodiac is well-known for its high-energy, independence, resilience, and straightforward manner of speaking and acting. The Horse sign MOVES. It takes action, and it does so at high speed. Then we add in the element of fire, which essentially supercharges the horse’s innate ambition, willfullness, creativity, and boldness. The Fire Horse is a combination so significant that some couples in China and Japan avoid having babies during Fire Horse years because it's considered “too powerful.” On top of that, the sign of Aries in Western Astrology is taking center stage, bringing an incredible amount of fire energy to our individual hopes and dreams (Neptune placements,) as well as our societal hierarchies and establishment (Saturn placements.) The astrology of 2026 is gearing up to set big things ablaze- much like 1966, the last year of the Fire Horse, which was the height of the Civil Rights movement. This is the kind of intensity we need if we’re going to successfully shape a society that serves the people, rather than the powerful.
And after the decade’s worth of events crammed into 2025/ January 2026, many of us are already tapping into our reserves. We’re depleted. Running on low or empty. And now, the cosmos has the audacity to turn up the heat, forcing us to reach deeper than we ever thought possible, and take decisive action - to burn that which no longer serves us and to foster that which will. The marathon isn’t over my friends, facism isn’t going away unless we rise up and take the reigns (pun intended.)
As a clinical herbalist of 15 years, I turn to plants to fortify myself, to replenish my reserves and keep my feet marching in the streets. And there is one herb I’m recommending to everyone this year: the Ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha. The name literally translates to “smells like a horse” and the herb is often described as imbuing a person with “the strength and stamina of a stallion.” What better way to embody Fire Horse energy than to bring it into your literal being through Ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha is one of the “3 Queen Roots” in Ayurvedic medicine, along with ginger and turmeric, and it boasts myriad benefits- most notably for the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems, as well as muscular health and boosting one’s stamina. It’s one of Ayurveda’s most prized adaptogen herbs, known for its ability to both calm and energize the body- a rare combination of actions in herbology, as most herbs only do one or the other. Ashwagandha really does give us the qualities of a horse: strong, stable, calm, centered, grounding in the moment, and the stamina to run at high speeds for hours on end, often while carrying others.
Let’s break down this highly prized show horse:
Sanskrit name: Ashwagandha - “Smells like a horse”
Latin name: Withania somnifera - somnifera= sleep-inducing
Common name: Indian Winter Cherry
Plant family: Solanaceae, nightshade
Part used: Root
Herbal actions: Warming and moistening. (If taken for more than six months every day there is a risk of heating and drying).
So how does one take Ashwagandha? You have options here.
First, horses are herd animals, and ashwagandha prefers to buddy up with other plants, just like its namesake. Taking Ashwagandha as a single herb in large amounts is a common mistake I see when Westerners use this herb. It’s not easy to hurt yourself with Ashwagandha, but that is exactly how one would do it. Ashwagandha can, in excess, be harsh on the liver; your body will tell you “too much!” through darker urine (even while you’re well-hydrated) and joint stiffness. If you’re taking large amounts of Ashwagandha as a single herb, be on the lookout for these biological cautionary signs.
In the Ayurvedic tradition, Ashwagandha is almost always mixed in a formula. It’s only given as a single herb to the very old and the very young who are weak and debilitated. It’s often given as a milk/coconut milk decoction for those who are looking to build strength and muscle mass in their bodies. Banyan Botanicals has a wonderful Ashwagandha latte mix, or you can make your own by mixing in cinnamon and cardamom, maybe some coriander seeds and black peppercorns.
For those looking to benefit from Ashwagandha more generally, or for its assistance with the nervous-endocrine system and sleep-promoting qualities, a tablet, capsule, or tincture is best. Most of Ashwagandha’s beneficial compounds are lipid-solulable, which is why it was traditionally decocted in milk, taken with ghee, or ground up and consumed directly- chased by some water. You can enjoy it in tea- some of the compounds are partially water-soluble, but you won’t be getting a particularly good bang for your buck in that case. Tablets are my preferred method of taking ashwagandha; both BanyanBotanicals.com and Maharishi Ayurveda provide beautifully formulated blends with ashwagandha for myriad health-supporting benefits. Note that despite its Latin name, Ashwagandha does not make you sleepy, the way valerian will. It just makes you calm- which is a precursor to quality rest.
The cosmos are planning to bring the heat this year, with no way around it- only through it. Defending democracy and protecting the vulnerable is a long race, and we’re all going to need the strength of a horse to get through it. Wishing you the courage of Sybil Ludington, and the stamina of her midnight ride, that we may all greet a new dawn with true freedom- and justice- for all.
