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Fire from the Heavenly Stem hits the stable where the Horse has been chomping at the bit for 60 years. The Horse jumps out of the burning gate and takes off galloping, mane fiery, tail ablaze. It never fails to leave its hoof prints on the world's politics, economy, and landscape. Here are some of them: 1846 Mexican–American War begins, reshaping the future borders of the U.S. Peasant uprising in Galicia, future Ukraine, engineered by the occupying Austrian empire against the local Polish nobility. 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, one of the worst urban disasters in U.S. history. Mount Vesuvius eruption in Italy, a major disaster affecting Naples and surrounding regions. 1966 Cultural Revolution begins in China, profoundly reshaping society and politics. Flooding in Italy destroys a lot of cultural heritage in Florence and Venice. A major escalation in the Vietnam war. 2026 -- ? Of course there were good things happening too. The type of qi known as the Fire Horse can be quite transformative and, under the right circumstances and given the right treatment, energizing, illuminating, and magnificent. But it's the most volatile kind of them all, unpredictable and not easily governable. Let's hope no pale riders manage to mount it.

Happy new year! A few weeks ago I posted this mani essay - then got an itch to rewrite a poorly written paragraph. I'm afraid I'm going senile because, turns out, there was a ton o' rewrite to do - and I feel better that I've hacked through that. Now, posting this mani mantra ~ secret style essay to the community to kick the tires, testing for bullet-proof: #1 does it communicate clearly? I'm trying to make the concepts commonly accessible (not just to us esoteric nerds) #2 other editorial comments https://johndaoproductions.wordpress.com/2025/12/15/mani-mantra-secret-style-a-primer/ cheers, Trunk