Image for Fire Horse Year

[Cobie]

 

6 hours ago, Sahaja said:

 

 

Perhaps what we need is a water horse to balance and calm things down a bit.  
 

 

Totally!  Love the picture, let’s use this one. After all, “Dao Bums” mustn’t take themselves too seriously.
 

 

Edited February 5 by Cobie

[Nungali]

6 hours ago, Sahaja said:

Perhaps what we need is a water horse to balance and calm things down a bit.  

 

That is just plain stupid !  Think about it, people ! 

 

Horse should have floaties on front legs and flippers on back legs !     

[Nungali]

Whatever happens , do me a favor  and get the horse to face towards the center of the image , especially with a main feature in a composition being close to an edge ... basic picture composition    

 

Becasue I am too lazy to type ; 

 

an image or subject located near the edge of a frame should generally face or move towards the center. This technique, often called "leaving room" or "leading room," prevents the subject from appearing trapped, creates better dynamic balance, and guides the viewer's eye into the composition rather than off the frame. 

• Create Breathing Room: Placing a subject on the edge facing inward provides "space to move," which feels more natural and less claustrophobic.
• Dynamic Balance: While the Rule of Thirds encourages off-center placement for dynamism, having the subject look inward creates a balanced, engaging narrative rather than a static one.
• Avoid Distraction: A subject facing outward directs the viewer's attention to the edge, increasing visual weight there and causing distraction.
• Exceptions: In certain cases, such as creating a sense of tension, isolation, or if the subject is looking at something intentionally excluded from the frame, they may face outward, though this is a stylistic choice rather than a standard rule. 

In summary, having the subject face toward the center is a common, effective compositional guideline that improves the narrative flow of a photo.

 

[Cobie]

I’m fine with whatever admods decide to put on the banner. 
 

 

 

Edited February 5 by Cobie

[Jenn]

I've noticed almost all the fire horse images this year are limiting or eliminating excess fire overtones, which makes sense given the times (that said I love the fiery vitality of Kakapo's horse). But I've seen some interesting brush art that could be a alternative (note: someone should check the characters if we go this route as I just pulled this off the net):

Has that vitality / free spirited horse energy without the war undertones. There are a lot of good looking similar ones out there if a more horizontal one would fit better. 

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, Jenn said:

I've noticed almost all the fire horse images this year are limiting or eliminating excess fire overtones, which makes sense given the times (that said I love the fiery vitality of Kakapo's horse). But I've seen some interesting brush art that could be a alternative (note: someone should check the characters if we go this route as I just pulled this off the net):

Has that vitality / free spirited horse energy without the war undertones. There are a lot of good looking similar ones out there if a more horizontal one would fit better. 

 

This is a very nice image!  I like this style of calligraphy-meets-painting.  Even though such calligraphy images have been popularized and commercialized in the recent years, the style is surprisingly traditional -- some artists did it like that a very long time ago too.   

 

But there's nothing here about the year 2026 specifically, the Fire Horse year.  The English text on the bottom says 2014, the Year of Horse.  But it was a different Horse in 2014, a Wood one.  So if we want to go with "just any horse," this will work, minus the English text.

 

A reminder:  The "animals" rotate over a 12-year period, so "some" horse appears every 12 years.  But the specific combo of the animal with one of the five wuxing phases -- that's 12 X 5 = 60.  So a horse of a particular phase (aka "element") shows up only once in 60 years.  And Fire Horse is widely regarded as "special."  So it may be a good idea to include the wuxing phase in the image.          

[Gerard]

Every animal of each phase turns up every SIXTY YEARS.

 

Because of simple math:

 

5 x 12 = 60

Earth Dog 1958 then 60 years later it was 2018.

 

Water Pig 1983 will occur again 60 years later, which is in 2043.

Horse governs Fire-Heart so expect from humanity crazy things to happen this year as currently the *Heart is out of control due to excessive Wood movement at a global scale: excessive thinking, sexual activity and lack of grounding. 
 

*I'm no better since when I was reborn on this current cycle: came here with too much thinking, thinking of women as sexual objects  & ungrounded due to study and modern lifestyle. 

 

A human = a small microcosm expression of the macrocosm.

We all on this Earth have a share of WHAT WE ALL REALLY ARE. With our thoughts we create reality and this world.

 

The question is how many are really aware of it? Only a few most likely. The rest are ASLEEP or partially awakened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 05:43 AM by Gerard

[Nungali]

23 hours ago, Cobie said:

I’m fine with whatever admods decide to put on the banner. 
 

 

 

 

Phew !  Thats a relief 

 

( That is not the horse up there talking -   I am just glad this site will not suffer ....

 

The Wrath of Cobie .

 

  

[steve]

On 2/3/2026 at 8:45 AM, Apech said:

 

 

Can we still do polls?  I'm not sure.

 

Yes, when you start a new topic there are two tabs - one to define content and one gives an option to create a poll.  

[liminal_luke]

Unfortunately, the image Taomeow posted has some licensing requirements, a bit of an obstacle for us.  Here´s a human-drawn image we could use for free for your consideration.

[Cobie]

 

 

On 06/02/2026 at 2:24 AM, Jenn said:

 

I love the idea.  I like the horse. 
 

Maybe someone could also make a ‘brush art’ image of 火 to go with it? Then combine the two for the banner. 

火  (huo3) fire 

馬  (ma3) horse 

 

 

Edited 23 hours ago by Cobie

[Mark Foote]

[Mark Foote]

[Nungali]

Dont you dare try coaxing my horsie into your 'Everything is Breath Cult '!            

[liminal_luke]

@Mark Foote I take it that, like me, you´re a fan of the childlike Nungali-style horse?

 

 

[steve]

Here's a copyright free image that's not bad....

 

 

 

[liminal_luke]

Thanks, @steve.  I´m feeling unsure how to proceed at the moment as Taomeow´s image isn´t free to use and lots of folks objected to Nungali´s image.  If more people want to put forth suggestions -- copywrite free only please! -- I will set up a poll.

[Mark Foote]

13 hours ago, Nungali said:

Dont you dare try coaxing my horsie into your 'Everything is Breath Cult '!            
 

 

 

Breatharians:  Cult rocked by charges of leader's secret snacking 

By Dana Gluckstein

 

 

[Mark Foote]

3 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

@Mark Foote I take it that, like me, you´re a fan of the childlike Nungali-style horse?

 

 

 

 

Yes, I like the feeling of Nungali's horse. The flame was offered free online, I thought it helped sell the horse as a fire horse, but I can submit the horse without it. Doesn't sound like the professionals on the site are approving of the horse, though... 

 

 

 

 

[steve]

This site has a lot of free and copyright-free images 

 

https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/fire-horse.html

[Nungali]

2 hours ago, Mark Foote said:

 

 

Breatharians:  Cult rocked by charges of leader's secret snacking 

By Dana Gluckstein

 

 

 

We got one of them down here !  (Well, had one of them, maybe she is dead by now ?

 

Its important to give yourself a  cosmic sounding eastern like name ; 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmuheen

 

... except her name is Ellen . 

 

 

'' Jasmuheen has stated that she has lived on approximately 300 calories per day for the past fourteen years, maintaining full health through supplementing a fluid intake with "cosmic particles" or "micro-food", which she describes as prana. ''

 

Except .....  ''  Regarding her intake of food, Jasmuheen said:^[5] "Generally not much at all. Maybe a few cups of tea and a glass of water, but now and then if I feel a bit bored and I want some flavour, then I will have a mouthful of whatever it is I'm wanting the flavour of. So it might be a piece of chocolate or it might be a mouthful of a cheesecake or something like that." In the aftermath of the 60 Minutes broadcast, Kathy Marks noted in The Independent, "Visitors to her large villa in the prosperous Chapel Hill area of Brisbane invariably find her refrigerator generously stocked with food ... ''

 

If you went to one of her seminars ;

 

• Ambassador Training Retreats: For in-person intensive events, such as those held in locations like Mexico, the "investment" can be approximately US$1,200 for the training itself, plus accommodation  and   .......  wait for it  ......  food costs.
• Total packages have been listed at roughly US$1,999 to US$2,222.

[Nungali]

2 hours ago, Mark Foote said:

 

 

Yes, I like the feeling of Nungali's horse. ...

 

 

 

 

 

Dude !   Do not feel  up my horsie either  !   

 

 

.

Edited 3 hours ago by Nungali

[Nungali]

1 hour ago, steve said:

This site has a lot of free and copyright-free images 

 

https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/fire-horse.html

 

I prefer the ones that don't look like a panicked and combusting  horse trying to cross a field of lava 

[Cobie]

 

4 hours ago, liminal_luke said:

… If more people want to put forth suggestions -- I will set up a poll.

 

Any symbol for peace. 
 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Cobie

[Cobie]

 

3 hours ago, Mark Foote said:

… Doesn't sound like the professionals on the site are approving of the horse, though...  

My Chinese teacher (from Beijing) says all this stuff is to be taken with a pinch of salt, the same way the West takes the Western zodiac.

 

Like Harry Potter’s Draco Malloy is the mascot for this ‘year of the fire horse’ in China. It’s all make believe for fun. 

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Cobie