Before we dive in today, I want to say thank you.
If you’re new here, welcome.
If you’ve been here a while, thank you for staying.
I’m really glad you’re here…
and honestly, a little blown away in the best way.
💛💛
I took a leap coming here to Substack, and you subscribing means more than you might realize.
When I first learned that 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, I loved it immediately.
We have been living through such a brutal loss. I know my son is with us in a new way, and still, it is so very hard.
Learning that this year carries Fire Horse energy felt meaningful to me. Strong. Steady. Lit up with purpose. Courageous. Forward moving. Grounded, yet powerful. It made sense. I have never been someone who stays neatly in a box. When something matters, I move toward it with intention. That kind of fire felt familiar.
And then a new level of grief hit.
Deeply.
The kind of grief that does not have words. The kind that does not care about timelines, goals, or momentum. The kind that lives in the whole body and brings awareness to what you actually need in order to move forward.
Turns out, for me, it is not just Fire Horse energy.
It is Fire Unicorn energy.
In the moments after one of my hardest grief mornings, I did not power through. I did not push ahead.
I moved through it.
I breathed.
I slowed down, even when that was really hard.
I leaned into my coaching toolbox in a very real way.
Tools I have practiced, lived, and am deeply grateful for, and continue to build on.
Not long after, I came across a short piece from the Supernote team.
Supernote is my digital notebook, a quiet, distraction free writing tool I use for thinking, journaling, and reflection.
What I read stopped me in a different way.
“2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. The world will likely move fast. Frantic, fiery, and full of dust. But the horse had no intention of joining the rat race.
It wandered. It paced itself. And as it drifted, a horn grew from its forehead.”A Unicorn.
“This horn is useless. It is not for battle. It will not make the horse run faster.
It simply exists. A daydream made real.
Machines do not understand why a horse needs a horn. But we do.
We all need a little illogical imagination in frantic times.”
Reading that, something softened in me.
A few years ago, during a meditation with my magic coach, I met my spirit animal.
She was a Unicorn.
Strong and gentle.
Grounded and intuitive.
Purposeful without force.
And here I was again, being reminded that forward motion does not have to mean speed. That strength does not have to mean pushing. That fire can warm, not just burn.
Fire Unicorn energy, for me, is a balance.
Strength and grounding.
Steadiness with a little magic.
Enough spark to keep moving forward, without losing myself in the process.
That feels true.
That feels supportive.
And it feels like how I am choosing to move through life right now.
Knowing what’s in your toolbox becomes essential when things are really hard.
Not the tools you think you should be using.
The ones you actually reach for when things get hard.
I am deeply grateful that I have built tools over time that help me slow down, check in, regulate my nervous system, and meet myself where I am. Tools I have practiced, lived, and continue to build on.
If you are reading this, you might pause and ask yourself:
What tools have helped me through hard times before?
What am I reaching for now?
What supports me, and what quietly adds to my load?
For me, living alcohol free became part of simplifying my toolbox. Alcohol was no longer supportive of my body, my nervous system, or the way I wanted to live. Removing it created more space for the tools that actually worked.
That is the lens I come back to again and again:
Does this serve me right now?
Fire Unicorn energy does not rush that question.
It meets it with steadiness, intuition, and care.
That is part of why I am writing here on Substack. It is a writing community that values reflection, depth, and thoughtful conversation. A quieter place to explore ideas like this without rushing them.
Fire Unicorn energy is where I am landing for 2026.
Balanced. Steady.
With a little magic and a few sparks to keep moving forward.
I’ve never really lived “in the box,” and I don’t plan to start now.
Thank you for being here and for your support.
💛 Coach Courtney
If you’re curious about my work or the tools I use, you can always find more on my website.