Well it’s that time of year again. It’s time for me to give the incoming year’s energy a title. For over a decade now my friends have come to count on it. It’s like their year can’t start without a working title. It’s usually about the end of August into early September when the coming year’s energy begins to flow in and blend with the current year. Sometimes the yearly titles I offer-up have a deep meaning, and sometimes they’re catchy and/or cheeky. Whether it’s deep or cheeky please keep in mind that how it relates to all of YOU specifically or plays out in your individual lives will vary, but the theme is what it is, and I call it as I feel it. For me, this years title is deep, and so is the year’s energy, but it’s oddly got a fun vibe to it too. 2026’s core energies are a rare blend of useful and frivolous. So let’s get to it, let’s take a deep energetic dive into 2026, aka “The Mustard Rhino“.
For starters my title is an animal, so I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the coming year in Chinese astrology. How do I know about Chinese astrology you may ask? For fuck’s sake you should know by now that it’s almost always a about a girl with me. So obviously I got into Chinese astrology years ago to impress a girl. But as I dug into it I found the topic fascinating, especially how the elemental cycles interact with various “star energies”, some fortunate, and some not so much. While I don’t think anyone’s skirt Chinese or otherwise will fall off with the following short paragraph on this topic, I will go far deeper into it than the tacky placemat at your average Chinese/American restaurant chain will take you.
That said, 2026 in Chinese astrology is the “Year of the Fire Horse“. The fire horse year technically begins at the Aquarius new moon on February 17, 2026. But like any energy, it bleeds-in, and some of that energy is here right now. Or at the very least we can hear the stampede of hoofs approaching in the distance. The Fire Horse is associated with passion, high energy, and transformation. Since both energies are always present I’ll also say that on the negative side it can also raise one’s ego, so if you or someone you know is already an ego-maniac, the fire horse energy will amp that up a wee-bit. Also on the negative side the fire horse energy can make us a little overly-optimistic. So be sure and curb your enthusiasm a bit if you catch my drift. Passions can run wild in this type of energy. Especially “ideas” or “people” that we’re passionate about. Obsessive behavior is easy to come back for sure.
But overall on the fire horse side of things, generally it’s a fairly positive and potentially “fun” year. For comparison, the last “Year of the Fire Horse” was, 1966. For those who might correct me and say, “no Steve it was 12 years ago, the Chinese zodiac is a 12 year cycle. There are 12 animals, I remember that from the placement at a Chinese restaurant I ate at when I was 8. You’re so stupid Steve!! ha ha ha“
Yeah well, you probably also think the fortune cookie you had at that restaurant was Chinese. You’d be wrong there too. They’re Japanese, and were adopted as a gimmick of sorts in Chinese/American restaurants in the 1940’s. You won’t find them in China if you go there either, nor will you find any tacky zodiac animal placemats. lol… As per your placemat, (and I’ve seen them) yes, the previous “horse year” as animals go was 12 years prior in 2014, however each Chinese animal is divided into elements, i.e. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. And each specific elemental animal comes around every 60 years. That’s 12 animals times 5 elements, 12×5=60. This is why the last time we had a fire horse year was 1966. You can try to think back to it if you want, but most of you were either very young or not even born yet. It might be best to research 1966 to “catch the drift” of some themes that might be repeating. As a point of note I wasn’t born yet either, but as coincidence would have it, it was a terrific year for the Ford Mustang. The 66 Mustang is a sought-after favorite among Ford Mustang enthusiasts.
But I’m not Chinese, nor do I have one handy to bang. So the SLT title for the year is NOT a Horse. My animal is bigger, much BIGGER!! 2026 is the “Year of the Mustard Rhino“. So let’s break my “Mustard Rhino” title down and talk about it. There are two parts to it. The Mustard, and the Rhino. Let’s begin with the ‘Mustard“, which I will say is NOT about the mustard yellow color that I’ve talked about surrounding the current soulmate cycle. I’m never that obvious with my yearly titles. I’m stupid, but I’m not shit-stupid.. lol
The “Mustard” part of the title is taken from the phrase “mustard lies“, which is a lyric from the song “Rhinoceros” by The Smashing Pumpkins. To understand the energy of 2026 you must understand the basic meaning behind the phrase “mustard lies”. First off, why mustard? Well, mustard has been used for thousands of years to cover or mask the taste of bland, or poor quality food. One only needs to eat a steamed street hot dog from a vendor one time without mustard, relish, or katsup to know that they use an ammonia wash to kill off the bacteria in the meats. I mean you can’t fucking miss it!! It’s like a Window cleaner dog. lol (the steam or boiled cooking process brings it out, which is why I prefer grilled or fried dogs)… That said, Mustard lies are covered up lies. although in the song according to the 2011 remaster liner notes the mustard lies represent dreams, and a need to open our eyes to what we don’t want to see.
The fact is we rarely see things how they truly are, or show people how/who WE truly are. We cover the truth up with dreams and laughter, or worse yet, wishful thinking, i.e. “mustard”. So in the context of 2026 the mustard lies are lies that are masked with some other idea, fantasy, truth, or even another somewhat lesser lie of some sort. Masking a lie with a partial truth is actually very common, politicians do it to us all the time, as do comedians, although it’s more fun when they do it. lol
Bit in the real world mustard lies are not usually funny at all. In fact they can be quite dangerous. They can lead people to believe untrue things that set them on a false path. These can be untruths about ourselves or others. But mustard can be rinsed off, masks can fall off. That’s sort of what’s happening in 2026. The energies in-play are in effect “rinsing the mustard off“, leaving only the bland, and in some cases maybe difficult truth.
In the song, much like in life the mustard lies were always going to be revealed, they were always going to come out. Mustard lies are a very Knight of Pentacles type energy. They’re those inevitable truths about ourselves or others that we rarely have the courage to face. In 2026 that courage surrounds us all in abundance. In 2026 truths that either we or others have covered and masked with mustard STAMPEED to the surface like a fire horse, or in our case, a charging Rhino. In a true healing through truth aspect these energies benefit both the soulmate cycle and societal energies on an ultra-high level.
Now as for the timing of things. Technically “The Mustard Rhino” energies will be around from about right now, September 2025 through around May of 2027. So 2026’s energy will bleed-over into its following year quite a bit more than the usual. So for the first half or so of 2027 we’ll have a mixed energy. It’ll be kind of 2 years in one at the same time. And I will tell you advance they’ll be conflicting energies… But we’ll deal with that in my 2027 yearly title write-up. For now,,,,, we’re talking about 2026. Which is bleeding-in right the fuck now!!! And will only get stronger as we move through the rest of this year and 2026.
For the DF side the truths coming to the surface will likely be more internal, and deeply self-focused. Although I will say if you’re in a relationship and have been hiding something from your partner, (generally around feelings, not debt on a credit card or more pentacle things like that) it will be hard to stop it from stampeding out. So it might be best to come clean on your own sometime in 2026. But hey, make your own decisions. I’m just a typing hand in a fucking blog. Generally though on the DF side the mustard lies are things about you that you’ve hidden from yourself. The good news is they come to the surface effortlessly in this energy, and as well, they’re easy to deal with once they come to the surface. Things only become difficult and start to smell funny if we try to put more mustard on them. The mustard won’t work in this energy. Masking won’t work in this energy. This is an energy that removes the mustard, removes the mask. It doesn’t work in the other direction. So your best bet in 2026 is to take it as it comes. It’s all beneficial and most of it, not that big of a deal to deal with on the DF side anyway.
On the DM side of things, the mustard lies are much trickier, and more external. Their usual tricks won’t work. Either tricks they use in relationships to control someone, or a group to get what they want. Or for many the mustard lies are tricks they use to convince others of a certain perception, i.e. their little smoke and mirrors magic show. Either way, the tricks won’t work anymore. This energy washes away the mustard. All that’s left is whatever flavor it was masking. Not only can they taste the bull shit, but so can everyone else. On the DM side 2026 is a bit of a spectator sport. You’ll see that play out in your relationships, and those of others around you.
Moreover you’ll see the mustard lies washing away on the public stage as well, where a bit of a conspiracy-type energetic pandemic is going on. I’ve watched this devil-type energy grow from its early soft, almost humorous beginnings in 2012, to the alarming energetic pandemic its become in the present day. And I should note that this energy seems to have gotten out of hand & out of control over the past couple years, bleeding into our leaders, i.e. lawmakers, people in power. (YIKES!!) Fortunately 2026’s mustard wash should wake up enough people to slow down the low vibration conspiracy short-bus before it skids off the road and flies over the cliff. I hope… lol
All that being said, be it the public societal energies or the soulmate cycle, if you need something for your mind’s eye, think of 2026 and “The Mustard Rhino” as that moment in “The Wizard of Oz” where they pull back the curtain on the supposed “wonderful wizard“.
So what about the Rhino part of the title? Well that one is simple. This year’s energy charges at you like a big yellow animal with two fucking horns on its face!!! 2026 is a BIG year, with big heavy thunderous energy. Anyone should be able to feel it coming, you can feel the energetic footsteps in the distance. It’s an energy that stretches nearly 2 years as I stated earlier. Much like a charging Rhino, once the year’s energy begins to get moving and picks up speed by around the first equinox of 2026 there isn’t much that can stop it. But there’s a deeper meaning to the Rhino. And this is where my Pumpkins “Rhinoceros” analog breaks off slightly, as any analogy or analog often will at some point. In the song “Rhinoceros” it’s about “opening your eyes to what you don’t want to see”. 2026’s energy is more true to an actual Rhino. Rhino’s have poor eyesight, they can’t see shit, which is why they sometimes charge at people, or even trees, seeing them as a threat of some sort. In the real world Rhinos actually rely more on their instincts and their keen sense of smell and “hearing” in particular to detect danger and the world around them. So the Rhino part of this year’s title isn’t just the song title slapped in front of a mustard lies catchphrase. So to summarize… In the song, it’s about “opening your eyes to those mustard lies”. In the actual energy of 2026, while a far less fitting lyric, it’s about “opening your ears to those mustard lies”.. Or maybe we could rhyme it and say, “opening your ears to those mustard tears.”
My advice from right now through 2026 and up to about May of 2027 is to not fully trust what you see with your eyes. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors magician card type energies afoot right now, and there has been for about the past couple years. These specific smoke and mirror energies make us see what we want to see. And as I’ve already said we often cover up what we want to see with “mustard lies”. Now usually this specific smoke and mirrors energy will also cause us to hear what we want to hear as well. But that’s not the case in 2026. Our hearing will be down right Jamie Sommers (aka The Bionic Woman). In 2026 you’ll learn how the smoke and mirrors trick is done. Or maybe I should say, hear/feel how it’s done. Trust your instincts, and trust what you hear. This energy will also support fact-checking on a high level. In 2026 we’re less likely to believe something is “fake” for example just because someone says it is. There will be a strong urge within the energy to “verify” for “ourselves”. It’s a bit of the energy I’ve suggesting in some of my readings. It’s the “be your own best friend, stop looking out, start looking in” energy. And this will only benefit all of our lives both emotionally and physically with a major realigning with “actual” truths.
That all being said, as 2026 washes the mustard away, you’ll “hear” things a lot more clearly, details you would normally miss are crystal clear in this energy. The magic smoke show will still be trying to trick your eyes, but it won’t have any effect on your ears. So put your listening ears on. And please do keep them on.
I’ll give you the key to the year ahead. The key is movement. Either physical or mental, or ideally both. The key to 2026 is to enjoy the energy. It’s quite powerful, and the energy of the year will respond well to impulsiveness and controlled optimism. i.e. despite all the mustard this and that the energy of 2026 is conducive to enhancing a good mood vibe. The fire horse energy wants to run, so let it!!! If you keep it cooped up it’s likely to suffer from a lot of anxiety. Same could be said about a charging Rhino. I will warn that 2026 is a year where anxiety can creep up on you if you don’t stay active. Staying active doesn’t have to mean physically active. It can also mean mentally active.
In particular, the energies of “The Mustard Rhino” year are conducive to you doing some writing. Be it journaling, or blogging, or a VLOG on YouTube or Tic Tac or whatever, it’ll be very cathartic for you in these energies. Especially if you’re a higher frequency (vibrational) person. In fact, the higher your frequency the stronger the urge will be to share your thoughts and feelings, either with yourself, or with others. It doesn’t much matter. Because in this year your “second self” will be very present. What’s the “second self“. As I’ve said a few times on video, we’re never actually alone, there’s always another you, another energy present. It’s who (or what) we bounce internal ideas off of. It’s what many people call their conscience. It’s not a guide, it doesn’t have a separate voice from your own. So there’s no need to book a CATSCAN. It’s “the other you“. Whoever the “other you” is, it’ll be very on the surface and quite easy to access in the year of “The Mustard Rhino”.
Whatever the mustard lies are in your life or in the world at-large. When we believe the mustard lies we deny ourselves the chance to be truly happy. This is because be it God, Source, Sprit, or The Universe, phoniness is never rewarded. We’re only rewarded with happiness under an energy of truth. Lies are stressful, too hard to maintain. When we use the mustard to mask things we don’t want to look at, or worse yet things that are inconvenient to look at, we remove any possibility of finding solutions to fix our relationships, ourselves, or our fucking planet or all three. 2026 offers a RARE, and I mean fucking seriously RARE chance to wipe the mustard away. The only thing that can come of that is good. Even if that good seems bad at first.
In closing, I’ll say this… I’ve been doing these yearly titles for my friends and family for decades now. For you guys it’s just been since 2022. I haven’t been out here that long. But feeling back some of the past year’s energies over the past week or so, and double-checking my notebooks, I can honestly say that I cannot recall or find a year’s energy that I EVER noted as “cooperative”. 2026 is a near perfect blend of what I might label as “effortless depth and fun”. Which seems an odd mix, but really if you think about it, one could in theory feed the other. Usually there’s a lot fighting with a given year’s energy cycles. Meaning, there’s always many cycles of core energy in-play at once. Some work well together, i.e. their frequencies resonate, and some don’t work so well together, i.e. they don’t resonate. By contrast, in 2026, most of the energy cycles that will be in-play seem to be made of “cooperative” frequencies. This is a rare thing in and of itself. And I think the “cooperative” nature of the year’s energies is part of why it’s so easy to “wipe the mustard away”, and at the same time let in some “good mood” vibes for some fun in the sun so to speak. It’s a year that should teach us, and prove to us all that truth feels good, it’s the good stuff. The more mustard and masks we remove the better, and to a degree lighter we feel.
But do please remember on that good vibrations side, the energies of 2026 can also over-feed optimism. The core energies of 2026 can get you pretty high with their cooperative feel-good vibes. lol So make sure you provide boundaries for any optimism you feel. Or I promise you, it’ll get away from you like a runaway fire horse chasing a mustard rhino.
–Cheers
