We are in the fall season - officially diving into the last quarter of the Fire Horse year. At the beginning of 2026, a lot of people mentioned to me that it was going to be a very spicy season ahead - the year that would shake up our reality and perception of truth. Reflecting back on the year so far, I can see how the projection unfolded in the small corner of my world. Between making multiple trips to Japan (and dealing with jet lag each time), holding a parenting fort for teens, and navigating the ever-changing landscape of our business this past year, I felt a bit weathered by the strength of those metaphorical blazes at times. I am also grateful for the continuous support and optimism of friends and family around me... to remind me to slow down, breathe, and look for light, always.
Today, I flip through my calendar for the remaining three months of 2026 with curiosity and open-mindedness, and I also remind myself how the last 9 months unfolded and left certain imprints on my journal pages. I absolutely love my notebooks for this reason. I rely on them heavily not only to organize my calendar but also to understand the energy of the time. They give me tangible ink marks to work with and to see in my mind’s eye the ebb and flow of the world, a bit like a synoptic chart of weather.
In my little corner of the universe (and on my master calendar pages), the next three months look pretty full, as they always do each year between October and December. I’m still very much feeling the Fire Horse energy here around me, especially quite literally with the current intense heatwave passing through Southern California. Metaphorical heat is also now traveling into deeper parts of my system and metabolizing the stagnant materials stored away in corners I might have neglected in the past. The slow sizzling process is not necessarily always pleasant, a bit like taking a sip of bitter herbal tincture, but it’s so good (and my herbalist friend knows this:).
Perhaps the vision for the last quarter of 2027 is to work on reaching the threads and fibers that lie much, much deeper than the surface-level elements. By doing so, I can imagine intentionally clearing a space for the Fire Horse to run through freely and joyfully one more time without torching everything else around it.
I’m so curious to hear if you have had a chance to reflect on 2026 so far as you explore different planners and journals for 2027, and if you see a pattern you can decode? If you feel called, please share your observations. I would love to hear:)
-wakako,
always a metamorphosis in progress...
Topanga // October 3rd, 2026
p.s. If I were a witch, my pen would be my wand, and my notebooks would be my trusted cauldron. Just throwing it out there.
**This story is from the BK Love Letter for October 2026. If you would like to read the entire love letter we sent to our community, including links to featured stories and new and updated BK artifacts, you can browse it via this link.