午 Horse

午 (O), the Horse, is seventh in the cycle and sits at the top of the circle. It stands for the fifth month of the old calendar, midsummer, and the two hours around noon when the sun is highest; the Korean word for noon, 정오 (jeong-o), still carries the Horse character. Its direction is due south and its element is Fire at full strength. The Horse is read as open motion: nothing hidden, nothing slow. In Korea the horse carried messengers along the royal post roads, and the autumn phrase "the sky is high and the horses grow fat" is still used for the best weather of the year.

Take one decision you have already made and act on it within the hour instead of tomorrow. Horse energy is said to show in the gap between deciding and doing, so see how small you can make it.

Horse years are traditionally said to sit well with Tiger (寅) and Dog (戌), the Fire harmony group, and to clash with the Rat (子) across the circle. Compare the old pairings with real friends rather than treating them as rules.

In Korean the Horse year is 말띠 (mal-tti). Here is a coincidence Koreans enjoy: 말 (mal) means both "horse" and "word." The proverb 말 한마디에 천 냥 빚 갚는다, "one word pays off a thousand-coin debt," is about speech, but Horse-year people like to claim it. 천고마비 (cheon-go-ma-bi), "high sky, fat horses," means perfect autumn weather.