Episode 467:


Hello and welcome to Unshakeable with Human Design. I’m your host, Nicole Laino. And it’s just the two of us today and this episode is going to be a lot about how things feel right now. This episode is going to be kind of taking stock. We were out of Q1. Q1 is finished. We are beginning. We’ve already kicked off Q2, and now it’s time to kind of look at how this is changing things for ourselves personally and for our businesses. So we’re going to do a little bit of transit talk. 

We’re going to talk about just the energy that’s been out there and turning our focus to having a concrete, or I don’t like the word concrete because nothing is concrete. I think that is what we are learning right now is that nothing is concrete. And so this is gonna be some reflections on, some questions for you about how do you relate to the first three months of this year of 2026? They’re already gone. And how are you looking at the future? And how do we create a plan that is both flexible and structured enough that we’re able to move forward with grace and potency and get the results that we’re looking for? Right. How do we know when we pivot? How do we know when to keep going with things? So that’s what today’s episode is going to be about before we get started. 

I am teaching a workshop this month on the vocation sphere in the Gene Keys. So this is going to be a very Gene Keys focused workshop masterclass that I’m teaching. It’s a workshop. This is inside. If you are a member of the Human Design Authority Lab, my aligned brand builder or business by design programs, you already get this with your membership, so you don’t have to purchase this. But if you are just a listener of this show and you don’t belong to any of those things already, then one, you could look into them. You could check out the Human Design Authority Lab, that is our membership, where members get these workshops every single month with us. But you can also buy into these workshops a la carte. So. 

To join The HD Authority Lab at the special Founding Member rate click the link here: http://nicolelaino.com/lab orDM Nicole “Lab” on Instagram for info.

So if you would like to join us, this is going to be a journey through understanding how who you are. And this one Specific gate can show up in your business, can be something that is truly at the core of what you are here to do. Very much linked to your purpose, very much linked to your journey and how you can use this to attract your right fit clients, your perfect fit clients, those people that are truly ideal for you, both on a strategic and a soul level. What do people really want from you? What is that little bit of your magic that makes you different from everybody else? This is going to be one of those big clues. So if you want in on that, just go over to Instagram and DM me the word “VOCATION”. I’m @nicolelainoofficial. Or go to nicolelaino.com/vocation and you can sign up right there on the website.

To join Nicole for the Unconscious Mars – Career Gate Masterclass, DM her “VOCATION” on Instagram or go tonicolelaino.com/voacation

Okay, so let’s talk about this. Obviously, we’ve talked a lot on the show about the year of the fire horse. It was very big talk on Instagram and all over the place talking about this year of the fire wars that’s coming. And I think we spoke on a recent episode, I think probably in my transit episode with Christina, that it felt like it was off to a slow start, that we had all of this fire horse messaging. But did we really feel this big kickoff right into this? Because we talked about the year of the fire horse being passion, being very centered around going after what you want. Unbridled freedom, you know, really needing to. You know, it’s like when a horse hasn’t run for a long time. 

It needs to open it up, it needs to feel that speed. It needs to move and to move pretty constantly. There’s a lot of that action oriented aspect to it. And then we had the fire element to it, which is very initiating, very activating and very physical. Right. So we have all of these pieces together. And the first quarter of the year, how did it feel for you? Do you feel like this was very fire horse year? Were you feeling like a fire horse yourself? I was saying in my episode with Christina that I felt like the fire horse singed me as soon as it started. 

It was almost like it was a very abrupt shift for me in particular, where I felt like going from that watery element of Pisces season into this fire element into this action felt even more jarring than it usually does. And one of the things that I want to share some of my reflections that I’ve had on how things are going since this big shift happened, since we crossed over from all of these feelings of like last year and then we have the 2027 change coming. I’ve been Doing a lot of reflecting, a lot of being aware of how I feel, of what my patterns are. 

And when were talking, if you go way back to, like, December, when I was doing episodes about the year of the fire horse, the year of the wood snake, I was saying, now is the time to clear out anything that is holding you back, anything that you haven’t dealt with. All of that wood snake, shedding energy, now’s the time to shed. Because when the fire horse comes, there’s not going to be time to shed. You’re not going to feel like you can. And I have greater clarity on that now that we’re in it, because now we’re here. And one of the things that has been standing out to me when, with all of this, is how the energy is moving us so quickly, how we are being. The energy is supporting a lot of movement. 

But let’s talk about, like, the human design transits for a moment here, too, because I always say that I used to in my earlier days of finding human design and discovering transits and discovering connection charts and how when I’m around somebody who has a defined head that activates my defined head, I remember this feeling like I got something I was missing. So I would, like, mark my calendar, be like, ooh, I’m gonna get a defined head this day. So I bet I’m gonna be, like, super on it. And I’m gonna, like, be able to channel my thoughts out of my voice. Like, it’ll all come through and I’m gonna have all these insights. Well, it doesn’t always happens. 

And what I’ve learned from years now of doing this work is that you kind of never know what it’s gonna feel like until it gets here. Cause I’ve had a defined head a million times. I’ve had a defined head using all the different gates a million times. And every time, it’s different. Every time, these transits hit us differently. And this is kind of one of those things where you don’t know until you feel it. So I’m curious, ask yourself right now, how has this felt? One thing that I can reflect on is I have had a lot going on. Like, we’ve been doing a lot in our business. Like, has been moving very quickly. But it’s also. I have gotten swept up in it. I have gotten really caught up in it. And there have been times where I’ve almost not made time for. 

I always do it, My breath works, my meditations. But there’s been this thing in me that’s Been like, no, no, no, you got to get back to work. And it’s so funny because I don’t have that feeling often. This is one of those subtleties that I notice in the energy. I have noticed getting a little bit more caught up in momentum, which is great if that momentum is clean. But if we didn’t clear out what we had to clear out in December, boy, is it going to show up now. Are you seeing it? Ask yourself right now, am I seeing patterns and shadows get really brought up. But the energy is moving so fast, it almost feels like I can’t unwind it. This is one of those things that I’m noticing that I’m like, I’m glad I did so much inner work. 

And I’m also seeing where I missed things, but I am kind of calling myself to slow down. But it’s not easy. So we’re never not able to do the things that we need to do because it’s not the year of the snake anymore. Of course you can still do healing work. Of course you can still shed patterns. Of course you can still heal. We heal in all environments in all times. But the difference is the energy supporting it and making that an easy process or is it making it harder? To me, I feel like it makes it harder. I feel like I have to be much more focused and devoted to that work in order to do it. I have to. My mind really wants to take over. My fire energy really wants to take over and just go, go. 

So we have to find balance in these moments. So I’m hoping that this episode serves as a little bit of a call to you to. To just feel into. Do you feel like you are riding on the back of a wild horse right now and like maybe your legs aren’t on? I remember going to. We were in Jamaica years ago and went swimming on horses. So you rode the horses into the beach, into the ocean, bareback, and you just hung onto their mane and they swam and you had to hold on for dear life. And you really need good thigh muscles because you have to really hold onto the body of that horse because you have the force of the water. 

The force of that water is just pushing you off as this giant beast of animal, this thousand pound animal is cutting through the water with all of its power. And I can remember seeing my husband in front of me. He wasn’t my husband at the time were dating, but I remember it was so funny because he couldn’t stay on. He didn’t get thrown off, but he was like hanging on by the maneuver and his legs were just straight out behind him like Superman. He’s holding on and he’s just getting dragged and he can’t get his legs down. Do you feel like that a little bit? Do you feel a little like my husband riding on a runaway horse? Do you feel like that right now? And if you do, it’s your call to make some space to shift that energy. 

What are you noticing that needs to be adjusted? What in your energy does not feel like it’s supporting the fast ride that we are on in 2026 of what this is really going to feel like. And then the strategies. Now we’re going into Q2. This is what we’re in it. We are in quarter two. And quarter two is all about taking all the things that we thought about, all the plans we had and now is the time to really make them happen. Now is the time to put action behind them, to concretize those plans, to do the things that you said you would do to really start to lay foundations for what the rest of the year is going to look like. I know it felt maybe Q1 is for that. But Q1 is so much more about ideating. 

We’re kind of figuring it all out, which is why it does help us to come in with a little bit of a plan. So Q1 can be a little more elegant. This is what I teach my clients. This is why we work the way we work. This is why I invest in mentors, in programs. And I hope you do as well. Because as business owners, it’s so easy to get caught up in the minutiae of it all. It’s so easy to drift off and forget about what’s important. And it’s so easy to get caught up in the moment of today and not plan for tomorrow. Not be thinking and be forward thinking enough that you’ll feel like you’re always behind the eight ball. 

If you have a strong plan in Q4, I always say, like, your plans have to be flexible, but you should have one because some structure. Some people balk at the whole. Like they think that structure or strategy is too masculine. We need the masculine and the feminine no matter what we do. We need the masculine and we need the feminine. One might lead at different times. There might be. This is a much more masculine year. The fire horse is a masculine year. We are in a yang year. This is a year of outwardness. So one of the things that was coming to me this morning was I think in 2026, what I am feeling very deeply is that your business and your brand, they’re not going to need more from you necessarily, although they may, but they will demand more of you. 

So what’s the difference between those two? Things from you means action, means, you know, you doing more stuff. I don’t believe that. I think that’s the trap we can get caught in. In 2026, there’s going to be a lot of energy. There’s going to be a lot of things that are supporting. There already are. And that’s why, like, I wanted to revisit this conversation, because we’re in it. You can feel it now. Feel into does this feel true for you? Feel into. Does it feel like I am able to harness this energy or am I on a wild runaway horse? We don’t want that. So there is a lot of action. There’s going to be a lot of things getting done. The energy supports that. It wants you to put a lot out. 

However, we don’t want it to just be a game of more. A game of volume, a game of quantity. I think when we talk about that would be more from you. I need you to do more. I need you to be here more. I need you to get out there more. That’s not what we’re talking about here. What we’re talking about is that your business isn’t demanding more from you, but it’s demanding more of you in 26. Meaning you have to bring more of yourself to this business. There’s no room for hiding. Are you noticing that? There is no room for playing small this year. There is no room for you hiding or not saying the things that you feel you need to say. I think this is very much a call of The Phoenix in 2027. 

This need for self expression, this need for new voices, this need for us to come out of our shells and not say, oh, I’ll leave it to the big ones to take the message. I’ll lead it to the ones that are like, have always been leading. And I’ll defer. Deferring is over. Where are you playing small? Where are you not allowing yourself to take up the space you are meant to take up? And that is an energetic thing for sure. That is also an outward thing. You have to let people know who you are. You have to step up. And I don’t believe this year is going to be kind to us, those who sit on their truth. We have to bring more of ourselves to our business. We have to bring more vulnerability. We have to bring more of our truth. 

We have to bring more of our true mission. And that’s where I think human design is astrology. And these tools are indispensable now because we have to be able to access that level of ourselves if we’re going to share it. We have to feel safe enough to be able to put out a message that’s truly the one that’s on our hearts. And because if you could have done it already, you would have. But there are things standing in our way. We have to acknowledge that this year we can dissolve all of those barriers. But it’s not going to just come automatically. What you’re probably finding is that this year it either feels like the fire horse, you’re on back of it. You’re on its back. You’re flying off of it and is burning everything in town. So you feel a little out of control. 

But you’re on it. Right? You’re like. So it feels out of control. But I’m moving. Which might feel better to some people after last year. Maybe you felt like you didn’t move. So this can falsely feel like a positive thing. But does it feel good? Are you moving in the direction that you want? Are you moving and running and not burning everything to the ground? But there are going to be some things that have to go. There’s going to be some things that you have to bring out. And there’s going to be some things that you need to release. We can’t carry it all with us. There’s going to be things that have to go. And I think that right now in particular, one of the other key transits that I think shifts things is Neptune moving maybe over a month ago. 

Moved from Pisces into Aries. Neptune. Is that the planet that puts a fog around things. It’s very mystical. It is very much the mysterious veil of things. What is it that is like that we’re looking at not seeing the real thing? Where are we maybe getting caught in the fantasy of it all. Then it moved into Mars. Like Pisces. Is that too. Neptune rules Pisces. And when Neptune moves over and moved over into Mars got a very different energy. It’s like that fog started to dissipate. That veil got lifted on a lot of things. Maybe some of the spiritual stuff doesn’t hang as strong or grab you the same way as it did before. I get that. But it’s also. Let’s not fall too far over. Remember, we’re supposed to learn the lessons. There is more out there. 

There is More to it than just pure strategy and going after everything that you want. Now we have to learn to do both. We have to learn to hold both. Can we live in the mystery of it all and the potential and the possibility of it all? Can we allow and allow space and for the truth that there is more to life than what we can see? But also, like I’ve been saying for a million years, it doesn’t mean that you can sit on a meditation pillow, earn money. But I think the way that we earn is changing. I think what we are seeing is there is a currency of truth. Now, I talked about the difference between the visibility economy and the authority economy. But your authority is going to be more than just like the stuff that you’re good at. 

It’s going to be your soul’s message, your soul’s mission. So that’s why the masterclass that I’m doing on the vocation sphere is very timely. It’s not by accident. It is highly relevant because this is one of those ways. This is why the way that I teach human design is I think, a very big part of the way forward. Because it is an inside out approach to business. It isn’t just being like, tell me what your skills are and we’ll tell you what’s marketable. That’s tempting. But where things are going, it is going to be your soul’s message. That is the thing that people gravitate toward. And the only thing that AI doesn’t have is a soul. There’s only so many things that AI cannot replace. And the human heart is one of them. Your soul’s purpose and your soul’s mission is one of them. 

So we have to start valuing that. And if you’re not able to access your soul’s mission, if you’re not sure what it is, and we’re never sure, by the way, when I just be really clear about that, we’re never sure because who’s sure about anything? All we can do is be sure of what we feel right now, trust it, move forward in faith, and have the courage to adjust if it does not feel right again to come at it from a place of grounding. Those decisions about whether we move forward or we shift something. Do I pivot or do I continue? These have to be made from a grounded place, not from a place of lack or fear. So human design gives us this window that we can start to explore ourselves and start to see what that soul’s mission is. 

So if you aren’t sure, if you aren’t feeling connected to it or you’re not able to move on it. Please come to the masterclass. You will love it. All you have to do to be there is go to nicolelaino.com/vocation or go to Instagram DM me the word “VOCATION”. I’m @nicolelainoofficial and we will register you right there in the DMs. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope your Q2 is off to an amazing start. I’m wishing you nothing but wonderful things for the rest of this month, this quarter, this year. And remember, in order to have an unshakeable business, you must first become an unshakable human. So thanks for letting us help you become unshakable with human design. We’ll see you next time. 

To join Nicole for the Unconscious Mars – Career Gate Masterclass, DM her “VOCATION” on Instagram or go tonicolelaino.com/voacation