Happy Imbolg!

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this finished yesterday. :) 

 

It's nearly time for Imbolg (more commonly known as Imbolc). This year it's on Thursday 2nd February (or Wednesday 1st Feb if you celebrate on that day, or sundown to sundown). 

 

For the past few years, I've written celebration idea posts for Imbolg and last year I did a post rounding them up. During 2022 I also wrote a series of posts sharing ideas and links for the sabbats rather than in-depth posts. As I said in the Yule 2022 post, I think I've pretty much covered all of the sabbats now (since each one has several posts with ideas for celebrating). So, once I've completed my current round of sabbat idea posts (which I started last Beltane), I will probably just write about my celebrations and maybe do a short post in advance of the festivals.

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly Lammas! Check out these posts for inspiration:

Lammas Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/07/lammas-round-up.html

Happy Lammas!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/07/happy-lammas.html

 

Imbolg is the first sabbat of the calendar year and the 2nd or 3rd on the Wheel of the Year, depending on your viewpoint. Some people (like me) consider the yearly cycle to end and then start again at Samhain (also known as the Witches' New Year), while others think of Yule/the Winter Solstice as the beginning of the new cycle. And some think of Imbolg/Imbolc as the New Year instead. So do what feels right for you. :)

 

Autumn-Winter Update (2022)

It's time for my last seasonal update of the year (2022), autumn to winter! For the past couple of years, I've written quarterly (season to season) updates on the blog, which I found easier to keep up with than the monthly updates I did in 2019 and the "two monthly"(two months at a time) ones in 2020.

You can see my previous updates for 2022 at the links below:

Winter-Spring Update (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/winter-spring-update-2022.html

Spring-Summer Update (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/07/spring-summer-update-2022.html

Summer-Autumn Update (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/summer-autumn-update-2022.html

I mentioned in my summer-autumn update that in September I went to a belly dance class in Brighton taught by Nadia Undine. I'm not currently able to go regularly, but I did attend another class in November.

I also started going to Meetup events again in Sept, to Happy Cafe meetups, part of the group Action for Happiness. Before the pandemic I used to go to my local one. That never started up again but there are now face to face Happy Cafe meetups in Brighton again, so I've been going to those during the autumn and winter. It's been good to get back to that. The Happy Cafes have moved from the Brighton Beach Club to a pub for the winter.

In my Summer-Autumn Update post I wrote about Liz Truss becoming our new Prime Minister in September. She ended up only being PM for less than two months before resigning in October! She was replaced by Rishi Sunak. I wrote a bit more about it in the Letting Go of 2022 post on my self-help/spiritual blog Falling Petals.

In October I went to Wendy's again. A new restaurant opened in Brighton in the spring (2022) and I went for the first time in April. The food is nice and the Frosty drinks, plus it's cheaper than Five Guys, which I only go to about once a year (mainly due to the price)!

I also went to Lancing Beach in October for sunset. I went for a walk and took some pics. I just caught the tail end of the sunset that day: 

 

Lancing Beach.

 

Yule 2022

I had planned to write this post before the end of last year but have got behind with things due to having a bit of a difficult time, so instead it's the first post of the new year! :) 

It was Yule/the Winter Solstice just before Christmas (Wednesday 21st December). As I mentioned in my Happy Yule! post, I usually have a chocolate Yule log for this sabbat. This Yule's (or last's Yule's now) was from Sainsbury's, which is where I've most often bought one from. It was quite nice but I think other years' have been a bit better. I put two candles on top to represent the light returning. Here's a pic: