Saying Goodbye to Summer, Moving into Autumn

We're now in September and autumn is starting. It seems to have come around quickly again! Back in February I wrote a post called Saying Goodbye to Winter, Moving into Spring, so I thought it would be good to do one for the opposite end of the seasonal wheel. :)

I tend to find moving from winter into spring an easier transition than going from summer into autumn, because summer is my favourite season and I feel more depressed during the winter. Spring is a hopeful time for me, whereas in autumn I feel sad because things are ending. Autumn is a beautiful time of year though!

I've previously written some posts on getting ready for autumn, which you can read at the links below:

Getting Ready for Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/getting-ready-for-autumn.html

Celebrating Madron + Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/celebrating-madron-autumn.html

Summer Photos + Preparing for Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/09/summer-photos-preparing-for-autumn.html

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, spring is beginning. You might like my Saying Goodbye to Winter, Moving into Spring post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/02/saying-goodbye-to-winter-moving-into.html

 

I'm going to share a few thoughts on shifting into autumn, like I did with my post about moving into spring. As I've mentioned before, there are two dates which are considered the start of autumn (as with all the seasons)- meteorological autumn which is 1st September and astronomical autumn which is on the day of the Autumn Equinox (around 21st September). In the UK we tend to go by the astronomical start of the seasons.

Some of us with pagan beliefs/interests also celebrate the festival of Madron (more commonly known as Mabon) on the Autumn Equinox. This year Madron/the Autumn Equinox is on 23rd Sept. You can read more about it here: https://inews.co.uk/news/autumn-start-when-2022-why-uk-dates-first-day-season-autumnal-equinox-1826584

Lammas 2022

Last week it was Lammas (Monday 1st August, although some may celebrate on 31st July or 2nd Aug). As I said in my Happy Lammas! post, my main celebration for this sabbat is baking. This year I made my usual gingerbread (I was inspired to make it for Lammas by the book The Real Witches' Kitchen by Kate West).

For the past few years, I've used this BBC Food recipe (I used to use the recipe on the back of the Tesco light brown soft sugar packet, but they stopped putting it on there!): https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gingerbread_men_99096

I iced them (just made up an icing sugar with icing sugar and water). Here's a pic:

 

 

Happy Lammas!

Lammas (my favourite sabbat apart from Samhain) is nearly here! This year it's on Monday 1st August (tomorrow!), although some may celebrate from sundown on 31st July to sundown on 1st August, or on 2nd Aug.

For the past few years, I've written posts with celebration ideas for Lammas. Last year I did a round-up of my previous Lammas posts, so for 2022 I'm just sharing some links and ideas, rather than an in-depth post (like I did for Beltane and Litha). :)

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's time for Imbolg/Imbolc! You might like my Imbolg round-up post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/01/imbolg-round-up.html

I also came across this post about celebrating Imbolc from an Australian blogger: https://thefrugalbrownwitch.wordpress.com/2015/07/23/imbolc-celebrations-for-the-frugal-family/

 

 

Lammas (also called Lughnasadh) is the first harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year (followed by Madron/Mabon (aka the Autumn Equinox) in September and Samhain in October). It's also the last sabbat associated with summer, marking the start of the transition from summer to autumn. It comes after Beltane at the end of April/beginning of May, which although it is a spring festival, marks the shift into summer and Litha in June, which is also the Summer Solstice and the official start of summer. 

 

Spring-Summer Update (2022)

We're more than halfway through the year, so it's time for my spring-summer update! I'm doing quarterly updates and you can see the winter-spring one here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/winter-spring-update-2022.html

At the beginning of April, I went to the new Wendy's restaurant in Brighton. I didn't know there were any in the UK (it's an American restaurant) but found out there used to be some here. Most closed down but they're now opening up again to the UK market.

I liked the food and the chocolate Frosty drink! Here's a picture I took on the way to Wendy's:

 

Churchill Square, Brighton.

 

Litha 2022

The week before last I celebrated Litha aka Midsummer/the Summer Solstice (Tuesday 21th June). I had planned to do a post about it last weekend but wasn't able to, so I'm posting this weekend instead! :)

As I mentioned in my Happy Litha! post, I usually celebrate by making/having salad. This year I made a tomato and onion salad, the same as I've done for several years. The recipe is from The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya. I don't think it's online, but here's a similar recipe that I linked to in the Happy Litha! post (for Italian salad): https://thisitaliankitchen.com/italian-tomato-onion-salad/

Last year I used red onions, like when I make Kachumbari (Kenyan tomato and onion salad) for Beltane. But this Litha I decided to use brown onions again. I had the salad for my lunch with some chicken, ciabatta bread, guacamole and tortilla chips (bought from the supermarket). I also made some "Hello Kitty" lemonade (the recipe is from a Hello Kitty book!).

The salad and the rest of the food was nice. Here's a pic:

 

 

Happy Litha!

 

 

It's almost time for Litha aka Midsummer/the Summer Solstice! This year it's on Tuesday 21st June (tomorrow!). I usually write posts with ideas for celebrating the sabbats and I've written several for Litha in the past few years. In 2021 I did a round-up of my previous posts, so for Litha 2022 (as with this past Beltane) I'm just going to share some links and ideas, rather than an in-depth post. :) 

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere,  you'll be celebrating Yule/the Winter Solstice! You might like this post:

Yule Round-up + Yule/Christmas Baking; https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/12/yule-round-up-yulechristmas-baking.html

Litha is the 2nd summer festival (or 2nd sabbat associated with summer) on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Beltane at the end of April/beginning of May (a spring festival which also marks the shift from spring to summer) and before Lammas in late July/early August (which is about the end of summer and moving into autumn; also the first harvest festival).

Litha is also the Summer Solstice, the time of the longest day and shortest night (in the Northern Hemisphere). Days have been growing longer since Yule/the Winter Solstice in December, the direct opposite of Litha, when we have the shortest day and longest night. To read a bit more about the Summer Solstice, visit my Litha Inspiration post from 2019: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/06/litha-inspiration_17.html

Beltane 2022

Last weekend it was Beltane (Sunday 1st May or Saturday 30th April if you celebrate from sundown to sundown). As I mentioned in my Happy Beltane! post, I like to make salad for this sabbat. This year I made kachumbari (a Kenyan tomato and onion salad), which I first came across in 2019. Here is the recipe from the site Precious Core: https://www.preciouscore.com/kachumbari/

Precious' version has avocado and cucumber as well as tomato and red onion. I had the salad with some ciabatta bread, shop bought guacamole (I make my own some years but this year I bought it!) and chicken for my lunch. Here's a picture:

The colour isn't the best but never mind!