Imbolc (August cross-quarter) 2022

Celebrated at the astronomical midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox (or the full moon nearest this point) is the seasonal marker of Imbolc. In 2022 Imbolc is on August 8th, just after midnight and so i decided to celebrate on the 7th, which also happened to be a Sunday.

It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint Brigid, Ireland’s patroness saint.Historically, its traditions were widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with: Bealtaine (a.k.a Beltane), Lughnasadh and Samhain. This year I spent this time reaching outward to others, as I worked to shake off the dark shroud of winter.

As spring is a time of refresh and renew, I asked my friends if they would like some help decluttering their dwellings and I was thrilled to get 2 “bites” on my fishing line. And so, I woke early on Sunday the 7th, and went to a friend’s apartment to help them declutter.

It was a great time, and felt really productive, and afterwards we went out for brunch in town, then I went to the Central library to layover until my 2nd spring-cleaning appointment.

As things would have it, an hour in the library was enough for intense fatigue to sink in. I had woken early, had a disturbed night’s sleep, and been bombarded with intense social interaction. My body and mind were ready to throw in the towel. Regrettably, I sent my apologies to friend #2 and (mentally) limped to my partner’s place to tide over the rest of the day until our movie date evening.

That evening we watched “Where the Crawdads sing” which was a beautiful murder-mystery drama/coming-of-age film about a girl abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself in the marshlands where she grew up. It was intriguing and well-crafted and we both really enjoyed it.

My partner and i rounded off a near-perfect day with a delicious Korean meal at Nol Bu Ne (check it out on Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/auckland/nol-bu-ne-wellesley-street-east).

I hope you had an amazing Imbolc-time and are having a great spring, enjoying the warmth, longer days and many flowers that are blooming. To all my friends with hayfever, many condolences. May your meds work well and your sinuses be clear.

Thanks for reading.