Sunday February 1, 2026
– Full Moon Phase – trust, analyze, prepare, digest, alchemy
– Moon in LEO –
– Retrogrades –
- Jupiter – Nov 11th – Mar 10th
- Uranus – Sep 6th – Feb 3rd
– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – Feb 1st – 2nd – Dry Fruits and Vegetables, Cut Hair to Slow Growth, Mow to Slow Growth, Dig Post Holes, Pick Apples and Pears, Quit Smoking, Perform Demolition, Paint, Start Diet to Lose Weight, Ask for Loan, Host a Party, Kill Plant Pests
– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – Feb 1st – 3rd – Good planting days. Nice window for lettuce, spinach, onions, leeks, and brassicas indoors. – Also great for watering, light feeding, and transplanting seedlings.
– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: – 11 ARIES: the ruler of a nation
– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): Kali – The Destroyer
– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Seth, God of the North
SUN – 13 AQUARIUS: a barometer
EARTH – 13 LEO: an old sea captain rocking on the porch of his cottage
per the Google AI:
Imbolc in 2026 falls primarily on Sunday, February 1st, marking the Celtic midpoint between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, celebrating the awakening of Earth and the promise of spring with themes of renewal, fire, and fertility, honoring Goddess Brigid with candle lighting and planning for new growth, though some celebrations extend to February 2nd or nearby dates, with Ireland’s St. Brigid’s Day public holiday falling on Monday, February 2nd.
My personal preference is to follow as closely to the natural cycles of life here on earth. That includes marking the seasons throughout the year and following the lunar phases as they pass each 28 odd days. Of course, we get confused by the palimpsest of the Gregorian calendar giving us the strange 12 months and 7 day weeks overlaid atop the natural cycles. That of course was probably the point the Italian calendars – disconnecting us from nature. But that is an argument for another day.
For today, we can mark A few natural occurences:
Full Moon in Leo – The Fullest Expression of the energy of the New Moon in Capricorn. If you remember, the Sabian Symbol 29 CAPRICORN: a woman reading tea leaves offered us not only the idea of reading our future fortune but came with it the major solar storms that have significantly affected our weather. What fun we are having this winter.
As for celebrating tonight, the picture at the top is from my back porch. Through some form of technological magic, I was able to snap a passable picture of the moon in all of its rising glory.
Imbolc – see the AI description above. We are half-way through the winter here in the north. Or more precisely, midpoint between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Which means that we have increased out daylight time approximately 80 minutes since December 21st. Longer days more sunlight and more happiness.
But anyways, as far as the celebration, I have a candle going as I write this. I am more interested in the Brigid. Wikipedia says about her:
Brigid, also known as Brigit, is a goddess of pre-Christian Ireland, associated with wisdom, poetry, healing, protection, smithing, and domesticated animals. She is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the daughter of the Dagda. Brigid is also thought to have some relation to the British Celtic goddess Brigantia. Brigid’s attributes and her feast day suggest she may have been a triple deity, with two sisters named Brigid, one a healer and the other a smith.
Later in history, the Christians coopted Brigid into their pantheon of Saints in order to bring the rest of the celts into their reign. You will have to decide if this was similar to what they did to the Indians in North America and the Aztecs. But through a trick of Gregorian Magic, St Brigids day this year is being celebrated tomorrow (Monday 2/2) instead of today. I still lit a candle though.
Which means that St Brigid will have to share her holiday with another sacred American celebration – Groundhog Day. Now if I were staying up to see if the smelly rat wakes up to see its shadow, I would be poised and ready with a shotgun. Ain’t no way I am letting that thing see its shadow. I have had enough of winter. And whether the rat says it will be longer or not, we are not likely to see above freezing weather any time soon.
Maybe I will be lighting another candle (and hell maybe sacrifice a few sheep) to make sure the groundhog does not bring us a harbinger of more cold-hell on earth. If anything, maybe my friends in California might stop posting pictures of themselves outside in shorts and bragging about their 75 degree weather.