Imbolc Ritual 2026 | From Frost to Flame: A Rite of Rosemary

On Sunday evening, January 25, 2026, the Divine Warrior Witches gathered at Crescent Moon Gifts in Tacoma for our first ritual of the 2026 Wheel of the Year: Imbolc: A Rite of Rosemary. This gathering marked a quiet but potent threshold, inviting us to stand in the liminal space between winter’s endurance and the first stirrings of spring.

Imbolc is a festival of preparation. The days are still cold, the nights still long, and yet something has begun to move beneath the surface. This year, our ritual honored that subtle transition through story, gentle movement, and intentional work with rosemary, an herb of memory, protection, and resilience, guiding us from frost toward our inner creative flame.

SO BELOW | Imbolc, the Cailleach, and Brigid

Presented by High Priestess Serenity

High Priestess, Serenity

Imbolc is the first of the four cross-quarter days, marking the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It is the quiet hinge of the year, when winter still holds us fast, yet life has begun its patient return beneath frozen soil.

We often speak of Imbolc as a time of rest and creative awakening under Brigid’s fire. But another presence still walks the land: the Cailleach, keeper of stone, storm, and deep time. She is the cold soil around the seed, the wind that tests what may endure. And from her, Brigid rises.

This season is liminal. We may feel ready to create, yet still tired. Ready to change, yet hesitant to release. Imbolc teaches us that rebirth is tended. Healing is grown slowly, coaxed from the dark through deliberate, caring acts. This year, we returned to that wisdom, tending our tools, our bodies, and our spirits through relationship with the earth.

AS ABOVE | Sabbat Astrology Message

Presented by High Priestess Cawnawyn

HERBS | Rosemary

Presented by Rowan and Jasper

Rowan and Jasper presenting about the properties of Rosemary

For the 2026 ritual year, we turn our focus to herbs as living allies, beginning with rosemary: evergreen, bitter, and enduring. Rosemary survives the winter. It fortifies boundaries, sharpens memory, and protects what must be preserved through difficult seasons.

Rowan and Jasper introduced rosemary as both medicine and teacher. Held by healers and warriors, mourners and protectors, rosemary has long been used for remembrance, cleansing, courage, and clarity. Its scent awakens the mind; its bitterness reminds us of survival.

Each participant was invited to become acquainted with rosemary through touch and breath, to listen and engage in creating right relationship. Rosemary was asked to remember what we have endured, what must not return, and what is quietly becoming. In a year devoted to herbal wisdom, rosemary stands as a threshold guardian: steady, honest, and protective of what is sacred.

THE IMBOLC RITUAL

Our adaptation of the myth of Brigid and the Cailleach was lovingly shared from "Winter Tales" by Dawn Casey.

The Story of the Cailleach and Brigid

Through spoken myth, we held storytime with the Cailleach: the Old Woman of Winter, shaper of mountains, guardian of beasts, keeper of storms. As her strength waned, the waters of life rose, transforming her into stone. From that transformation, Brigid emerged: bright, fiery, healer and poet, carrying spring forward with song, warmth, and blossoming blackthorn.

Building Relationship with Rosemary

Participants received two sprigs of rosemary.

The rosemary was rubbed gently between the fingers, inviting release rather than effort.

Rite of Sacrifice

Burning the Rosemary Sacrifice Offerings the next morning

One sprig of rosemary was offered to the burning bowl, representing what each practitioner was ready to sacrifice as winter loosened its grip. These rosemary sprigs were burned the next morning by High Priestess, Cawnawyn as Neptune made its historic ingress into 0° Aries.

Gentle Energy Raising

Through soft movement and guided visualization, participants kindled the inner fire that survives winter: the flame Brigid carries forward. This fire warmed the body, steadied the breath, and was shared intentionally with the remaining sprig of rosemary.

Water Blessing

Fire of Brigid, warm and bright,

Water of Brigid, flow this night,

Spirit of Rosemary, fill the air

Bless these wishes we declare!

Rosemary, Burning Bowl, and Moon Water Jars to take home

A group chant rose as rosemary was swirled into blessed water. Each participant placed an intention into the bowl, then received a jar of the water as a take-home gift to be charged under the Imbolc Full Moon.

CAKES | Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Prepared by Rowan and Jasper

Imbolc Rosemary Cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 pinch sea salt

Zest of 4 Large Lemons

2 Sprigs Rosemary Leaves

12 Tbsp Butter (slated, chilled, cubed)

Instructions:

1. Mix flour, sugar, rosemary, lemon zest, and salt until combined.

2. Add butter and mix until dough starts to form.

3. Roll the dough onto parchment paper to form a long log. Wrap tightly and place in freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill and set.

4. Preheat oven to 350° F.

5. Unwrap dough log and slice into equal slices. Place on cookie sheet and sprinkle with a couple of sea salt flakes.

6. Bake for 21 minutes until lightly golden at edges. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Thank You to the Divine Warrior Witches Community

This Imbolc was a quiet and powerful beginning to the 2026 ritual year. Through story, sacred herbs, fire, and water, we tended what is being born and released what no longer needs to be carried.

Thank you for showing up with patience, honesty, and presence! May the rosemary you carry guard your thresholds, steady your heart, and remind you that spring arrives in its own time.

We wish you warmth, clarity, and courage as the Wheel turns.

In perfect love, and perfect trust, blessed be.

From left to right: Ritual Assistant Jasper, High Priestess Cawnawyn, High Priestess Serenity, Ritual Assistant Rowan