The Fig & The Wasp

If you are a bit like me, you too might always be on the lookout for pieces of whimsy and poetry in small things. Sometimes you just do something inexplicable and satisfyingly weird, and your day feels enchanted. I love writing such enchantments and calling them Small Spells. I hope you’ll love them too☕️🪿

One of the biggest lessons I've learned on my own path is this… You don't need to keep buying things to become a better witch.

When I first began, I thought I needed every crystal, every herb, every beautiful tool and as social media grew, I would be drawn to 'needing' more and more tools. But, whilst I still adore those things, I've realised that the moments which have shaped me the most have cost absolutely nothing.

Watching the moon rise over the sea. Listening to birdsong before the world wakes. Standing barefoot on the Earth. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Trusting the quiet whisper of my own intuition.

Those are the moments that remind me why I chose this path.

If you're just beginning your journey, please don't ever feel that you need a cupboard full of magical supplies to call yourself a witch. Start with nature. Start with curiosity. Start with your own heart.

Neptune retrograde in Aries ⋆⁺₊⋆ ♆ ℞ ♈︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

July 7th - December 12th 2026 -

Neptune Retrograde in Aries | 7 July 2026

Neptune turns retrograde in Aries, inviting us to pause, reflect, and separate truth from illusion. This is a powerful period to rethink your goals, trust your intuition, and let go of what no longer aligns with your authentic self. Astrologically, Neptune retrograde runs from July 7 to December 12, 2026

What to Expect

Hidden truths may come to light.

Relationships and career goals may need a reality check. -Stronger intuition and spiritual growth.

A desire to redefine your purpose and direction.

What to Do-

Meditate and journal regularly.

Listen to your inner voice before making decisions.

Release unhealthy attachments and unrealistic expectations.

Stay grounded with practical planning.

What to Avoid-

Impulsive decisions.

Escapism or wishful thinking.

Ignoring red flags.

Making promises based only on emotions.

♊ Gemini / ♌ Leo / ♍ Virgo / ♏ Scorpio / ♐ Sagittarius / ♒ Aquarius

Between Jul and Dec, these signs may experience Neptune retrograde through gradual realizations involving friendships, beliefs, shared resources, routines, creativity, or communication. What once felt inspiring may slowly reveal where motivation, trust, or direction needs to be rebuilt.

♈ Aries and ♎ Libra may feel the early phase of this retrograde more directly, as identity and relationship expectations begin to lose their filters. ♓ Pisces may also notice important shifts around money, self-worth, and emotional boundaries.

Neptune Stations Retrograde 7th 3:55 AM PDT / 7th 8:55 PM AEST

Neptune begins its retrograde while locked into an aspect pattern being referred to as “Barbault’s Basket”, named after French mundane astrologer Andre Barbault, who made predictions about the nature of this moment in history. The Basket involves an opposition between Jupiter at 4 degrees of Leo and Pluto at 4 degrees of Aquarius, each sextiling and trining Neptune at 4 degrees of Aries and Uranus at 4 degrees of Gemini. Chiron, sitting at Taurus’ 0 degree, is not to be overlooked in this equation, but that’s the topic for another post.

Barbault sought to establish July 2026 as the beginning of the end of a cycle of chaos, and while chaos might still be percolating (most of the bodies involved are outer planets - the shifts they augur are glacial), Neptune Rx, for its own part in the configuration, speaks to seeing a situation for what it is, and not for what we’d like it to be. The past six years of relentless stimulation, ever-mounting urgency, and increasing enshittification has left most of us TIRED. But there is a limit to what can be tolerated, even in the face of exhaustion. Breaking points are being hit, and Neptune Rx will speed along the process of disavowing the status-quo hard sell. The summer (northern hemisphere)/winter (southern hemisphere) is looking like a great time to reject being reduced to our value as consumers instead of as human beings, and getting back to Arian basics instead. How to meet this transit? It’s about being resourceful; about noticing cracks in rhetoric, false logic, and outright lies. It’s about extricating yourself from someone else’s dream so you can live your own! But, perhaps most empoweringly, this transit is less about what you choose to do in the face of delusion than what you choose not to do.

✍️ @nyssagrazda

Neptune our planet of illusions, dreams, escapism, intuition, imagination and spirituality will station retrograde later tonight and will be until mid December.

This retrograde comes to push you to stop making excuses and living in your own fantasy world, so that you can make big but positive changes to move forward.

NEPTUNE RETROGRADE: JULY 7 - DECEMBER 13

July 7: Neptune Retrograde in Aries

Today, Neptune begins its five-month retrograde journey in Aries, inviting us to shift our focus from the outside world to our inner spiritual reality.

Neptune represents our connection to the unseen—the soul, intuition, imagination, and the infinite Source where all separation dissolves into oneness. When Neptune is moving direct, we often seek that connection through the world around us. But during its retrograde, the invitation is different: the answers are found within.

This is a powerful period to quiet the external noise and strengthen your inner certainty. Neptune reminds us that true wisdom doesn’t always come through logic—it comes through intuition, faith, and spiritual awareness.

Over the next five months, through December 2026, Neptune Retrograde will help activate the new identity that has been quietly forming within you over the past several years. As Aries inspires courage and new beginnings, this transit asks:

✨ Who are you becoming when you stop seeking validation outside yourself? ✨ What vision is your soul asking you to trust? ✨ Can you follow your intuition even when there is no logical proof?