wickedgoddess

Oak Moon is rising at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post!

 

oak moon

 

OAK MOON

Live thy Life,

Young and old,

Like yon oak,

Bright in spring,

Living gold;

 

Summer-rich

Then; and then

Autumn-changed

Soberer-hued

Gold again.

 

All his leaves

Fall’n at length,

Look, he stands,

Trunk and bough

Naked strength.

 

Eternally evolving, blooming in power and grace: acorns, oak leaves, oak bark, and oak sap rising through a mist of traditional lunar oils.

 

 

Art by the delectable Julie Dillon!

 

 

Also this month, Yules start glittering, a creature rises, and a match girl finds her light.

 

++ YULE 2011

AUTUMN AND WINTER 2011

Three months bade wane and wax the wintering moon

Between two dates of death, while men were fain

Yet of the living light that all too soon

Three months bade wane.

 

Cold autumn, wan with wrath of wind and rain,

Saw pass a soul sweet as the sovereign tune

That death smote silent when he smote again.

 

First went my friend, in life’s mid light of noon,

Who loved the lord of music: then the strain

Whence earth was kindled like as heaven in June

Three months bade wane.

 

A herald soul before its master’s flying

Touched by some few moons first the darkling goal

Where shades rose up to greet the shade, espying

A herald soul;

 

Shades of dead lords of music, who control

Men living by the might of men undying,

With strength of strains that make delight of dole.

 

The deep dense dust on death’s dim threshold lying

Trembled with sense of kindling sound that stole

Through darkness, and the night gave ear, descrying

A herald soul.

 

One went before, one after, but so fast

They seem gone hence together, from the shore

Whence we now gaze: yet ere the mightier passed

One went before;

 

One whose whole heart of love, being set of yore

On that high joy which music lends us, cast

Light round him forth of music’s radiant store.

 

Then went, while earth on winter glared aghast,

The mortal god he worshipped, through the door

Wherethrough so late, his lover to the last,

One went before.

 

A star had set an hour before the sun

Sank from the skies wherethrough his heart’s pulse yet

Thrills audibly: but few took heed, or none,

A star had set.

 

All heaven rings back, sonorous with regret,

The deep dirge of the sunset: how should one

Soft star be missed in all the concourse met?

 

But, O sweet single heart whose work is done,

Whose songs are silent, how should I forget

That ere the sunset’s fiery goal was won

A star had set?

 

Bitter currant and dry leaves. Winter wind at dusk.

 

 

 

CHANUKKIYAH 2011

Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha’olam, Asher kid’shanu b’mitzvosav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Chanukah.

 

Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha’olam, She’asah nisim la’avoseinu, bayamim ha’hem baz’man hazeh.

 

Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha’olam, She’hecheyanu, vekiyemanu vehigi’anu laz’man hazeh.

 

Olive oil, beeswax, glowing amber, sweet sufganiyot, pomegranate, and fig.

 

Ha’Neiros halalu anachnu madlikin al hanisim ve’al hanifla’os, ve’al hat’shu’os ve’al hamilchamos, sh’asisa la’avoseinu bayamim hahem baz’man hazeh, al yedei kohaneicha hakedoshim. Vechol sh’monas yemei Chanukah, haneiros halalu kodesh hem. Ve’ein lanu reshus le’hishtamesh ba’hem, eh’la lir’osam bilvad, ke’dei le’hodos u’lehalel leshimcha hagadol al nisecha ve’al nifle’osecha ve’al yeshu’oshecha.

 

Ma’oz tzur yeshu’asi Lecha na’eh leshabe’ach Tikone bais tefilasi Ve’sham todah nezabe’ach Le’es Tachin Mabe’ach Mitzar ham’nabe’ach Az egmor beshir mizmor Chanukas hamizbe’ach.

 

 

 

CLOTH OF GOLD

Vibrant yellow petals bursting exultantly through a patch of snow.

 

 

 

DIABLE EN BOÎTE 2011

The crickets sing, and man’s o’er-labour’d sense

Repairs itself by rest. Our Tarquin thus

Did softly press the rushes, ere he waken’d

The chastity he wounded. Cytherea,

How bravely thou becomest thy bed, fresh lily,

And whiter than the sheets! That I might touch!

But kiss; one kiss! Rubies unparagon’d,

How dearly they do’t! ‘Tis her breathing that

Perfumes the chamber thus: the flame o’ the taper

Bows toward her, and would under-peep her lids,

To see the enclosed lights, now canopied

Under these windows, white and azure laced

With blue of heaven’s own tinct. But my design,

To note the chamber: I will write all down:

Such and such pictures; there the window; such

The adornment of her bed; the arras; figures,

Why, such and such; and the contents o’ the story.

Ah, but some natural notes about her body,

Above ten thousand meaner moveables

Would testify, to enrich mine inventory.

O sleep, thou ape of death, lie dull upon her!

And be her sense but as a monument,

Thus in a chapel lying! Come off, come off:

As slippery as the Gordian knot was hard!

‘Tis mine; and this will witness outwardly,

As strongly as the conscience does within,

To the madding of her lord. On her left breast

A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops

I’ the bottom of a cowslip: here’s a voucher,

Stronger than ever law could make: this secret

Will force him think I have pick’d the lock and ta’en

The treasure of her honour. No more. To what end?

Why should I write this down, that’s riveted,

Screw’d to my memory? She hath been reading late

The tale of Tereus; here the leaf’s turn’d down

Where Philomel gave up. I have enough:

To the trunk again, and shut the spring of it.

Swift, swift, you dragons of the night, that dawning

May bare the raven’s eye! I lodge in fear;

Though this a heavenly angel, hell is here.

One, two, three: time, time!

- Iachimo, Cymbeline Act II, Scene 2

 

There are few things more disturbing than a Jack in the Box. A strangely sinister, unnerving holiday scent: redwood, bitter clove, tonka, hemp accord, and tobacco with peach blossom, black currant, and red musk.

 

 

 

DUST OF SNOW

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

 

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

 

- Robert Frost

 

Snowflakes and hemlock leaves with snowdrop, iris, and Peruvian lily.

 

 

 

EGG NOG 2011

Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg.

 

 

 

FROST AT MIDNIGHT

The Frost performs its secret ministry,

Unhelped by any wind. The owlet’s cry

Came loud—and hark, again! loud as before.

The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,

Have left me to that solitude, which suits

Abstruser musings: save that at my side

My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.

‘Tis calm indeed! so calm, that it disturbs

And vexes meditation with its strange

And extreme silentness. Sea, hill, and wood,

This populous village! Sea, and hill, and wood,

With all the numberless goings-on of life,

Inaudible as dreams! the thin blue flame

Lies on my low-burnt fire, and quivers not;

Only that film, which fluttered on the grate,

Still flutters there, the sole unquiet thing.

Methinks, its motion in this hush of nature

Gives it dim sympathies with me who live,

Making it a companionable form,

Whose puny flaps and freaks the idling Spirit

By its own moods interprets, every where

Echo or mirror seeking of itself,

And makes a toy of Thought.

 

But O! how oft,

How oft, at school, with most believing mind,

Presageful, have I gazed upon the bars,

To watch that fluttering stranger! and as oft

With unclosed lids, already had I dreamt

Of my sweet birth-place, and the old church-tower,

Whose bells, the poor man’s only music, rang

From morn to evening, all the hot Fair-day,

So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me

With a wild pleasure, falling on mine ear

Most like articulate sounds of things to come!

So gazed I, till the soothing things, I dreamt,

Lulled me to sleep, and sleep prolonged my dreams!

And so I brooded all the following morn,

Awed by the stern preceptor’s face, mine eye

Fixed with mock study on my swimming book:

Save if the door half opened, and I snatched

A hasty glance, and still my heart leaped up,

For still I hoped to see the stranger’s face,

Townsman, or aunt, or sister more beloved,

My play-mate when we both were clothed alike!

 

Dear Babe, that sleepest cradled by my side,

Whose gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm,

Fill up the intersperséd vacancies

And momentary pauses of the thought!

My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart

With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,

And think that thou shalt learn far other lore,

And in far other scenes! For I was reared

In the great city, pent ‘mid cloisters dim,

And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars.

But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze

By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags

Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,

Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores

And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear

The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible

Of that eternal language, which thy God

Utters, who from eternity doth teach

Himself in all, and all things in himself.

Great universal Teacher! he shall mould

Thy spirit, and by giving make it ask.

 

Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,

Whether the summer clothe the general earth

With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing

Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch

Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch

Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall

Heard only in the trances of the blast,

Or if the secret ministry of frost

Shall hang them up in silent icicles,

Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.

 

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

The liberating glory of nature, a celebration of wildness of spirit: fierce musk and immortelle, clary sage and oud, terebinth pine and ambrette seed, ivy and tobacco, honeysuckle and orange blossom.

 

 

 

GELT 2011

Sevivon, sov, sov, sov

Chanukah, hu chag tov

Chanukah, hu chag tov

Sevivon, sov, sov, sov!

 

Chag simcha hu la-am

Nes gadol haya sham

Nes gadol haya sham

Chag simcha hu la-am.

 

A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber!

 

 

 

HALÔA 2011

Sacred to both Demeter and Dionysus, this is a celebration of the of the pruning of the vines, the first fermentation of the year’s wine, and of the consecration of the next year’s planting. The service was lead by the heterai and the Eleusinian Arkhontes, and began with the preparation of a banquet that honors Demeter’s bounty and the fertility aspect of Dionysus with pudenda- and phallus-shaped cakes. After the preliminary feast, the magistrates departed, and the heterai held a second rite that consisted of copious wine consumption, ritual symbolic fornication, and formal offerings of incense, grain, and cakes to sacred statues of the deities and to clay images of genitalia. Finally, the magistrates and priests were permitted to rejoin the ritual. A Priest and Priestess bore torches that symbolizes Demeter and her daughter Persephone presided over the final ceremony, which culminated in the ultimate celebration of fertility: an orgy that lasted til dawn.

 

Wine grapes, pomegranate, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes.

 

 

 

JACOB’S LADDER 2011

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

 

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

 

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

 

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

 

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

 

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

 

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

 

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

 

The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka.

 

 

 

JÓLASVEINAR 2011

The Jólasveinar are the seventy-some offspring of Grýla and Leppalúði, an ogre couple with a taste for chomping naughty children. This impish brood delights in causing discomfort, sowing confusion, and all-out raising hell during the Yule season. Their names are indicative of their malicious intentions — Strap Loosener, Door Slammer, Window Peeper, Sausage Snatcher, Doorway Sniffer, Icebreaker — and their creepy natures — Lamp Shadow, Smoke Gulper, Crevice Imp. The devillish Jólasveinar finally cease their mischief and head for home at Þrettándinn.

 

Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries.

 

 

 

LICK IT DISCREETLY

This year’s minty double ententre! A sticky, chilly peppermint candy cane with sweet vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar.

 

 

 

MAISON EN PAIN D’ÉPICES

This is the scent of a freshly assembled gingerbread house, with swirls of multicolored icing, spice drop lights, meringue snow, pinwheel mint accents, chocolate roof tiles, candy wafer pavers, and jelly candy stained glass. We used a French translation for ‘gingerbread house’ as the name to make it sound fancier. French adds +40% Fancy!

 

 

 

MIDNIGHT MASS 2011

I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts.

 

But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.

 

In Roman Catholic tradition, the Christmas season begins liturgically on Christmas Eve, though it is forbidden to celebrate the Christmas Mass before midnight. The most devout attend Midnight Mass, celebrating both the Eucharist and the drama of the Nativity.

 

This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. Traditionally, five tears of this incense, each encased individually in wax that has been fashioned into the shape of a nail, are inserted into the paschal candle. This is, of course, represents the Five Wounds of Our Risen Savior. Symbolically, the burning of the incense signifies spiritual fervor, the fragrance itself inspires virtue, and the rising smoke carries our prayers to God.

 

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

 

Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis.

 

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

 

 

 

MIDWINTER’S EVE 2011

A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers.

 

 

 

NOCHA BUENA 2011

A celebration of the Nativity: the light, uplifting incense of the Misa de Noche Buena, purple sage, and a vibrant bouquet of plumeria, chrysanthemum, tuberose, Angel’s Trumpet, Mexican tiger lily, dahlia, and azucenas.

 

 

 

ÖNDURDIS

The Ski Lady, jötunn goddess of winter, bowhunting, mountains, and skiing. The scent of winter wind blowing over snow-capped mountains.

 

 

 

PEACOCK QUEEN 2011

In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred.

 

 

 

PINK SNOWBALLS 2011

A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging!

 

 

 

PUMPKIN MASALA ROOIBOS

Rooibos tea with red ginger, green cardamom, fennel, peppercorns, almond, and licorice, sweetened with coconut sugar and jaggery.

 

 

 

ROSE RED 2011

The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut.

 

 

 

SNOW WHITE 2011

A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.

 

 

 

SUGAR COOKIE 2011

The Devil’s Bake Sale returns!

 

 

 

WINTER HEAVENS

Sharp is the night, but stars with frost alive

Leap off the rim of earth across the dome.

It is a night to make the heavens our home

More than the nest whereto apace we strive.

Lengths down our road each fir-tree seems a hive,

In swarms outrushing from the golden comb.

They waken waves of thoughts that burst to foam:

The living throb in me, the dead revive.

Yon mantle clothes us: there, past mortal breath,

Life glistens on the river of the death.

It folds us, flesh and dust; and have we knelt,

Or never knelt, or eyed as kine the springs

Of radiance, the radiance enrings:

And this is the soul’s haven to have felt.

 

- George Meredith

 

Black midnight winter skies glittering with points of light: chill air, champaca flower, white musk, fir needle, papyrus reeds, and grey amber.

 

 

 

WOODS IN WINTER 2011

When winter winds are piercing chill,

And through the hawthorn blows the gale,

With solemn feet I tread the hill,

That overbrows the lonely vale.

 

O’er the bare upland, and away

Through the long reach of desert woods,

The embracing sunbeams chastely play,

And gladden these deep solitudes.

 

Where, twisted round the barren oak,

The summer vine in beauty clung,

And summer winds the stillness broke,

The crystal icicle is hung.

 

Where, from their frozen urns, mute springs

Pour out the river’s gradual tide,

Shrilly the skater’s iron rings,

And voices fill the woodland side.

 

Alas! how changed from the fair scene,

When birds sang out their mellow lay,

And winds were soft, and woods were green,

And the song ceased not with the day!

 

But still wild music is abroad,

Pale, desert woods! within your crowd;

And gathering winds, in hoarse accord,

Amid the vocal reeds pipe loud.

 

Chill airs and wintry winds! my ear

Has grown familiar with your song;

I hear it in the opening year,

I listen, and it cheers me long.

 

Wild hemlock and juniper berries scattered in the snow beneath leafless trees bedecked with glittering icicles.

 

 

 

YELLOW SNOWBALLS

Because I am very, very crass this year. Slushy white mint, vanilla cream, lemon drops, grapefruit, and yuzu!

 

 

 

YULE 2011

It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh.

 

 

 

Frankenstein

 

Like one who, on a lonely road,

Doth walk in fear and dread,

And, having once turned round, walks on,

And turns no more on his head;

Because he knows a frightful fiend

Doth close behind him tread.

- the Rime of the Ancient Mariner

 

++ FRANKENSTEIN

AMIABLE AND LOVELY CREATURES

Sometimes I allowed my thoughts, unchecked by reason, to ramble in the fields of Paradise, and dared to fancy amiable and lovely creatures sympathizing with my feelings and cheering my gloom; their angelic countenances breathed smiles of consolation. But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adam’s supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him.

 

Amiable and lovely creatures: honey and rosewater with fig, patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and white almond.

 

 

 

BEAUTIFUL AND ADORED

They consulted their village priest, and the result was that Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parents’ house–my more than sister–the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures.

 

Beautiful and adored: rose musk, white gardenia, English pear, vanilla bean, red currant, and honey.

 

 

 

A BLOT UPON THE EARTH

Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man. I was more agile than they and could subsist upon coarser diet; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?

 

A blot upon the earth: black plum, Spanish moss, opoponax, davana, vetiver, and opium poppy.

 

 

 

BREATHLESS HORROR

I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured, and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch –the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.

 

Breathless horror: icy white musk and thick olibanum with niaouli, carrot seed, white mint, and camphor.

 

 

 

A COMPANION OF THE SAME NATURE

“If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again: I will go to the vast wilds of South America. My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment. My companion will be of the same nature as myself, and will be content with the same fare. We shall make our bed of dried leaves; the sun will shine on us as on man, and will ripen our food. The picture I present to you is peaceful and human, and you must feel that you could deny it only in the wantonness of power and cruelty. Pitiless as you have been towards me, I now see compassion in your eyes; me seize the favourable moment, and persuade you to promise what. I so ardently desire.”

 

A companion of the same nature: skin musk, red rose petals, mums, carnations, white linen, and sunlit amber on a bed of soft dry leaves.

 

 

 

THE COUNTRY OF ETERNAL LIGHT

I am already far north of London, and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves and fills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which has travelled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes. Inspirited by this wind of promise, my daydreams become more fervent and vivid. I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is forever visible, its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour. There — for with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust in preceding navigators — there snow and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable globe. Its productions and features may be without example, as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes. What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle and may regulate a thousand celestial observations that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent forever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man. These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death and to induce me to commence this laborious voyage with the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat, with his holiday mates, on an expedition of discovery up his native river. But supposing all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind, to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine.

 

The country of eternal light: icy wind, depth hoar, and frost-limned lichen.

 

 

 

DAYS AND NIGHTS IN VAULTS AND CHARNEL HOUSES

Darkness had no effect upon my fancy, and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life, which, from being the seat of beauty and strength, had become food for the worm. Now I was led to examine the cause and progress of this decay and forced to spend days and nights in vaults and charnel-houses. My attention was fixed upon every object the most insupportable to the delicacy of the human feelings.

 

Days and nights in vaults and charnel houses: grave soil, necrophagous insect chitins, moss, mold, dried blood, rot, dirt-smeared wool, and sweat-drenched citrus lilac aftershave.

 

 

 

THE DEEPEST MYSTERIES OF CREATION

So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.

 

The deepest mysteries of creation: wild frankincense, rose otto, hyssop, and oude.

 

 

 

A DENSE AND FRIGHTFUL DARKNESS

The cup of life was poisoned forever; and although the sun shone upon me as upon the happy and gay of heart, I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me. Sometimes they were the expressive eyes of Henry languishing in death, the dark orbs nearly covered by the lids, and the long black lashes that fringed them; sometimes it was the watery, clouded eyes of the monster as I first saw them in my chamber at Ingolstadt.

 

A dense and frightful darkness: black musk, vetiver, myrrh, opoponax, hemp, crushed sage, oakmoss, and tobacco.

 

 

 

A DREARY NIGHT OF NOVEMBER

It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.

 

How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!–Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.

 

A dreary night of November: bone-white sandalwood, ink-black vetiver, Spanish moss, bitter clove, beeswax, and lotus root.

 

 

 

THE HORRORS OF MY SECRET TOIL

Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?

 

The horrors of my secret toil: vetiver and rose.

 

 

 

INEXTINGUISHABLE HATRED

“You are in the wrong,” replied the fiend; “and instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me? You would not call it murder if you could precipitate me into one of those ice-rifts and destroy my frame, the work of your own hands. Shall I respect man when he condemns me? Let him live with me in the interchange of kindness, and instead of injury I would bestow every benefit upon him with tears of gratitude at his acceptance. But that cannot be; the human senses are insurmountable barriers to our union. Yet mine shall not be the submission of abject slavery. I will revenge my injuries; if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my archenemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred. Have a care; I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall curse the hour of your birth.”

 

Inextinguishable hatred: red ginger and black opoponax with black pepper, stinging neroli, myrrh, and tobacco absolute.

 

 

 

INSUPPORTABLE MISERY

“Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery. “When night came I quitted my retreat and wandered in the wood; and now, no longer restrained by the fear of discovery, I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howlings. I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a staglike swiftness. Oh! What a miserable night I passed! The cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me; now and then the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amidst the universal stillness. All, save I, were at rest or in enjoyment; I, like the arch-fiend, bore a hell within me, and finding myself unsympathized with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin. “But this was a luxury of sensation that could not endure; I became fatigued with excess of bodily exertion and sank on the damp grass in the sick impotence of despair. There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No; from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery.

 

Insupportable misery: violet leaf, saffron, gunpowder tea, bruised lilac, and despairing lavender.

 

 

 

THE MOON GAZED ON MY MIDNIGHT LABOURS

These thoughts supported my spirits, while I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour. My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement. Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet still I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realise. One secret which I alone possessed was the hope to which I had dedicated myself; and the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places. Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave, or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay? My limbs now tremble and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless, and almost frantic, impulse urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit. It was indeed but a passing trance that only made me feel with renewed acuteness so soon as, the unnatural stimulus ceasing to operate, I had returned to my old habits.

 

The moon gazed on my midnight labours: Moroccan musk, black opium poppy, clove, and orris root.

 

 

 

MOCKING THE INVISIBLE WORLD WITH ITS OWN SHADOWS

After having made a few preparatory experiments, he concluded with a panegyric upon modern chemistry, the terms of which I shall never forget: “The ancient teachers of this science,” said he, “promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.

 

Mocking the invisible world with its own shadows: olibanum and murky ambergris accord with verbena, white sandalwood, and wisteria.

 

 

 

PALE STUDENT OF UNHALLOWED ARTS

I saw-with shut eyes, but acute mental vision-I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world.

 

A pale student of unhallowed arts: fading Georgian cologne and split O3 molecules.

 

 

 

PRIDE OF WISDOM

As I spoke, rage sparkled in my eyes; the magistrate was intimidated. “You are mistaken,” said he. “I will exert myself, and if it is in my power to seize the monster, be assured that he shall suffer punishment proportionate to his crimes. But I fear, from what you have yourself described to be his properties, that this will prove impracticable; and thus, while every proper measure is pursued, you should make up your mind to disappointment.” “That cannot be; but all that I can say will be of little avail. My revenge is of no moment to you; yet, while I allow it to be a vice, I confess that it is the devouring and only passion of my soul. My rage is unspeakable when I reflect that the murderer, whom I have turned loose upon society, still exists. You refuse my just demand; I have but one resource, and I devote myself, either in my life or death, to his destruction.” I trembled with excess of agitation as I said this; there was a frenzy in my manner, and something, I doubt not, of that haughty fierceness which the martyrs of old are said to have possessed. But to a Genevan magistrate, whose mind was occupied by far other ideas than those of devotion and heroism, this elevation of mind had much the appearance of madness. He endeavoured to soothe me as a nurse does a child and reverted to my tale as the effects of delirium. “Man,” I cried, “how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you say.”

 

The pride of wisdom: Roman chamomile, rosehips, ginseng, and fig.

 

 

THE REWARD OF MY BENEVOLENCE

“I was scarcely hid when a young girl came running towards the spot where I was concealed, laughing, as if she ran from someone in sport. She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly her foot slipped, and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding-place and with extreme labour, from the force of the current, saved her and dragged her to shore. She was senseless, and I endeavoured by every means in my power to restore animation, when I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic, who was probably the person from whom she had playfully fled. On seeing me, he darted towards me, and tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood. I followed speedily, I hardly knew why; but when the man saw me draw near, he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body and fired. I sank to the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the wood. This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind. But the agony of my wound overcame me; my pulses paused, and I fainted.”

 

The reward of my benevolence: boneflower, olive blossom, white sandalwood, clary sage, Himalayan cedar, and oakmoss

 

 

 

SOLITARY AND ABHORRED

Another circumstance strengthened and confirmed these feelings. Soon after my arrival in the hovel I discovered some papers in the pocket of the dress which I had taken from your laboratory. At first I had neglected them, but now that I was able to decipher the characters in which they were written, I began to study them with diligence. It was your journal of the four months that preceded my creation. You minutely described in these papers every step you took in the progress of your work; this history was mingled with accounts of domestic occurrences. You doubtless recollect these papers. Here they are. Everything is related in them which bears reference to my accursed origin; the whole detail of that series of disgusting circumstances which produced it is set in view; the minutest description of my odious and loathsome person is given, in language which painted your own horrors and rendered mine indelible. I sickened as I read. `Hateful day when I received life!’ I exclaimed in agony. `Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred.

 

Solitary and abhorred: carrot seed, East Indian patchouli, white tea, and peru balsam.

 

 

 

SORROWFUL AFFECTION

The appearance of Justine was calm. She was dressed in mourning, and her countenance, always engaging, was rendered, by the solemnity of her feelings, exquisitely beautiful. Yet she appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble, although gazed on and execrated by thousands, for all the kindness which her beauty might otherwise have excited was obliterated in the minds of the spectators by the imagination of the enormity she was supposed to have committed. She was tranquil, yet her tranquillity was evidently constrained; and as her confusion had before been adduced as a proof of her guilt, she worked up her mind to an appearance of courage. When she entered the court she threw her eyes round it and quickly discovered where we were seated. A tear seemed to dim her eye when she saw us, but she quickly recovered herself, and a look of sorrowful affection seemed to attest her utter guiltlessness.

 

Sorrowful affection: lily of the valley, tuberose, pink carnation, green tea absolute, orange zest, bourbon geranium, and blue musk.

 

 

 

TILL DEATH

Everyone loved Elizabeth. The passionate and almost reverential attachment with which all regarded her became, while I shared it, my pride and my delight. On the evening previous to her being brought to my home, my mother had said playfully, “I have a pretty present for my Victor–tomorrow he shall have it.” And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine–mine to protect, love, and cherish. All praises bestowed on her I received as made to a possession of my own. We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to me–my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only.

 

Till death: white rose, black locust blossom, French magnolia, globe amaranth, iris root, and honeysuckle.

 

 

 

A TORRENT OF LIGHT

When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it. Although I possessed the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all its intricacies of fibres, muscles, and veins, still remained a work of inconceivable difficulty and labour. I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organisation; but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man. The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous an undertaking; but I doubted not that I should ultimately succeed. I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect: yet, when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success. Nor could I consider the magnitude and complexity of my plan as any argument of its impracticability. It was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being. As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hinderance to my speed, I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature; that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionably large. After having formed this determination, and having spent some months in successfully collecting and arranging my materials, I began.

 

No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. Pursuing these reflections, I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption.

 

A torrent of light: eucalyptus petals, white mint, white amber, and ozone.

 

 

 

WORKSHOP OF FILTHY CREATION

I collected bones from charnel-houses and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame. In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation; my eyeballs were starting from their sockets in attending to the details of my employment. The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation, whilst, still urged on by an eagerness which perpetually increased, I brought my work near to a conclusion.

 

The workshop of filthy creation: electricity-scarred cypress beams, ancient stone slabs, damp metal, the coppery tang of coagulating blood, and ozone.

 

 

Art for the Frankenstein series by the incomparable Julie Dillon.

 

 

 

little match girl

THE LAST EVENING OF THE YEAR

Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and evening– the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there went along the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast.

 

Snow settling on cold skin, tea rose petals, and dusty, threadbare linen.

 

 

 

COLDER AND COLDER

In a corner formed by two houses, of which one advanced more than the other, she seated herself down and cowered together. Her little feet she had drawn close up to her, but she grew colder and colder, and to go home she did not venture, for she had not sold any matches and could not bring a farthing of money: from her father she would certainly get blows, and at home it was cold too, for above her she had only the roof, through which the wind whistled, even though the largest cracks were stopped up with straw and rags.

 

Peppermint, spearmint, white musk, and elemi settling into a deepening darkness.

 

 

 

A WONDEFUL LIGHT

Her little hands were almost numbed with cold. Oh! a match might afford her a world of comfort, if she only dared take a single one out of the bundle, draw it against the wall, and warm her fingers by it. She drew one out. “Rischt!” how it blazed, how it burnt! It was a warm, bright flame, like a candle, as she held her hands over it: it was a wonderful light. It seemed really to the little maiden as though she were sitting before a large iron stove, with burnished brass feet and a brass ornament at top. The fire burned with such blessed influence; it warmed so delightfully.

 

Three radiant ambers with honey, linden blossom, bourbon vanilla, and orange zest.

 

 

 

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT CHRISTMAS TREE

She lighted another match. Now there she was sitting under the most magnificent Christmas tree: it was still larger, and more decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the rich merchant’s house.

 

Spruce pine with hints of silver birch and warm, dark woods.

 

 

 

THOUSANDS OF LIGHTS

Thousands of lights were burning on the green branches, and gaily-colored pictures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked down upon her. The little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when–the match went out. The lights of the Christmas tree rose higher and higher, she saw them now as stars in heaven; one fell down and formed a long trail of fire.

 

Indian ambrette seed, beeswax, champaca flower, saffron, Italian bergamot, frankincense, oak bark, and vanilla orchid.

 

 

 

IN BRIGHTNESS AND IN JOY

“Grandmother!” cried the little one. “Oh, take me with you! You go away when the match burns out; you vanish like the warm stove, like the delicious roast goose, and like the magnificent Christmas tree!” And she rubbed the whole bundle of matches quickly against the wall, for she wanted to be quite sure of keeping her grandmother near her. And the matches gave such a brilliant light that it was brighter than at noon-day: never formerly had the grandmother been so beautiful and so tall. She took the little maiden, on her arm, and both flew in brightness and in joy so high, so very high, and then above was neither cold, nor hunger, nor anxiety–they were with God.

 

Divine mercy: sweet winter berry, orange blossom, frankincense, golden sandalwood, angel’s trumpet, and red rose.

 

 

 

THE COLD HOUR OF DAWN

But in the corner, at the cold hour of dawn, sat the poor girl, with rosy cheeks and with a smiling mouth, leaning against the wall–frozen to death on the last evening of the old year.

 

Esprit de eucalyptus, blue musk, davana, frosty iris, and tagetes.

 

 

 

 

Halloweenies at both the Lab and the Trading Post have been extended another month. Yules will hang around until February 2012.

 

Joyous Holidays to you all!

The west coast will call event will be held on Thursday, November 10th from 6 to 9pm at Dark Delicacies.

 

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Blvd

(1 block east of Hollywood Way)

Burbank, CA 91505

 

____

 

Seattle Will Call will be held on Thursday, November 10th from 6 to 9pm at Knows Perfume.

 

knows perfume

4536 California Ave., SW

Seattle, WA 98116

(206) 397-3141

—

 

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, November 13th from 3:00 to 6:00pm, in the Learning Center.

 

Healthy Living Market

 

222 Dorset Street,

 

South Burlington, VT, 05403

 

—

 

All three Will Call locations will be holding a Thanksgiving food drive! Receive an imp of Karmê for each item you bring.

 

Karmê (Κάρμη)

 

Sun-warmed squashes, peppers, salad greens, snap peas, radishes, green onions, and silphium.

 

 

 

 

 

The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Beaver Moon update. This includes the Halloweenies! Forum only scents will not be available at Will Call.

 

We will no longer be accepting preorders at West Coast Will Call, with the exception of orders for Twilight Alchemy Lab oils. We will do our best to accommodate all orders, but sales will be based on availability. At this time, Twilight Alchemy Lab oils will only be available at Dark Delicacies via preorder. Items from Black Phoenix Trading Post will be available at Dark Delicacies, subject to stock on hand.

 

If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

 

Where/When:

 

West Coast Will Call at

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Ave

Burbank, CA 91505

Thursday, November 10th, 6:00 to 9:00pm

 

Seattle Will Call at

knows perfume

4536 California Ave SW

Seattle, WA 98116

Thursday, November 10th, 6:00 to 9:00pm

 

New England Will Call at

Healthy Living Market (inside the Learning Center)

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403

Sunday, November 13th, 3:00 to 6:00pm

The reason why I'm asking who is in charge of shipping TAL is because I received a TAL bottle of Samhain 2011 in my most recently shipped Lab order (it has the TAL label on it, as seen in the TAL Etsy shop), instead of the ordered Lab bottle of Samhain 2011. I have emailed the Lab, several days ago, and have received no answer. I suspect that this is just an honest mix-up, and would like to send back the TAL bottle and receive the Lab bottle instead. So, who do I contact?

Since this issue has nothing to do with TAL, this topic was merged in to BPAL "Who do I email with questions?" thread.

 

Please be patient and BPAL customer service will get back to you as soon as they can.

 

Also new this month —

 

++ LIMITED EDITION

LOI KRATHONG

วัน เพ็ญ เดือน สิบสอง

น้ำ ก็ นอง เต็ม ตลิ่ง

เรา ทั้ง หลาย ชาย หญิง สนุก กัน จริง วัน ลอย กระทง

ลอย ลอย กระทง, ลอย ลอย กระทง

ลอย ลอย กระทง กัน แล้ว ขอ เชิญ น้อง แก้ว ออก มา รำวง

รำวง วัน ลอย กระทง, รำวง วัน ลอย กระทง

บุญ จะ ส่ง ให้ เรา สุข ใจ, บุญ จะ ส่ง ให้ เรา สุข ใจ

 

The Festival of Lights! On the evening of the twelfth full moon of the Dai calendar, small lotus-shaped offering boats are released out to the rivers and canals of Thailand, carrying prayers and wishes out into the waters. It is a preparation for renewal, and a time for releasing and banishing the darker parts of ourselves.

 

Banana leaves, betel nuts, coconut bark, spider lilies, candle wax, and incense.

 

 

 

The first incarnation of Lady Death comes to Black Phoenix!

 

++ LADY DEATH

Set in medieval times, Lady Death is the story of Hope, a woman who renounces her humanity to save her mother’s soul from evil forces in the darkest domain. Through insurmountable trials, she’s forged into Lady Death: a brutal, rebel warrior who rallies the downtrodden and topples once unstoppable kings.

 

LADY DEATH: SAVAGE

Lady Death in all her savage glory: an unrelenting supernatural warrior witch!

 

White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin.

 

 

 

Batty is coming to Dark Delicacies!

++ DARK DELICACIES

 

 

BATTY

This year’s Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Halloween scent for Dark Delicacies! Dark and fuzzy, yet also dapper and debonair! If Fred Astaire was a werebat, he’d totally smell like this: dark chocolate, black oudh, tonka absolute, cassia, white oleander, sandalwood, and free-tailed bat musk. Artwork by Manda Lander!

 

Batty will be available on the Dark Delicacies site. If you purchase Batty at Dark Del’s brick and mortar shop in-person, you will receive a free aristobat holiday ornament while supplies last!

 

 

 

Halloween: Montreal is available at Pretty Indulgent!

++ PRETTY INDULGENT

HALLOWEEN: MONTREAL

When Halloween comes to Montreal, winter doesn’t lag far behind. Trick–or–treating is done in mad, giddy dashes between houses, an exhilarated rush in the darkness. The air is crisp, sometimes biting, and more than one toddler waddles through the eve, bundled in a snowsuit beneath their inevitably rotund costumes. Chimney smoke and woodstove fires, and all the classic scents of Halloween – loads of candy, leaves, cold earth, smashed pumpkins left over from Mat Night’s debauchery – are sharp and clear in the frosty air.

– Maggie Stepien

 

La fumée de cheminée et toutes les odeurs de l’Halloween – bonbons en masse, feuilles mortes, terre gelée, citrouilles écrasées – parfument l’air glacial.

 

http://www.prettyindulgent.com/products/halloween-montreal-perfume

 

 

 

And that’s that while we prep for Yule!

Two of our Halloweenie scents, October 2011 and Devil's Night 2011, are currently on back order, due to one of the components being stuck in customs.

 

We didn't anticipate the delay, and are very sorry that this is holding up orders.

 

We expect to be able to start shipping orders containing October 2011 and Devil's Night 2011 by the end of this week.

 

We greatly appreciate your patience.

Photos from yesterdays Pizza for the People delivery are up on Black Phoenix Gazette.

 

The return of our annual Halloween Full Moon event! Come dressed as your favorite writer or literary character.

 

The west coast will call event will be held on Sunday, October 16th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies.

 

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Blvd

(1 block east of Hollywood Way)

Burbank, CA 91505

___

 

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market onSunday, October 16th from 3:30 to 6:30pm, in the Learning Center.

 

Healthy Living Market

 

222 Dorset Street,

 

South Burlington, VT, 05403

 

—

 

The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Blood Moon update. This includes the Halloweenies! Forum only scents will not be available at Will Call.

 

We will no longer be accepting preorders at West Coast Will Call, with the exception of orders for Twilight Alchemy Lab oils. We will do our best to accommodate all orders, but sales will be based on availability. At this time, Twilight Alchemy Lab oils will only be available at Dark Delicacies via preorder. Items from Black Phoenix Trading Post will be available at Dark Delicacies, subject to stock on hand.

 

If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

 

Where/When:

 

West Coast Will Call at

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Ave

Burbank, CA 91505

Sunday, October 16th, 4:00 to 7:00pm

 

New England Will Call at

Healthy Living Market (inside the Learning Center)

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403

Sunday, October 16th, 3:30 to 6:;30pm

Greetings mortals!

 

Black Phoenix Trading Post’s Halloween Update has been unearthed.

 

++ BPTP: Halloweenie Tee Shirt

 

Halloween at BPTP

 

Commemorating Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Halloween season! Artwork by the phenomenal Julie Dillon. Abhorrent orange, and putrescent purple ink on black tee.

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP: Halloweenie Scents

CANDIED PUMPKIN

A traditional Dia de los Muertos ofrenda: sweet pumpkin cooked with piloncillo, orange juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh ginger, maple syrup, honey, and clove.

 

CRYPT KING

You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.

Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

 

The Crypt Queen’s dapper consort: pomegranate juice, black pepper, oakmoss, coriander, black ginger, patchouli, dracaena, and a splash of lilac fougere.

 

The Crypt King is limited to 43 sets and is only available from our Etsy site. It will go live around 3pm pacific time today.

 

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP: Halloweenie Bath Oils

FRUITBAT FRUITBATH

Plump plums, ripe pomegranate, sweet mango, kumquat, yuzu, melon blossom, and Boquila berries.

 

HONEY PUMPKIN STOUT

A smoky honey oatmeal stout with pumpkin mash.

 

MARSHMALLOW PUMPKIN

Marshmallow goo and pumpkin pulp!

 

SPUN SUGAR SPECTRE

A web of gleaming, glistening sugar strands!

Label artwork for Fruitbat Fruitbath, Marshmallow Pumpkin, and Sugar Spun Spectre by Manda Lander

 

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP: Halloweenie Soaps

SAMHAIN

Truly the scent of autumn itself — damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.

 

HONEY PUMPKIN STOUT

A smoky honey oatmeal stout with pumpkin mash.

 

STREUOBSTWIESE

Bright red apples, apple blossom, apricot blossom, and meadow flowers scattered over a soft, thick blanket of grass.

 

SUGAR SKULL

Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits.

 

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP: Halloweenie Atmosphere Sprays

THE ORCHARDS OF HELL

Pomegranate, mint, aconite, black poppy, white rose, narcissus, willow bark, wonder-flowers, asphodel blossoms, and poplar.

 

HARVEST FESTIVAL

Hay bales, roaring bonfires, corn stalks, and spiced cider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also brewing in our cauldron…

 

++ (GC) BPTP HELL BROTH: A CAULDRON BOILING

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.

 

Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.

 

Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!

 

Round about the caldron go –

 

Create your own personalized hellbroth every time you bathe! The mad scientists at Black Phoenix Trading Post and Villainess have collaborated to reformat newts eyes, fenny snake fillets, bat’s wool, and other traditional witchin’ implements into a skin-softening, soul-enlivening bath powder format. Add a dash of Howlet’s Wing and a glop of Opium Tar to a newt bath! Or a toss a sprinkle of Lemurian Seaweed and Octopus Spittle into a tub full of Inquisitor’s Bile! And if the mood strikes you, soak in luxurious waters scented by unadulturated angel’s tears.

 

The possibilities are endless! The scents are strange and diabolically divine! Even the weirdest Weird Sister is sure to be pleased!

 

BLUE RINGED OCTOPUS SPITTLE

Coconut meat, mango pulp, white mint, and melon.

 

EYE OF NEWT

King mandarin, ambrette seed, and red sandalwood.

 

HOWLET’S WING

Fermented white ginger, honey, and lemon peel.

 

INQUISITOR’S BILE

Olibanum, gum mastic, aloeswood, dragon’s blood resin, dammar, and vetiver.

 

LEMURIAN SEAWEED

Sea buckthorn berry, lime juice, and juniper.

 

OPIUM TAR

Opium accord and black currant.

 

TEARS OF THE SERAPHIM

Bourbon vanilla, angelica root, and benzoin.

 

Coming soon!

ABSINTHE DREGS

ADDER PUFFS

BASALT SCARAB PTERATHORAX

RAW FENNY SNAKE FILLETS

NAJA HAJE VENOM

POET’S SPLEEN

VITREOUS HUMOR FROM THE FATES’ EYE

VIRGIN’S BLOOD

 

 

 

Also new in our soap department is another general catalog collaboration with Villainess…

PORT AU PRINCE SOAP

Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras..

 

The soap: Crushed almonds for gentle exfoliation in a silken, gilded lather

 

 

 

and for the shiniest, smelliest locks…

 

++ (GC) BPTP: HAIR GLOSS

We have combined Tahitian monoi, camelina oil, argan oil, and karanja oil to give your mane a gleaming finishing shine without leaving it gloopy, weighted-down, or greasy. Camelina oil provides a protective coating for the hair follicles, argan oil nourishes stressed hair, enhances elasticity, and repairs cellular damage to the hair strand itself, and a touch of Monoi oil adds moisture and enhances softness.

 

Your hair will be silkier, shinier, glossier, more vibrant, and frizz-free.

 

Black Phoenix’s Hair Gloss is paraben and sulfate free, and contains on petro-chemicals, no GMOs, and no triclosan.

 

Our hair gloss has a six-month shelf life.

 

Scents:

Fig and White Sandalwood

Frankincense Clove

Honey

White Tea and Sage

Snake Oil

 

 

Candles coming soon from Black Phoenix Trading Post!

 

 

Last but certainly not least, I see a Blood Moon Rising.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Arthur Rackham. Sooty black ink on a natural, off-white tee.

The west coast will call event will be held on Tuesday, September 13th from 6 to 9pm at Dark Delicacies.

 

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Blvd

(1 block east of Hollywood Way)

Burbank, CA 91505

___

 

Seattle Will Call will be held on Wednesday, September 21th from 7 to 9 pm at Knows Perfume.

 

knows perfume

4536 California Ave., SW

Seattle, WA 98116

(206) 397-3141

—

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, September 18th from 2 to 5pm, in the Learning Center.

 

Healthy Living Market

 

222 Dorset Street,

 

South Burlington, VT, 05403

 

—

 

The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Harvest Moon update. Forum only scents will not be available at Will Call.

 

We will no longer be accepting preorders at West Coast Will Call, with the exception of orders for Twilight Alchemy Lab oils. We will do our best to accommodate all orders, but sales will be based on availability. At this time, Twilight Alchemy Lab oils will only be available at Dark Delicacies via preorder. Items from Black Phoenix Trading Post will be available at Dark Delicacies, subject to stock on hand.

 

If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

 

Where/When:

 

West Coast Will Call at

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Ave

Burbank, CA 91505

Tuesday, September 13th, 6:00 to 9:00pm

 

New England Will Call at

Healthy Living Market (inside the Learning Center)

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403

Sunday, September 18th, 2 to 5pm

 

Seattle Will Call at

knows perfume

4536 California Ave SW

Seattle, WA 98116

Wednesday, September 21st, 7 to 9pm

The Harvest Moon update is live at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post!

 

 

 

Harvest Moon 2011

 

HARVEST MOON

Harvest Moon is celebrated in almost every culture, and the bounty of the season is marked in a myriad of ways. Harvest Moon touches the Equinox, the festival of Janus, the culmination of Homowo, the “crying of the neck” in Cornwall, and the Women’s Festival of the Moon. This is a day that celebrates abundance and beauty, fertility and progress, and the light of this full moon blesses new undertakings and reunites lost loves.

 

The Harvest Moon, by definition, is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox, and thus, it shares some of that Sabbat’s characteristics. This Full Moon was thus named because it rises within half an hour of the sun’s setting, in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this time farmers are able to work longer into the night by the light of this Moon. As the year draws to a close, the Full Moon rises an average of fifty minutes later each night, with the exception of a few nights surrounding the Harvest Moon, which only rises 10-30 minutes later. This moon is also, to the human eye, the fullest and largest of the year’s Moons, hanging gloriously huge, yellow and low in the night sky, and many lunar illusions play tricks our eyes at this time.

 

The Harvest ushers in many celebrations, including the Equinox and the Festival of Janus, God of Doors. Janus is the Roman Lord of Gateways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. Thus, the Harvest Moon is a time for blessing new ventures, the onset of new and progressive phases in one’s life, and rites of passage into adulthood. This time of year also marks one of the Festivals of Dionysus, Lord of Ecstasy and the Vine.

 

This Harvest lunacy combines the autumnal scents of dry leaves, warm, brown spices, white oak, Himalayan cedar, Russian sage, red apple, sweet black plum, juniper berry, clove, saffron, verbena, and yarrow with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, and a gentle breath of Harvest Festival woodsmoke and sweet red wine.

So much thanks to Julie Dillon for illustrating Harvest Moon!

 

Harvest Moon will be live on both sites until August 15th, 2011.

 

 

 

Also this month, we are pleased to introduce scents that benefit the CBLDF and The Hero Initiative.

 

It’s a tag team for free speech when Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and J. Gonzo team up to benefit the CBLDF with incredible new Luchadore inspired scents celebrating the launch of J. Gonzo’s amazing new series La Mano del Destino!

 

It’s a battle of titans with the First Amendment at stake! In this corner: La Mano del Destino, fighting for your freedom of speech! His opponent, El Nuevo Puritano, bringing the wicked wrath of moral panic and outrageous censorship into the ring!

 

LA MANO DEL DESTINO

Powerful Sumatran patchouli and enigmatic Brazilian copaiba with pao d’arco, cacao absolute, bourbon vanilla, Ceylon cinnamon, and tobacco.

 

EL NUEVO PURITANO

The wicked wrath of moral panic: unmoving, rigid oak, dry leather, tonka, gunpowder tea, and pious olibanum with a core of perverse and furtive vanilla bean, bay leaf, clove bud, and lime.

 

 

 

Next up, to benefit the Hero Initiative, we have scents based on Matt Wagner’s Grendel comic book series.

 

MASTERMIND

The first of the Grendel legacy, a stylish, best-selling author who leads a double life as a relentless assassin and all-powerful mob overlord.

 

An elegant cologne of olibanum, opoponax, leather accord, black amber, bois de jasmine, cade wood, pale balsam, orange blossom, oudh, black plum, bourbon vanilla, and sandalwood.

 

AVENGER

A fashionable and fiery journalist who adopts the Grendel persona to avenge the death of her only child and is consumed by the dark identity.

 

Plush vanilla bourbon and rum accord with pink pepper, patchouli, clove, pikaki, golden amber, caraway, tuberose, and jacarandá-da-bahia.

 

EXORCIST

Christine’s lover who, in the aftermath of her violent death, becomes haunted and possessed by what he sees as the “entity” of Grendel.

 

A refined lilac fougère with frankincense, labdanum, styrax, and dark musk.

 

HARLEQUIN

A futuristic, gothic harlequin, addicted to a heinous hallucinogen with the street name “Grendel”, who leads chaotic attacks against the corrupt Catholic Church.

 

Psychotomimetic: pink grapefruit, white honey, orange blossom, saffron, champagne grape, elemi, guaiac, blonde tobacco, and olibanum.

 

 

 

And last, but certainly not least, this update brings us the third series of Last Unicorn scents.

 

THE KING’S DAUGHTER

There were a prince and a princess sitting by a stream in a wooded valley. Their seven servants had set up a scarlet canopy beneath a tree, and the royal young couple ate a box lunch to the accompaniment of lutes and theorbos. They hardly spoke a word to one another until they had finished the meal, and then the princess sighed and said, “Well, I suppose I’d best get the silly business over with.” The prince began to read a magazine.

 

“You might at least –” said the princess, but the prince kept on reading. The princess made a sign to two of the servants, who began to play an older music on their lutes. Then she took a few steps on the grass, held up a bridle bright as butter, and called, “Here, unicorn, here! Here, my pretty, here to me! Comecomecomecomecome!”

 

The prince snickered. “It’s not your chickens you’re calling, you know,” he remarked without looking up. “Why don’t you sing something, instead of clucking like that?”

 

“Well, I’m doing the best I can,” the princess cried. “I’ve never called one of these things before.” But after a little silence, she began to sing.

 

I am a king’s daughter,

And if I cared to care,

The moon that has no mistress

Would flutter in my hair.

No one dares to cherish

What I choose to crave.

Never have I hungered,

That I did not have.

 

I am a king’s daughter,

And I grow old within

The prison of my person,

The shackles of my skin.

And I would run away

And beg from door to door,

Just to see your shadow

Once, and never more.

 

So she sang, and sang again, and then she called, “Nice unicorn, pretty, pretty, pretty,” for a little longer, and then she said angrily, “Well, I’ve done as much as I’ll do. I’m going home.”

 

The prince yawned and folded his magazine. “You satisfied custom well enough,” he told her, “and no one expected more than that. It was just a formality. Now we can be married.”

 

“Yes,” the princess said, “now we can be married.” The servants began to pack everything away again, while the two with the lutes played joyous wedding music. The princess’s voice was a little sad and defiant as she said, “If there really were such things as unicorns, one would have come to me. I called as sweetly as anyone could, and I had the golden bridle. And of course I am pure and untouched.”

 

“For all of me, you are,” the prince answered indifferently. “As I say, you satisfy custom. You don’t satisfy my father, but then neither do I. That would take a unicorn.” He was tall, and his face was as soft and pleasant as a marshmallow.

 

When they and their retinue were gone, the unicorn came out of the wood, followed by Molly and the magician, and took up her journey again. A long time later, wandering in another country where there were no streams and nothing green, Molly asked her why she had not gone to the princess’s song. Schmendrick drew near to listen to the answer, though he stayed on his side of the unicorn. He never walked on Molly’s side.

 

The unicorn said, “That king’s daughter would never have run away to see my shadow. If I had shown myself, and she had known me, she would have been more frightened than if she had seen a dragon, for no one makes promises to a dragon. I remember that once it never mattered to me whether or not princesses meant what they sang. I went to them all and laid my head in their laps, and a few of them rode on my back, though most were afraid. But I have no time for them now, princesses or kitchenmaids. I have no time.”

 

A matter of formality: lilac musk, sandalwood, sweet pea, watermelon accord, pale woods, elemi, and oakmoss.

 

HAGSGATE

“When those words were first spoken,” Drinn said, “Haggard had not been long in the country, and all of it was still soft and blooming – all but the town of Hagsgate. Hagsgate was then as this land has become: a scrabbly, bare place where men put great stones on the roofs of their huts to keep them from blowing away.” He grinned bitterly at the older men. “Crops to harvest, stock to tend! You grew cabbages and rutabagas and a few pale potatoes, and in all of Hagsgate there was but one weary cow. Strangers thought the town accursed, having offended some vindictive witch or other.”

 

Molly felt the unicorn go by in the street, then turn and come back, restless as the torches on the walls, that bowed and wriggled. She wanted to run out to her, but instead she asked quietly, “And afterward, when that had come true?”

 

Drinn answered, “From that moment, we have known nothing but bounty. Our grim earth has grown so kind that gardensand orchards spring up by themselves – we need neither to plant nor to tend them. Our flocks multiply; our craftsmen become more clever in their sleep; the air we breathe and the water we drink keep us from ever knowing illness. All sorrow parts to go around us – and this has come about while the rest of the realm, once so green, has shriveled to cinders under Haggard’s hand. For fifty years, none but he and we have prospered. It is as though all others had been cursed.”

 

An accursed bounty: rich black soil and hay, cucumber, tomato, red lettuce, summer squash, black eggplant, arugula, grape vine, artichoke, and a tangle of herbs marred by an undercurrent of vetiver, patchouli, and black moss

 

LADY AMALTHEA

Molly Grue had taken the white girl’s head onto her lap, and was whispering over and over, “What have you done?” The girl’s face, quiet in sleep and close to smiling, was the most beautiful that Schmendrick had ever seen. It hurt him and warmed him at the same time. Molly smoothed the strange hair, and Schmendrick noticed on the forehead, above and between the closed eyes, a small, raised mark, darker than the rest of the skin. It was neither a scar nor a bruise. It looked like a flower.

 

A luminous white winter musk with lilac, wisteria, white chocolate, white mint, and tuberose

 

WITCH-CURSED CASTLE

You whom Haggard holds in thrall,

Share his feast and share his fall.

You shall see your fortune flower

Till the torrent takes the tower.

Yet none but one of Hagsgate town

May bring the castle swirling down.

 

Beyond the town, darker than dark, King Haggard’s castle teetered like a lunatic on stilts, and beyond the castle the sea slid. Drinn stopped him as he raised his glass. “Not that toast, my friend. Will you drink to a woe fifty years old? It is that long since our sorrow fell, when King Haggard built his castle by the sea.”

 

“When the witch built it, I think.” Schmendrick wagged a finger at him. “Credit where it’s due, after all.”

 

“Ah, you know that story,” Drinn said. “Then you must also know that Haggard refused to pay the witch when her task was completed.”

 

The magician nodded. “Aye,” and she cursed him for his greed – cursed the castle, rather. “But what had that to do with Hagsgate? The town had done the witch no wrong.”

 

“No,” Drinn replied. “But neither had it done her any good. She could not unmake the castle – or would not, for she fancied herself an artistic sort and boasted that her work was years ahead of its time. Anyway, she came to the elders of Hagsgate and demanded that they force Haggard to pay what was due her. ‘Look at me and see yourselves,’ she rasped. ‘That’s the true test of a town, or of a king. A lord who cheats an ugly old witch will cheat his own folk by and by. Stop him while you can, before you grow used to him.’” Drinn sipped his wine and thoughtfully filled Schmendrick’s glass once more.

 

“Haggard paid her no money,” he went on, “and Hagsgate, alas, paid her no heed. She was treated politely and referred to the proper authorities, whereupon she flew into a fury and screamed that in our eagerness to make no enemies at all, we had now made two.” He paused, covering his eyes with lids so thin that Molly was sure he could see through them, like a bird. With his eyes closed, he said, “It was then that she cursed Haggard’s castle, and cursed our town as well. Thus his greed brought ruin upon us all.”

 

In the sighing silence, Molly Grue’s voice came down like a hammer on a horseshoe, as though she were again berating poor Captain Cully. “Haggard’s less at fault than you yourselves,” she mocked the folk of Hagsgate, “for he was only one thief, and you were many. You earned your trouble by your own avarice, not your king’s.”

 

Drinn opened his eyes and gave her an angry look. “We earned nothing,” he protested. “It was our parents and grandparents whom the witch asked for help, and I’ll grant you that they were as much to blame as Haggard, in their way. We would have handled the matter quite differently.” And every middle-aged face in the room scowled at every older face.

 

One of the old men spoke up in a voice that wheezed and miaowed. “You would have done just as we did. There were crops to harvest and stock to tend, as there still are. There was Haggard to live with, as there still is. We know very well how you would have behaved. You are our children.”

 

Weed-strewn oak, opoponax, wet stone, creaking redwood, and desolate olibanum.

 

PRINCE LÍR

“Heroes,” Prince Lír replied sadly. “Heroes know about order, about happy endings – heroes know that some things are better than others. Carpenters know grains and shingles, and straight lines.” He put his hands out to the Lady Amalthea, and took one step toward her. She did not draw back from him, nor turn her face; indeed, she lifted her head higher, and it was the prince who looked away.

 

“You were the one who taught me,” he said. “I never looked at you without seeing the sweetness of the way the world goes together, or without sorrow for its spoiling. I became a hero to serve you, and all that is like you. Also to find some way of starting a conversation.”

 

Chivalry, love, and sacrifice. A noble cologne touched by a sweet sadness: vanilla fougere, bright citrus, juniper berry, ambergris accord, and basil.

 

KING HAGGARD

His eyes were the same color as the horns of the Red Bull. He was taller than Schmendrick, and though his face was bitterly lined there was nothing fond or foolish in it. It was a pike’s face: the jaws long and cold, the cheeks hard, the lean neck alive with power.

 

Dry cedar, bitter balsam, and ashes.

 

 

 

Halloweenies will be up before the month is over, and some will be out at this weekend’s Will Calls for testing!

Photos from The Last Unicorn Event, taken by the lovely and talented Lori Matsumoto, have been posted to our Facebook account.

The west coast will call event will be held on Saturday, August 13th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies.

 

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Blvd

(1 block east of Hollywood Way)

Burbank, CA 91505

___

 

Seattle Will Call will be held on Saturday, August 13th from 6 to 9 pm at Knows Perfume.

 

knows perfume

4536 California Ave., SW

Seattle, WA 98116

(206) 397-3141

—

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, August 14th from 5 to 8pm, in the Learning Center.

 

Healthy Living Market

 

222 Dorset Street,

 

South Burlington, VT, 05403

 

___

 

GA Will Call is still TBD. We will update the information as soon as we receive it.

 

—

 

The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Berry Moon update. Forum only scents will not be available at Will Call.

 

We will no longer be accepting preorders at West Coast Will Call, with the exception of orders for Twilight Alchemy Lab oils. We will do our best to accommodate all orders, but sales will be based on availability. At this time, Twilight Alchemy Lab oils will only be available at Dark Delicacies via preorder. Items from Black Phoenix Trading Post will be available at Dark Delicacies, subject to stock on hand.

 

If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

 

Where/When:

 

West Coast Will Call at

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Ave

Burbank, CA 91505

Saturday August 13th, 4:00 to 7:00pm

 

Seattle Will Call at

knows perfume

4536 California Ave SW

Seattle, WA 98116

Saturday, August 13th, 6 to 9pm

 

New England Will Call at

Healthy Living Market (inside the Learning Center)

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403

Sunday, August 14th, 5 to 8pm

 

Georgia Will Call at

Whole Foods aka Harry’s Farmers Market (inside Salud)

1180 Upper Hembree Road,

Roswell, GA, 30076

TBD

If you are coming to the Last Unicorn signing with Peter Beagle tomorrow, we will start giving out numbers at 1pm.

 

 

 

Does anyone know, without expressly contacting Dark Delicacies... if they carry everything, and ship some BPAL... 1. do they carry retail salons now also, and 2. IF someone from far away is making an order, and ordering OTHER bottles, CAN a retail only salon be bought and shipped with this order? I specifically mean not bought by itself because that defeats the purpose of the retail only salons, but as an "well I'm buying this other BPAL from you, can you sell me this one also with the entire order?"

 

I understand this is a question that I should be emailing Dark Delicacies with directly and I think I will do so, but I thought I'd throw it on here because maybe someone already has the answer to this question.

 

 

Dark Delicacies does not carry the Retail Only Salon's.

As far as I know, there's no Trading Post stock at Le Pink, but Dark Delicacies carries claw polish (limited colors), atmosphere sprays, bath and massage oils, and t-shirts.

 

Eeee!! I'm so excited. How do Cali-native BPALers not LIVE there? I'm going to have to find an activity for the husband to do that day, I think.

 

Is there a big difference between the stock at Le Pink and Dark Del as far as perfumes? I saw that DD carries all the GC (really? ALL??) but does LP sell different things? I probably won't pass up the opportunity to shop for BPAL in two real shops, but just curious.

Sorry I just saw this. Dark Delicacies carries everything! Le Pink no longer stocks our products, although they may have a few things left in stock. But even when they were stocking things, they only carried about a half dozen scents.

Hero Initiative at Wizard’s Chicago Comic Con

With Guest Star Matt Wagner!

 

WORLD PREMIERE

FOUR Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab “Grendel” scents

 

 

 

August 3, 2011, (Los Angeles, CA) Hero Initiative, the non-profit organization that provides a financial safety net for comic creators in need, will head to the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, August 11th thru the 14th, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road, in Rosemont Illinois.

 

 

 

We are proud to announce that special guest and Grendel creator Matt Wagner will be heading up the Hero booth, #1341-1343, all day Saturday and Sunday to be on hand for the WORLD PREMIERE of FOUR Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab “GRENDEL” scents! The scents include:

 

 

 

MASTERMIND

 

Based on Hunter Rose, the first of the Grendel legacy, a stylish, best-selling author who leads a double life as a relentless assassin and all-powerful mob overlord.

 

Fragrance notes: An elegant cologne of olibanum, opoponax, leather accord, black amber, bois de jasmine, cade wood, pale balsam, orange blossom, oudh, black plum, bourbon vanilla, and sandalwood.

 

AVENGER

 

Based on Christine Spar, a fashionable and fiery journalist who adopts the Grendel persona to avenge the death of her only child and is consumed by the dark identity.

 

Fragrance notes: Plush vanilla bourbon and rum accord with pink pepper, patchouli, clove, pikaki, golden amber, caraway, tuberose, and jacarandá-da-bahia.

 

EXORCIST

 

Based on Brian Li Sung, Christine’s lover who, in the aftermath of her violent death, becomes haunted and possessed by what he sees as the “entity” of Grendel.

 

Fragrance notes: A refined lilac fougère with frankincense, labdanum, styrax, and dark musk.

 

HARLEQUIN

 

Based on Eppy Thatcher, a futuristic, gothic harlequin, addicted to a heinous hallucinogen with the street name “Grendel,” who leads chaotic attacks against the corrupt Catholic Church.

 

Fragrance notes: Psychotomimetic: pink grapefruit, white honey, orange blossom, saffron, champagne grape, elemi, guaiac, blonde tobacco, and olibanum.

 

 

 

Each 5 ml bottle is $26, with proceeds benefitting Hero Initiative. Try ’em all!

 

 

 

The Grendel scents will be going live concurrently at the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab site.

 

 

 

Matt’s fans can also pick up a copy of the Wagner-covered Hero Comics, regularly $4, now only $2 at the con, and get it signed by Matt himself!

 

And BPAL fans can also pick up on the very few “The Unknown” book/scent combos left. Fewer than 20 combos are left, which consist of a hardcover edition of The Unknown with an original bookplate illustrated by artist Minck Oosterveer and signed by Oosterveer and Mark Waid, AND a 5 ml bottle of Cat Allingham from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. the fragrance features distilled shadows, a bleak desert landscape at midnight: Myroswelia balsam, gaïac wood, obsidian musk, green cumin, patchouli, myrrh, Siamese benzoin, frankincense, champaca, and sand.

On Saturday, August 6th, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, in collaboration with Dark Delicacies, presents a signing and screening of The Last Unicorn with acclaimed author Peter S. Beagle.

 

To commemorate this event, we have created an exclusive perfume that will only be available during the signing.

 

TOUCHED TWICE

 

It was long that the unicorn stood by Prince Lír before she touched him with her horn. For all that her quest had ended joyously, there was weariness in the way she held herself, and a sadness in her beauty that Molly had never seen. It suddenly seemed to her that the unicorn’s sorrow was not for Lír but for the lost girl who could not be brought back; for the Lady Amalthea, who might have lived happily ever after with the prince. The unicorn bowed her head, and her horn glanced across Lír’s chin as clumsily as a first kiss.

 

He sat up blinking, smiling at something long ago. “Father,” he said in a quick, wondering voice. “Father, I had a dream.” Then he saw the unicorn, and he rose to his feet as the blood on his face began to shine and move again. He said, “I was dead.”

 

The unicorn touched him a second time, over the heart, letting her horn rest there for a little space. They were both trembling. Prince Lír put his hands out to her like words. She said, “I remember you. I remember.”

 

As delicate as life, as gentle as death, and as powerful as love: sheer, luminescent vanilla musk with frangipani, red sandalwood, frankincense, champaca flower, coconut, rose absolute, white cyclamen, Himalayan mogra, angelica, and white oud.

 

 

 

 

 

The scent will be available both at the event itself and online on our website on August 6th, between the hours of 2pm and 6pm PDT. http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/lastunicorn.html

 

Touched Twice will be available for $26.

 

To celebrate the release of the remastered 25th Anniversary DVD of The

Last Unicorn and the release of Series III of the Last Unicorn fragrance collaboration with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, acclaimed author Peter S. Beagle, fantasist and author of many award-winning works including the Last Unicorn, Tamsin, Two Hearts, and A Fine and Private Place, will be signing at the Sunset Screening Room, followed by a Q&A with Peter S. Beagle, and a private screening of The Last Unicorn. The signing is free and open to the public. Books, dvds, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Last Unicorn scents will be available for purchase.

 

SUNSET SCREENING ROOM

2212 W Magnolia Boulevard

Burbank, CA 91506-1734

 

Signing: August 6th, 2011 from 2 – 3pm

 

Q&A and Screening: August 6th, 2011 at 3:30pm (SOLD OUT)

 

BLACK PHOENIX ALCHEMY LAB

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com

 

BLACK PHOENIX TRADING POST

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com

 

DARK DELICACIES: THE HOME OF HORROR

http://www.darkdel.com/

 

CONLAN PRESS

http://www.conlanpress.com/

Actually if it's got the white prototype label, those are the bottles we send out as Will Call testers, as well as for approval (if it's a scent that needs approval) and occasionally for review purposes. We have also occasionally gifted those bottles to people.

 

They are labeled prototypes because there is always a chance the scent could change, but that's not something that happens often.

 

There have been a few scents, most notably the original versions of the RPG scents, that went out as white label prototypes and did later end up as Trunk Show scents, but that is not the norm. Most of the Trunk Show prototypes have not gotten far enough in the process to be sent out anywhere.

 

If you have a full white label bottle of Libertarian, those scents were imp only gifts, but we did make full 5ml bottles to use as testers, and also gifted those to a few people. That would be exactly the same scent as the Libertarian that was in the imp.

 

Hope that clears up any confusion.

It’s a tag team for free speech when Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and J. Gonzo team up to benefit the CBLDF with an incredible new Luchadore inspired print & fragrance set celebrating the launch of J. Gonzo’s amazing new series La Mano del Destino!

 

 

It’s a battle of titans with the First Amendment at stake! In this corner: La Mano del Destino, fighting for your freedom of speech! His opponent, El Nuevo Puritano, bringing the wicked wrath of moral panic and outrageous censorship into the ring!

 

 

 

EL NUEVO PURITANO

The wicked wrath of moral panic: unmoving, rigid oak, dry leather, tonka, gunpowder tea, and pious olibanum with a core of perverse and furtive vanilla bean, bay leaf, clove bud, and lime.

 

 

 

LA MANO DE DESTINO

Powerful Sumatran patchouli and enigmatic Brazilian copaiba with pao d’arco, cacao absolute, bourbon vanilla, Ceylon cinnamon, and tobacco.

 

 

 

BPAL has created a fragrance for each combatant, available for a donation of $30 each. J. Gonzo’s CBLDF-exclusive print is available for a $20 donation. Sets of all three are available for a $75, and a $100 donation gets you the set with a remarque sketch on your print!

 

 

 

J. Gonzo will also be appearing throughout the show to make sketches to benefit the Fund, and to sign copies of La Mano del Destino, the tale of a once-champion Luchadore who, after being betrayed, agrees to a Faustian bargain in order to exact his revenge. Mesoamerican myth and high-flying, Lucha Libre action converge to tell this story of vengeance and destiny. La Mano del Destino #1 will be available for a $5 donation to CBLDF!

Tickets for the Last Unicorn screening and Q&A with Peter S. Beagle on August 6th are now available.

 

If you would like to attend, please send an email to LastUnicorn@blackphoenixalchemylab.com with the following information:

 

Name

number of tickets requested (maximum of 2)

email address

 

Tickets for the event are limited, so Peter S. Beagle will randomly assign tickets based on emails received between now and 10pm PDT, on Tuesday, July 19th.

 

We will email you on Wednesday, July 20th to confirm your ticket.

 

If you are coming for the screening only, please do not make travel arrangements until your ticket is confirmed.

 

The signing with Peter S. Beagle is open to the public; no ticket required!

 

 

 

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Dark Delicacies

Present

 

PETER S. BEAGLE

Author of THE LAST UNICORN

 

To celebrate the release of the remastered 25th Anniversary DVD of The

Last Unicorn and the release of Series III of the Last Unicorn

fragrance collaboration with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, acclaimed

author Peter S. Beagle, fantasist and author of many award-winning

works including the Last Unicorn, Tamsin, Two Hearts, and A Fine and

Private Place, will be signing at the Sunset Screening Room, followed by a Q&A with Peter S. Beagle, and a private screening of The Last Unicorn.

 

The signing is free and open to the public. Books, dvds, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Last Unicorn scents will be available for purchase.

 

Free tickets to the screening and Q&A will be given out by random drawing via email.

 

Information on how to win these tickets will be released soon.

 

SUNSET SCREENING ROOM

2212 W Magnolia Boulevard

Burbank, CA 91506-1734

 

Signing: August 6th, 2011 from 2 – 3pm

Q&A and Screening: August 6th, 2011 at 3:30pm

 

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has created an exclusive perfume to

commemorate the event that will be available during the signing:

TOUCHED TWICE.

 

Please direct all questions to: lastunicorn@blackphoenixalchemylab.com

 

BLACK PHOENIX ALCHEMY LAB

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com

 

BLACK PHOENIX TRADING POST

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com

 

DARK DELICACIES: THE HOME OF HORROR

http://www.darkdel.com/

 

CONLAN PRESS

http://www.conlanpress.com/

Berry Moon is live at Alchemy Lab and Trading Post!

 

BERRY MOON

In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender limbs.

– Henry David Thoreau

 

A sensuous, deep berry bouquet: blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries with Morello cherries, apricots, and strawberries, swirled in heady red musk and brandy.

 

Berry Moon art by Manda Lander!

 

 

 

 

We are also thrilled to introduce a Salon limited-run miniseries inspired by the works of Gustav Klimt. Happy birthday, Gustav! Proceeds from every sale of Donna Con Ventaglio, Pallas Athene, Hygeia, and Tree of Life benefit RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. Donna Con Ventaglio, Pallas Athene, Hygeia, and Tree of Life will be live until 13 October 2011.

 

DONNA CON VENTAGLIO

A white chypre with bergamot, rose otto, ylang ylang, tonka absolute, lotus root, blood orange, white fig, rock rose, mate, and violet leaf.

 

HYGEIA

Red musk and red amber, sweet incense, Mysore sandalwood, tobacco absolute, golden musk, orris root, frankincense, and helichrysum.

 

PALLAS ATHENE

Antiqued amber, cumin, saffron, frankincense, Atlas cedar, myrrh, mandarin, Ceylon cinnamon bark, and osmanthus.

 

TREE OF LIFE

Ash bark, Kashmir wood, tonka bean, clary sage, Spanish moss, cocoa absolute, King mandarin, galangal root, and matcha tea.

GA Will Call will be at Whole Foods Market, aka Harry’s Farmer’s Market, in Roswell, GA, on Sunday, July 31st from 6 to 8 pm, inside Salud (which is inside the store.)

 

Whole Foods Market

 

1180 Upper Hembree Road,

 

Roswell, GA, 30076.

 

Whole Foods accepts Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express and cash. They will not be able to accept any preorders.

 

 

 

Sadly, The Zorya and three other scents will be discontinued when the lunacy goes dark on July 18th:

 

Utrennyaya

Vechernyaya

Ephemera

The Hesperides

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

 

Orders placed up until that time will still be filled.

 

 

 

West Coast Will Call at

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Ave

Burbank, CA 91505

Friday, July 15th, 7:00 to 10:00pm

 

Seattle Will Call at

knows perfume

4536 California Ave SW

Seattle, WA 98116

Saturday, July 16th, 6 to 9pm

 

New England Will Call at

Healthy Living Market (inside the Learning Center)

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403

Sunday, July 17th, 5 to 8pm

 

Georgia Will Call at

Whole Foods aka Harry’s Farmers Market (inside Salud)

1180 Upper Hembree Road,

Roswell, GA, 30076

Sunday, July 31st, 6 to 8pm

The west coast will call event will be held on Friday, July15th from 7 to 10pm at Dark Delicacies.

 

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Blvd

(1 block east of Hollywood Way)

Burbank, CA 91505

___

 

Seattle Will Call will be held on Saturday, July 16th from 6 to 9 pm at Knows Perfume.

 

knows perfume

4536 California Ave., SW

Seattle, WA 98116

(206) 397-3141

—

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, July 17th from 5 to 8pm, in the Learning Center.

 

Healthy Living Market

 

222 Dorset Street,

 

South Burlington, VT, 05403

 

___

 

GA Will Call is still TBD. We will update the information as soon as we receive it.

 

—

 

The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including Hungry Ghost Moon update. Forum only scents will not be available at Will Call.

 

We will no longer be accepting preorders at West Coast Will Call, with the exception of orders for Twilight Alchemy Lab oils. We will do our best to accommodate all orders, but sales will be based on availability. At this time, Twilight Alchemy Lab oils will only be available at Dark Delicacies via preorder. Items from Black Phoenix Trading Post will be available at Dark Delicacies, subject to stock on hand.

 

If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

 

Where/When:

 

West Coast Will Call at

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Ave

Burbank, CA 91505

Friday, July 15th, 7:00 to 10:00pm

 

Seattle Will Call at

knows perfume

4536 California Ave SW

Seattle, WA 98116

Saturday, July 16th, 6 to 9pm

 

New England Will Call at

Healthy Living Market (inside the Learning Center)

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403

Sunday, July 17th, 5 to 8pm

 

Georgia Will Call at

Whole Foods aka Harry’s Farmers Market (inside Salud)

1180 Upper Hembree Road,

Roswell, GA, 30076

TBD

THALASSA, THE GALAPAGOS MERMAID has gone into early retirement. We may not have enough stock to fill exisiting orders; we will contact you if your order cannot be filled.

 

The rest of Carnaval Diabolique will go dark in about 4 hours.