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The Falling Leaf Moon tee is live at BPTP! The tee will be live until 9 September 2009!

Happy birthday to Miss Lilith Victoria and her beloved Uncle Brian! Neil Gaiman's 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot is live on BPAL & BPTP! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is proud to present a 15-month scent and art series based on Neil Gaiman's short story, "15 Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot." Each package comes with a 5ml bottle of perfume inspired by the tale and a corresponding tarot card, created by Madame Talbot. The Fool's perfume: apple blossom, peppermint, allspice, and yellow sandalwood speckled with grave loam and clods of grave dirt. The Fool premiered at San Diego Comic Con 2009 through the CBLDF, along with a Limited Edition variant of the Fool, created by Alicia Dabney. The Fool is going live online with this September update. A new set will be added to the collection each month, spanning 15 months. T-shirts featuring Madame Talbot's artwork are available through Black Phoenix Trading Post. The Fool tee will begin to ship on September 14, 2009. We chose to utilize tees that have been put through the burnout process in order to mimic parchment. It is an extensive and expensive process, and along with the 2-sided print, it makes for a higher price point. The fabric is weathered and has been washed over and over again. It looks deliberately vintage, and has a comfy, well-loved feel to it. The fabric is garment dyed 50% cotton and 50% polyester, and was made in the good ol' US of A. Due to the burnout process, no two tees are exactly the same. We tested the burnouts for two years prior to offering them. The tees we tested withstood innumerable washings over the years, in addition to the abuse of being worn by Ted while he plays hockey (yowch!), and they just keep getting softer and more comfortable over time. (No, we are not selling tees that Ted has worn during hockey. That would be a biohazard.) The fit of the tees, both babydoll and standard crew, are slightly smaller than the usual Black Phoenix Trading Post tees. Please refer to the size chart on the Trading Post site for more information. The babydolls are crews, have a "boyfriend" fit, and were created to hang gently on the body and slide across your figure; they are not skin-tight. Black ink on grey-brown parchment fabric. The oil and tarot card set is $30, and the tee is $45. This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single set and tee go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve the First Amendment rights of the comic community. Also new this month! The Hellboy series is live! So much thanks to Mike and Christine Mignola for their support and friendship, and for the opportunity to interpret the world of Hellboy through scent! HELLBOY Aftershave, candy wrappers, brimstone, and cat. TREVOR BRUTTENHELM A classic men's cologne mixed with the scent of old, yellowed books, a splash of bay rum, and summoning incense. KROENEN Shining black leather, gleaming metal, labdanum, and myrrh. LIZ A light, feminine vanilla floral perfume and a swirl of smoke and leather. PLAGUE OF FROGS Rubbery, wet, and warty. ABE SAPIEN A soft aquatic musk with kelp and juniper. The Hellboy scents are $25 each! Also new this month - scents inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations for Tales of Death & Dementia! These scents debuted at the Tales of Death & Dementia Launch Party at Dark Delicacies, and will be carried here and on the Mad Creator website. To Commemorate the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe, Gris Grimly fully illustrated four of Poe's short stories, the Tell-Tale Heart, the System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether, the Oblong Box, and the Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. We are thrilled beyond belief to have the opportunity to translate a few of Gris' illustrations into merrily macabre complimentary scents! A FIT OF ARTISTIC ENTHUSIASM Inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations for the Oblong Box. Electric jolts of mania: a salt-crusted coffin bobbing through tumultuous ocean waves. DETESTABLE PUTRESCENCE Inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations for the Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. Melty vanilla ice cream! HIDEOUS HEART Inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations for the Tell-Tale Heart. A macabre Valentine: wild black cherries, licorice root, and cinnamon. SOOTHING SYSTEM Inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations for the System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether. A lunatic's vintage cabernet. These scents are $20 each! And let's not forget this month's Lunacy… FALLING LEAF MOON My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane. The first autumn rains dripping onto fallen leaves against a backdrop of opoponax, labdanum, patchouli, agarwood, and oakmoss. Unfortunately, our illustrator is running a little late, so we're not able to post the Lunacy tee for another day or two. We're truly sorry for the delay, and will be extending the ordering time on the tee. It has been a very strange year. There's been a little revamping and clean-upping happening on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab web site! A million thanks to our lovemuffin, Alicia Dabney, for the new menu bar art on the main site, and for the artwork featured on the new Neil Gaiman menu page! We do have a bit of bad news: Bat-woman has been discontinued due to component issues. We apologize sincerely for the lack of warning; it hit us suddenly. The price for the Salon series 1 imp packs has been adjusted to reflect this change, as well. There's a whole lot new at Black Phoenix Trading Post, too - Two new Atmosphere sprays! EREBOS Thus saying, from her side the fatal Key, Sad instrument of all our woe, she took; And towards the Gate rouling her bestial train, Forthwith the huge Porcullis high up drew, Which but her self not all the STYGIAN powers Could once have mov'd; then in the key-hole turns Th' intricate wards, and every Bolt and Bar Of massie Iron or sollid Rock with ease Unfast'ns: on a sudden op'n flie With impetuous recoile and jarring sound Th' infernal dores, and on thir hinges great Harsh Thunder, that the lowest bottom shook Of EREBUS. She op'nd, but to shut Excel'd her power; the Gates wide op'n stood, That with extended wings a Bannerd Host Under spread Ensigns marching might pass through With Horse and Chariots rankt in loose array; So wide they stood, and like a Furnace mouth Cast forth redounding smoak and ruddy flame. Before thir eyes in sudden view appear The secrets of the hoarie deep, a dark Illimitable Ocean without bound, Without dimension, where length, breadth, and highth, And time and place are lost; where eldest Night And CHAOS, Ancestors of Nature, hold Eternal ANARCHIE, amidst the noise Of endless warrs and by confusion stand. Solace in darkness, the personification of shadow: lavender, black vanilla, white melon, night-blooming jasmine, rose, cedar, cyclamen, violet, and hyacinth. THE FAINTING ROOM Lush velvet cushions and prim tea rose, a splash of rose water on a lace doily, strong black tea, a whiff of pomander, and an orris root sachet. Also new to the Post! - the SKELETON LIBRARIAN PLAQUES! The Skeleton Librarian Plaques are here! Inspired by the Skeleton Librarian t-shirt, this plaque is based on artwork created for Black Phoenix Trading Post by Kali of Johnny Ace Studios! Hand cast and hand painted, these plaques come in two styles: cold cast bronze and cold cast resin with a bone finish. These plaques aren't simply decorative: they hold eight bottles for display. Due to the handcrafted nature of these plaques, no two are exactly the same! Dimensions are 15"x9.5" This is a limited stock item: there are seventy-five bone plaques, and twenty-five bronze plaques. Once they're gone, they're gone. Suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Please note: the cold cast bronze plaque will patina over time. The Post is also thrilled to offer some Halloween treats! The Wanton Voluptuousness series - At Black Phoenix, we have a real thing for Lucy. This collection contains a bath oil, Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses, which is innocent sensuality and sweetness personified. There are two room sprays: Lucy's Boudoir, which embodies Lucy's youth, beauty, and coquettish innocence, and another, Lucy's Darkness, that is the scent wafting through her room during her room during her final days among the living. They can be used alone, or the latter can be sprayed to corrupt the former. Lucy, Kissed is a perfume illustrating the scent of her undeath. $29 per 8oz Bath Oil $25 per 4oz Room Spray $17.50 per 5ml Perfume Oil No squirts or samples are available for this series. OCEANS OF LOVE AND MILLIONS OF KISSES BATH OIL Why can't they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble? Orange blossom and honey. LUCY'S BOUDOIR ATMOSPHERE SPRAY Rose water and lavender with stargazer lily, white carnation, bois de rose, white iris, violet, and honey. LUCY IN DARKNESS ATMOSPHERE SPRAY And then insensibly there came the strange change which I had noticed in the night. Her breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, and the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than ever. In a sort of sleep-waking, vague, unconscious way she opened her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said in a soft, voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips, "Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me!" Denn die Todten reiten Schnell. Black opium poppy, laudanum, blood, and a chaplet of garlic flowers. LUCY, KISSED PERFUME OIL There was a long spell of silence, big, aching, void, and then from the Professor a keen "S-s-s-s!" He pointed, and far down the avenue of yews we saw a white figure advance, a dim white figure, which held something dark at its breast. The figure stopped, and at the moment a ray of moonlight fell upon the masses of driving clouds, and showed in startling prominence a dark-haired woman, dressed in the cerements of the grave. We could not see the face, for it was bent down over what we saw to be a fair-haired child. There was a pause and a sharp little cry, such as a child gives in sleep, or a dog as it lies before the fire and dreams. We were starting forward, but the Professor's warning hand, seen by us as he stood behind a yew tree, kept us back. And then as we looked the white figure moved forwards again. It was now near enough for us to see clearly, and the moonlight still held. My own heart grew cold as ice, and I could hear the gasp of Arthur, as we recognized the features of Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed. The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness. Van Helsing stepped out, and obedient to his gesture, we all advanced too. The four of us ranged in a line before the door of the tomb. Van Helsing raised his lantern and drew the slide. By the concentrated light that fell on Lucy's face we could see that the lips were crimson with fresh blood, and that the stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death-robe. Diabolical voluptuousness, a siren song from the grave: juniper and yew brushing against blackened violets and funeral roses, red musk and hot blood, veined white marble and icy, brittle musk, all pulsing with the sinister, hypnotic scent of patchouli, amber, oude, and cubeb. (Many thanks to Aunt Beastie for inspiring the perfume's name! You were born to be an undead seductress, woman!) There are also some traditional Halloween offerings! - PUMPKIN PIE BATH OIL Devilishly decadent and a little bit ridiculous! BARMBRACK ATMOSPHERE SPRAY An Irish Halloween tradition! This fruit bread is used as a method of divination: a medallion of the Virgin Mary, a sliver of rag, a pea, a coin, a stick, and a ring are baked into the pastry. On Halloween night, it is cut up and served to the household. If you received the stick, you would spend the next year in conflict… if you received the medallion, you would be called to the priesthood… if you received the rag, you would be plagued with misfortune… if you received the ring, you would be married within the year… if you received the pea, you would not marry within the year… Each bottle of Barmbrack spray comes with a toy coin and a wish for your good fortune in 2010! KNOCK-A-DOLLY Ding Dong Ditch! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Samhain scent with cinnamon sugar and candy dust! Every single order placed with Black Phoenix Trading Post from now til November 2nd will receive an imp of the Last Squished Jelly Bean. And that's that for now!

Due to a slew of unforeseen setbacks in Bethland, the 15 Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot series (on BPAL & BPTP), the Trading Post Halloweenies, and the other August stuffums will be delayed a week, and won’t be live until the September Lunacy. Just wanted to keep everyone posted! =)

The Chakras series is being discontinued, and will be leaving the barn on October 6, 2009.

The Sachs and Violens Collection is live! Scents based on the title characters from George Pérez and Peter David's groundbreaking comic book mini-series, 'Sachs and Violens'! Part of Marvel's Heavy Hitters line, "Sachs and Violens" was a 4 issue comic book miniseries written by Peter David with art by George Pérez. The series was published by Marvel's Epic Comics imprint from 1993 to 1994. George Pérez is one of the most popular and influential comic book artists currently working. He is best known for his work on Crisis on Infinite Earths, New Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, Superman, and the Avengers, and has most recently worked on DC's Final Crisis. Peter David is an Eisner Award-winning Writer of Stuff, including epic runs with the Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk, Aquaman, and Spider Man. Proceeds from every bottle sold go to the Hero Initiative, the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers including Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Wizard Entertainment, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501©(3) charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance. SACHS A sensual scent, compelling and passionate, that stays close to the skin: Roman chamomile, bourbon vanilla, and smoky vanilla bean. VIOLENS Rugged and understated: five sandalwoods, dusty leather, and light musk. Help a truly worthy cause, and smell like a badass in the process! The Hero Initiative: because everyone deserves a Golden Age.

Black Butterfly Moon is live at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab & Black Phoenix Trading Post! BLACK BUTTERFLY MOON Sister of the first-born light, Type of sorrowing gentleness! Quivering mists in silv'ry dress Float around thy features bright; When thy gentle foot is heard, From the day-closed caverns then Wake the mournful ghosts of men, I, too, wake, and each night-bird. O'er a field of boundless span Looks thy gaze both far and wide. Raise me upwards to thy side! Grant this to a raving man! And to heights of rapture raised, Let the knight so crafty peep At his maiden while asleep, Through her lattice-window glazed. Soon the bliss of this sweet view, Pangs by distance caused allays; And I gather all thy rays, And my look I sharpen too. Round her unveil'd limbs I see Brighter still become the glow, And she draws me down below, As Endymion once drew thee. Soft, deep, and luminous: Lady of the Night orchid, benzoin, opopponax, currant, black chypre, white gardenia, ambergris, damp, wooded mosses, and black lily. Black Phoenix Trading Post's Black Butterfly tee! Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! One flat grey, one shimmer grey, two-sided tee. Good news! The WQ bath oils are back in production, and we will be able to resume shipping this week! The bottleneck is unbottled! BPTP's seasonal update is coming soon! BPAL also has a selection of late summer scents in the LE section: THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER 'Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone; No flower of her kindred, No rosebud is nigh, To reflect back her blushes, To give sigh for sigh. I'll not leave thee, thou lone one! To pine on the stem; Since the lovely are sleeping, Go, sleep thou with them. Thus kindly I scatter, Thy leaves o'er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden Lie scentless and dead. So soon may I follow, When friendships decay, From Love's shining circle The gems drop away. When true hearts lie withered And fond ones are flown, Oh! who would inhabit, This bleak world alone? A quiet, solitary scent: white rose, frankincense, Arabian sandalwood, neroli, orris root, and patchouli. SHADOWLESS LIKE SILENCE I saw old Autumn in the misty morn Stand shadowless like Silence, listening To silence, for no lonely bird would sing Into his hollow ear from woods forlorn, Nor lowly hedge nor solitary thorn;-- Shaking his languid locks all dewy bright With tangled gossamer that fell by night, Pearling his coronet of golden corn. Where are the songs of Summer?--With the sun, Oping the dusky eyelids of the south, Till shade and silence waken up as one, And Morning sings with a warm odorous mouth. Where are the merry birds?--Away, away, On panting wings through the inclement skies, Lest owls should prey Undazzled at noonday, And tear with horny beak their lustrous eyes. Where are the blooms of Summer?--In the west, Blushing their last to the last sunny hours, When the mild Eve by sudden Night is prest Like tearful Proserpine, snatch'd from her flow'rs To a most gloomy breast. Where is the pride of Summer,--the green prime,-- The many, many leaves all twinkling?--Three On the moss'd elm; three on the naked lime Trembling,--and one upon the old oak-tree! Where is the Dryad's immortality?-- Gone into mournful cypress and dark yew, Or wearing the long gloomy Winter through In the smooth holly's green eternity. The squirrel gloats on his accomplish'd hoard, The ants have brimm'd their garners with ripe grain, And honey bees have stored The sweets of Summer in their luscious cells; The swallows all have wing'd across the main; But here the Autumn melancholy dwells, And sighs her tearful spells Amongst the sunless shadows of the plain. Alone, alone, Upon a mossy stone, She sits and reckons up the dead and gone With the last leaves for a love-rosary, Whilst all the wither'd world looks drearily, Like a dim picture of the drowned past In the hush'd mind's mysterious far away, Doubtful what ghostly thing will steal the last Into that distance, gray upon the gray. O go and sit with her, and be o'ershaded Under the languid downfall of her hair: She wears a coronal of flowers faded Upon her forehead, and a face of care;-- There is enough of wither'd everywhere To make her bower,--and enough of gloom; There is enough of sadness to invite, If only for the rose that died, whose doom Is Beauty's,--she that with the living bloom Of conscious cheeks most beautifies the light: There is enough of sorrowing, and quite Enough of bitter fruits the earth doth bear,-- Enough of chilly droppings for her bowl; Enough of fear and shadowy despair, To frame her cloudy prison for the soul! Dry leaves and white sandalwood, rock moss, cypress, and dry, lifeless roses. SUMMER'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT What pleasure always lasts? No joy endures: Summer I was, I am not as I was; Harvest and age have whitened my green head; On Autumn now and Winter must I lean. Needs must he fall, whom none but foes uphold. Thus must the happiest man have his black day: Omnibus una manet nox, & calcanda semel via lethi. This month have I lain languishing abed, ... Looking each hour to yield my life and throne; And died I had indeed unto the earth, But that Eliza, England's beauteous Queen, On whom all seasons prosperously attend, Forbad the execution of my fate, Until her joyful progress was expired. For her doth Summer live, and linger here, And wisheth long to live to her content; But wishes are not had when they wish well. I must depart, my death-day is set down; ... To these two must I leave my wheaten crown. So unto unthrifts rich men leave their lands, Who in an hour consume long labor's gains. Doomed summer, supported on the shoulders of winter and autumn: citrus-infused Baltic amber, red valerian, marigold, blood orange, and sunflower subdued by somber myrrh and dry geranium alongside the leaves of autumn and a breath of winter wind. UNDER THE HARVEST MOON Under the harvest moon, When the soft silver Drips shimmering Over the garden nights, Death, the gray mocker, Comes and whispers to you As a beautiful friend Who remembers. Under the summer roses When the flagrant crimson Lurks in the dusk Of the wild red leaves, Love, with little hands, Comes and touches you With a thousand memories, And asks you Beautiful, unanswerable questions. Blue and white musk, summer roses, wild crimson leaves, grey amber, carnation, lavender bud, and vanilla bean. Its August… and you know what that means at BPAL - ++ HALLOWEENIES BITE ME Well, we *are* doing a vampire update finally. Croquembouche with almond silk and a drizzle of caramel. BOO Eerie billows of spun sugar, fluttering white cotton, and sheets of cream. CARLIN The Spirit of the Eve of Samhain, an aspect of Cailleach, the Divine Hag, in her Destroyer aspect. While Brìghde rules the time between Beltane and Sahmain, Cailleach rules the Dark of the Year. On the night of Samhain, she transforms into Carlin, harbingering the death of the land and the onset of the snows. On Beltane, the Great Crone is slain by Brìghde so springtime can reinvigorate the land. Black sage, ivy-twined rowan, thistle, snapdragon, heather, gorse, fumitory, and anise. CREEPY 2009 A return of 2006's Ridiculous Scent! As creepy as Spooky was spooky, this is the scent of butterscotch-kissed, caramel-smothered red apples spiked with a blast of coconut rum. DEVIL'S NIGHT 2009 Devil's Eve, Devil's Night, Gate Night, Trick Night, Mischief Night; whatever your name for it might be, the chaos is still the same. Contrary to popular belief, this festival of pandemonium isn't unique to Detroit. Falling on October 30th, it is an evening of mayhem and destruction. On the gentler side, it may be celebrated by practical jokes, an egging, Ding-Dong-Ditch, or enthusiastic TP'ing of your most hated neighbor's trees, and on the more violent side, arson and vandalism. This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 2009 A joyous celebration of La Catarina, La Flaca, La Muerte... Glorious, Beautiful Death. In Mexico, death is not something to be feared or hated; She is embraced, loved, and adored. La Muerte is fêted, as the celebrant "...chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love." This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. FEEDING THE DEAD A barrel of beer, a pyramid of cakes, and three sticks of incense. THE HELL-GATE OF IRELAND The Cave of Cruachan in Connaught, a province that was given to the Formorians after the Battle of Mag Tuired. On the first of November, a flock of malevolent copper-colored birds bursts forth from the mouth of the cave, ushering a host of restless ghosts and wicked goblins that torment the living by blighting crops, killing livestock, stealing away brides-to-be, and replacing infants with changelings. Smoldering brimstone, bitter labdanum, clove, black musk, and copper-colored feathers. LAMBS-WOOL According to William Shepard Walsh, the Gentleman's Magazine for May of 1784 stated, "this is a constant ingredient at merrymaking on Holy Eve." He also quotes Vallancey's etymological speculation: "The first day of November was dedicated to the angel presiding over fruits, seeds, etc., and was therefore named La Mas Ubhal, -- that is, the day of the apple fruit, -- and being pronounced Lamasool, the English have corrupted the name to Lambs-wool." A popular holy day beverage in 18th century Ireland: roasted apples mashed into warmed milk and ale, with nutmeg, sugar, ginger, and clove. POMONA I am the ancient apple-queen. As once I was so am I now -- For evermore a hope unseen Betwixt the blossom and the bough. Ah, where's the river's hidden gold! And where's the windy grave of Troy? Yet come I as I came of old, From out the heart of summer's joy. The Roman festival for Pomona, Goddess of fruit, orchards, and gardens, was celebrated on November 1. On this day, the stores amassed during summer were opened for winter. Azaroles, nuts, and apple blossoms with red apple pulp, mulberry, blackberry, and pomegranate juice. SAMHAIN 2009 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. SUCK IT A companion to Bite Me. Layers well with Lick It. Hee! Sexy and suckable: black cherry brandy. TRICK OR TREAT 2009 The sticky sweet scent of candy corn! Even cornier for 2009! - cuz corny is how we roll at BPAL. (Sorry to be a spoilsport, but please don't suck Suck Me or bite Bite Me. Don't lick them, drink them, or put them where your bathing suit covers.) And the Pumpkin Patch is back! -- ++ HALLOWEENIE: PUMPKIN PATCH 2009 The 'Patch is back, and there are five new pumpkin blends to choose from. Pick individual pumpkins from the field, or snatch up the whole shebang! Pumpkin Patch I Pumpkin, almond, brown musk, and honey. Pumpkin Patch II Pumpkin, rosewood, red sandalwood, and tea rose. Pumpkin Patch III Pumpkin, fir needle, pitch, rosemary, and tomato. Pumpkin Patch IV Pumpkin, black musk, tobacco, myrrh, and clove. Pumpkin Patch V Pumpkin, chocolate, coffee bean, vanilla bean, and hazelnut. PUMPKIN BOOTY If you purchase Pumpkin Booty, you will receive an imp of Tattie Bogle: a scent created to compliment and complete the collection. TATTIE BOGLE Alane upon the field she stood, The tattie-bogle, tall an' prood. But certie, she wis smairt an' braw, A bonnie lass, tho' made o' straw. Her gowden hair wis made o' oo. Her dentie goon when it wis new Langsyne, hid been the guidwife's best. Sae trigly wis the bogle drest! The beasts they cam' frae a' the airts. (The tod ran tours frae furrin' pairts.) They cam' by day, they cam' by nicht, To see a maist byordnar sicht. An' craws an sparras by the score, A wale o' burds, mair nor afore. The fermer roared an' raged aboot. 'A'll cast yon tattie-bogle oot!' Pair tattie-bogle, she wis wae. 'Eh!' said the houlet, 'Whits a dae?' He flew doon frae the elder tree. 'Noo, dry yer e'en an' herk tae me. 'See, lassie, tak ma guid advice. There is nae yiss ye bein' nice. Can ye nae glower an' skreich an' a' Tae sen' thae cooardie burds awa'?' The bogle grat nae mair: instead 'A'm much obleeged tae ye,' she said 'Ma voice is lood - jist like the craik!' 'Then sing,' he said, ' for ony sake!' It chilled the verra bluid tae hear The bogle's sang : frae far an' near The burds rose up, a' frichtit sair An' nivver cam back ony mair. Sae should ye pass at skreich o' day Alang the road frae Auchenblae, An' hear a strange uncanny soun, That scares the burds for miles aroon, A soon like pincils on a sclate, Be on yer way an' dinna wait. Ye can be shair as onything Ye've heard the tattie-bogle sing. Hay, gunpowder, patchouli, autumn herbs, and sun-baked wood. The next part of our Halloween LE update was spoilered a bit by Bite Me and Suck It. Ah, well - ++ THE LITERARY VAMPIRE A cypress-bough, and a rose-wreath sweet A wedding-robe, and a winding-sheet, A bridal-bed and a bier. Thine be the kisses, maid, And smiling Love's alarms; And thou, pale youth, be laid In the grave's cold arms. Each in his own charms, Death and Hymen both are here; So up with scythe and torch, And to the old church porch, While all the bells ring clear: And rosy, rosy the bed shall bloom, And earthy, earthy heap up the tomb. Now tremble dimples on your cheek, Sweet be your lips to taste and speak, For he who kisses is near: By her the bridegod fair, In youthful power and force; By him the grizard bare, Pale knight on a pale horse, To woo him to a corpse. Death and Hymen both are here; So up with scythe and torch, And to the old church porch, While all the bells ring clear: And rosy, rosy the bed shall bloom, And earthy, earthy heap up the tomb. -- Songs from "Death's Jest-Book", Athulf's Death Song, Thomas Lovell Beddoes ARIADNE BRUNNELL (The Vampire Maid, Hume Nisbet) This contact seemed also to have affected her as it did me; a clear flush, like a white flame, lighted up her face, so that it glowed as if an alabaster lamp had been lit; her black eyes became softer and more humid as our glances crossed, and her scarlet lips grew moist. She was a living woman now, while before she had seemed half a corpse. She permitted her white slender hand to remain in mine longer than most people do at an introduction, and then she slowly withdrew it, still regarding me with steadfast eyes for a second or two afterwards. Fathomless velvety eyes these were, yet before they were shifted from mine they appeared to have absorbed all my willpower and made me her abject slave. They looked like deep dark pools of clear water, yet they filled me with fire and deprived me of strength. I sank into my chair almost as languidly as I had risen from my bed that morning. Yet I made a good breakfast, and although she hardly tasted anything, this strange girl rose much refreshed and with a slight glow of colour on her cheeks, which improved her so greatly that she appeared younger and almost beautiful. I had come here seeking solitude, but since I had seen Ariadne it seemed as if I had come for her only. She was not very lively; indeed, thinking back, I cannot recall any spontaneous remark of hers; she answered my questions by monosyllables and left me to lead in words; yet she was insinuating and appeared to lead my thoughts in her direction and speak to me with her eyes. I cannot describe her minutely, I only know that from the first glance and touch she gave me I was bewitched and could think of nothing else. It was a rapid, distracting, and devouring infatuation that possessed me; all day long I followed her about like a dog, every night I dreamed of that white glowing face, those steadfast black eyes, those moist scarlet lips, and each morning I rose more languid than I had been the day before. Sometimes I dreamt that she was kissing me with those red lips, while I shivered at the contact of her silky black tresses as they covered my throat; sometimes that we were floating in the air, her arms about me and her long hair enveloping us both like an inky cloud, while I lay supine and helpless. Poppy flowers, peat, sphagnum moss, gardenia, and white water lily. CLARIMONDE (La Morte Amoureuse, Theophile Gautier) I do not know whether it was an illusion or a reflection of the lamplight, but it seemed to me that the blood was again commencing to circulate under that lifeless pallor, although she remained all motionless. I laid my hand lightly on her arm; it was cold, but not colder than her hand on the day when it touched mine at the portals of the church. I resumed my position, bending my face above her, and bathing her cheeks with the warm dew of my tears. Ah, what bitter feelings of despair and helplessness, what agonies unutterable did I endure in that long watch! Vainly did I wish that I could have gathered all my life into one mass that I might give it all to her, and breathe into her chill remains the flame which devoured me. The night advanced, and feeling the moment of eternal separation approach, I could not deny myself the last sad sweet pleasure of imprinting a kiss upon the dead lips of her who had been my only love. . . . Oh, miracle! A faint breath mingled itself with my breath, and the mouth of Clarimonde responded to the passionate pressure of mine. Her eyes unclosed, and lighted up with something of their former brilliancy; she uttered a long sigh, and uncrossing her arms, passed them around my neck with a look of ineffable delight. "Ah, it is thou, Romuald!" she murmured in a voice languishingly sweet as the last vibrations of a harp. "What ailed thee, dearest? I waited so long for thee that I am dead; but we are now betrothed; I can see thee and visit thee. Adieu, Romuald, adieu! I love thee. That is all I wished to tell thee, and I give thee back the life which thy kiss for a moment recalled. We shall soon meet again." Her head fell back, but her arms yet encircled me, as though to retain me still. A furious whirlwind suddenly burst in the window, and entered the chamber. The last remaining leaf of the white rose for a moment palpitated at the extremity of the stalk like a butterfly's wing, then it detached itself and flew forth through the open casement, bearing with it the soul of Clarimonde. The lamp was extinguished, and I fell insensible upon the bosom of the beautiful dead. Pallid skin musk, white roses, and a languorous vapor of Oriental perfume. CRISTINA (For the Blood is the Life, F. Marion Crawford) He was near the village now; it was half an hour since the sun had set, and the cracked church bell sent little discordant echoes across the rocks and ravines to tell all good people that the day was done. Angelo stood still a moment where the path forked, where it led toward the village on the left, and down to the gorge on the right, where a clump of chestnut trees overhung the narrow way. He stood still a minute, lifting his battered hat from his head and gazing at the fast-fading sea westward, and his lips moved as he silently repeated the familiar evening prayer. His lips moved, but the words that followed them in his brain lost their meaning and turned into others, and ended in a name that he spoke aloud -- Cristina! With the name, the tension of his will relaxed suddenly, reality went out and the dream took him again, and bore him on swiftly and surely like a man walking in his sleep, down, down, by the steep path in the gathering darkness. And as she glided beside him, Cristina whispered strange, sweet things in his ear, which somehow, if he had been awake, he knew that he could not quite have understood; but now they were the most wonderful words he had ever heard in his life. And she kissed him also, but not upon his mouth. He felt her sharp kisses upon his white throat, and he knew that her lips were red. So the wild dream sped on through twilight and darkness and moonrise, and all the glory of the summer's night. But in the chilly dawn he lay as one half dead upon the mound down there, recalling and not recalling, drained of his blood, yet strangely longing to give those red lips more. Then came the fear, the awful nameless panic, the mortal horror that guards the confines of the world we see not, neither know of as we know of other things, but which we feel when its icy chill freezes our bones and stirs our hair with the touch of a ghostly hand. Once more Angelo sprang from the mound and fled up the gorge in the breaking day, but his step was less sure this time, and he panted for breath as he ran; and when he came to the bright spring of water that rises half way up the hillside, he dropped upon his knees and hands and plunged his whole face in and drank as he had never drunk before -- for it was the thirst of the wounded man who has lain bleeding all night upon the battle-field. She had him fast now, and he could not escape her, but would come to her every evening at dusk until she had drained him of his last drop of blood. It was in vain that when the day was done he tried to take another turning and to go home by a path that did not lead near the gorge. It was in vain that he made promises to himself each morning at dawn when he climbed the lonely way up from the shore to the village. It was all in vain, for when the sun sank burning into the sea, and the coolness of the evening stole out as from a hiding-place to delight the weary world, his feet turned toward the old way, and she was waiting for him in the shadow under the chestnut trees; and then all happened as before, and she fell to kissing his white throat even as she flitted lightly down the way, winding one arm about him. Chestnut trees, juniper berries, violet leaf, labdanum, dazzling, moonlit white musk, and night-blooming summer flowers. COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ (Dracula's Guest, the omitted introduction to Bram Stoker's Dracula) Now and again, through the black mass of drifting cloud, came a straggling ray of moonlight, which lit up the expanse, and showed me that I was at the edge of a dense mass of cypress and yew trees. As the snow had ceased to fall, I walked out from the shelter and began to investigate more closely. It appeared to me that, amongst so many old foundations as I had passed, there might be still standing a house in which, though in ruins, I could find some sort of shelter for a while. As I skirted the edge of the copse, I found that a low wall encircled it, and following this I presently found an opening. Here the cypresses formed an alley leading up to a square mass of some kind of building. Just as I caught sight of this, however, the drifting clouds obscured the moon, and I passed up the path in darkness. The wind must have grown colder, for I felt myself shiver as I walked; but there was hope of shelter, and I groped my way blindly on. I stopped, for there was a sudden stillness. The storm had passed; and, perhaps in sympathy with nature's silence, my heart seemed to cease to beat. But this was only momentarily; for suddenly the moonlight broke through the clouds, showing me that I was in a graveyard, and that the square object before me was a great massive tomb of marble, as white as the snow that lay on and all around it. With the moonlight there came a fierce sigh of the storm, which appeared to resume its course with a long, low howl, as of many dogs or wolves. I was awed and shocked, and felt the cold perceptibly grow upon me till it seemed to grip me by the heart. Then while the flood of moonlight still fell on the marble tomb, the storm gave further evidence of renewing, as though it was returning on its track. Impelled by some sort of fascination, I approached the sepulchre to see what it was, and why such a thing stood alone in such a place. I walked around it, and read, over the Doric door, in German: COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ IN STYRIA SOUGHT AND FOUND DEATH 1801 On the top of the tomb, seemingly driven through the solid marble-for the structure was composed of a few vast blocks of stone-was a great iron spike or stake. On going to the back I saw, graven in great Russian letters: 'The dead travel fast.' There was something so weird and uncanny about the whole thing that it gave me a turn and made me feel quite faint. I began to wish, for the first time, that I had taken Johann's advice. Here a thought struck me, which came under almost mysterious circumstances and with a terrible shock. This was Walpurgis Night! Walpurgis Night, when, according to the belief of millions of people, the devil was abroad-when the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. When all evil things of earth and air and water held revel. This very place the driver had specially shunned. This was the depopulated village of centuries ago. This was where the suicide lay; and this was the place where I was alone-unmanned, shivering with cold in a shroud of snow with a wild storm gathering again upon me! It took all my philosophy, all the religion I had been taught, all my courage, not to collapse in a paroxysm of fright. And now a perfect tornado burst upon me. The ground shook as though thousands of horses thundered across it; and this time the storm bore on its icy wings, not snow, but great hailstones which drove with such violence that they might have come from the thongs of Balearic slingers-hailstones that beat down leaf and branch and made the shelter of the cypresses of no more avail than though their stems were standing-corn. At the first I had rushed to the nearest tree; but I was soon fain to leave it and seek the only spot that seemed to afford refuge, the deep Doric doorway of the marble tomb. There, crouching against the massive bronze door, I gained a certain amount of protection from the beating of the hailstones, for now they only drove against me as they ricocheted from the ground and the side of the marble. As I leaned against the door, it moved slightly and opened inwards. The shelter of even a tomb was welcome in that pitiless tempest, and I was about to enter it when there came a flash of forked-lightning that lit up the whole expanse of the heavens. In the instant, as I am a living man, I saw, as my eyes were turned into the darkness of the tomb, a beautiful woman, with rounded cheeks and red lips, seemingly sleeping on a bier. As the thunder broke overhead, I was grasped as by the hand of a giant and hurled out into the storm. The whole thing was so sudden that, before I could realise the shock, moral as well as physical, I found the hailstones beating me down. At the same time I had a strange, dominating feeling that I was not alone. I looked towards the tomb. Just then there came another blinding flash, which seemed to strike the iron stake that surmounted the tomb and to pour through to the earth, blasting and crumbling the marble, as in a burst of flame. The dead woman rose for a moment of agony, while she was lapped in the flame, and her bitter scream of pain was drowned in the thundercrash. The last thing I heard was this mingling of dreadful sound, as again I was seized in the giant-grasp and dragged away, while the hailstones beat on me, and the air around seemed reverberant with the howling of wolves. The last sight that I remembered was a vague, white, moving mass, as if all the graves around me had sent out the phantoms of their sheeted-dead, and that they were closing in on me through the white cloudiness of the driving hail. Hailstone-pounded cypress boughs, olibanum, and an ozone blast of lightning. THE GIRL (The Singular Death of Morton, Algernon Blackwood) Then, suddenly, as they had turned to go, after much vain shouting and knocking at the door, a face appeared for an instant at a window, the shutter of which was half open. His friend saw it first, and called aloud. The face nodded in reply, and presently a young girl came round the corner of the house, apparently by a back door, and stood staring at them both from a little distance. And from that very instant, so far as he could remember, these queer feelings had entered his heart-fear, distrust, misgiving. The thought of it now, as he lay in bed in the darkness, made his hair rise. There was something about that girl that struck cold into the soul. Yet she was a mere slip of a thing, very pretty, seductive even, with a certain serpent?like fascination about her eyes and movements; and although she only replied to their questions as to refreshment with a smile, uttering no single word, she managed to convey the impression that she was a managing little person who might make herself very disagreeable if she chose. In spite of her undeniable charm there was about her an atmosphere of something sinister. He himself did most of the questioning, but it was his older friend who had the benefit of her smile. Her eyes hardly ever left his face, and once she had slipped quite close to him and touched his arm. The strange part of it now seemed to him that he could not remember in the least how she was dressed, or what was the colouring of her eyes and hair. It was almost as though he had felt, rather than seen, her presence. A seductive, serpentine white scent, elusive, crystalline, and spellbinding: white amber, silver birch, immortelle, davana, pale musk, star jasmine, and ylang ylang. MIRCALLA, COUNTESS KARNSTEIN (Carmilla, Sheridan LeFanu) Sometimes after an hour of apathy, my strange and beautiful companion would take my hand and hold it with a fond pressure, renewed again and again; blushing softly, gazing in my face with languid and burning eyes, and breathing so fast that her dress rose and fell with the tumultuous respiration. It was like the ardor of a lover; it embarrassed me; it was hateful and yet over-powering; and with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips traveled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, "You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever." Then she had thrown herself back in her chair, with her small hands over her eyes, leaving me trembling. Languid, melancholy fire: red musk, purple orchid, frankincense, smoky vanilla, Styrian herbs, peru balsam, tonka, Zanzibar clove, and patchouli. LORD RUTHVEN (the Vampyre, John Polidori) It happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant upon London winter, there appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the ton a nobleman more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank. He gazed upon the mirth around him, as if he could not participate therein. Apparently, the light laughter of the fair only attracted his attention, that he might by a look quell it and throw fear into those breasts where thoughtlessness reigned. Those who felt this sensation of awe, could not explain whence it arose: some attributed it to the dead grey eye, which, fixing upon the object's face, did not seem to penetrate, and at one glance to pierce through to the inward workings of the heart; but fell upon the cheek with a leaden ray that weighed upon the skin it could not pass. His peculiarities caused him to be invited to every house; all wished to see him, and those who had been accustomed to violent excitement, and now felt the weight of ennui, were pleased at having something in their presence capable of engaging their attention. In spite of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a wanner tint, either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions, and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection: Lady Mercer, who had been the mockery of every monster shewn in drawing-rooms since her marriage, threw herself in his way, and did all but put on the dress of a mountebank, to attract his notice -- though in vain; -- when she stood before him, though his eyes were apparently fixed upon hers, still it seemed as if they were unperceived; -- even her unappalled impudence was baffled, and she left the field. But though the common adultress could not influence even the guidance of his eyes, it was not that the female sex was indifferent to him: yet such was the apparent caution with which he spoke to the virtuous wife and innocent daughter, that few knewhenever addressed himself to females. He had, however, the reputation of a winning tongue; and whether it was that it even overcame the dread of his singular character, or that they were moved by his apparent hatred of vice, he was as often among those females who form the boast of their sex from their domestic virtues, as among those who sully it by their vices. The father of all dandy aristocrat vampires: Aqua Admirabilis with polished boot leather and blood. SARAH (The Tomb of Sarah, F.G. Loring) By half-past ten we were both getting very tired, and I began to think that perhaps after all we should see nothing that night. However, soon after eleven we observed a light mist rising from the 'Sarah Tomb'. It seemed to scintillate and sparkle as it rose, and curled in a sort of pillar or spiral. I said nothing, but I heard the Rector give a sort of gasp as he clutched my arm feverishly. 'Great Heaven!' he whispered, 'it is taking shape.' And, true enough, in a very few moments we saw standing erect by the tomb the ghastly figure of the Countess Sarah! She looked thin and haggard still, and her face was deadly white; but the crimson lips looked like a hideous gash in the pale cheeks, and her eyes glared like red coals in the gloom of the church. Unholy mist congealing into soft, white flesh, with black marble, remnants of liturgical incense, wolf's fur, and black flecks of froth. JULIA STONE (The Room in the Tower, E.F. Benson.) And then, with a sudden start of unexplained dismay, I saw that there were two rather conspicuous objects which I had not seen before in my dreams: one a life-sized oil painting of Mrs. Stone, the other a black-and-white sketch of Jack Stone, representing him as he had appeared to me only a week before in the last of the series of these repeated dreams, a rather secret and evil-looking man of about thirty. His picture hung between the windows, looking straight across the room to the other portrait, which hung at the side of the bed. At that I looked next, and as I looked I felt once more the horror of nightmare seize me. It represented Mrs. Stone as I had seen her last in my dreams: old and withered and white-haired. But in spite of the evident feebleness of body, a dreadful exuberance and vitality shone through the envelope of flesh, an exuberance wholly malign, a vitality that foamed and frothed with unimaginable evil. Evil beamed from the narrow, leering eyes; it laughed in the demon-like mouth. The whole face was instinct with some secret and appalling mirth; the hands, clasped together on the knee, seemed shaking with suppressed and nameless glee. Then I saw also that it was signed in the left-hand bottom corner, and wondering who the artist could be, I looked more closely, and read the inscription, "Julia Stone by Julia Stone." Rotting once-white fabric, spotted with mold. PERLE VON MAUREN (Revelations in Black by Carl Jacobi) I stumbled forward, my eyes quickly accustoming themselves to the half-light from the almost opaque windows. At the end of the corridor a second door barred my passage. I thrust it open - and stood swaying there on the sill staring inward. Beyond was a small room, barely ten feet square, with a low-raftered ceiling. And by the light of the open door I saw side by side in the center of the floor - two white wood coffins. How long I stood there leaning weakly against the stone wall I don't know. There was an odor drifting from out of that chamber. Heliotrope! But heliotrope defiled by the rotting smell of an ancient grave. Then suddenly I leaped to the nearest coffin, seized its cover and ripped it open. Would to heaven I could forget that sight that met my eyes. There the woman in black - unveiled. That face - it was divinely beautiful, the hair black as sable, the cheeks a classic white. But the lips - ! I grew suddenly sick as I looked upon them. They were scarlet.... and sticky with human blood. Heliotrope, grave soil, and blood. All of our current LE's are $17.50 each, and the Pumpkin Booty set is $85 for all five pumpkins. Black Butterfly Moon will be live until August 9, 2009. The Feast For the Greatly Revered Ones, Labores Solis, Nonae Caprotina, Season of the Inundation, and the Festival of Anuket will be live until 8 August 2009. The Summer Garden series, the Last Rose of Summer, Shadowless Like Silence, Summer's Last Will and Testament, Under the Harvest Moon, and Stinky will be live until 6 September 2009. The Halloweenies and Vampire scents will be live (undead) until November 5, 2009. The Literary Vampire series is available here on the Black Phoenix site, and will also be available through the Dark Delicacies booth at Vampire Con. (Del will also be on the vampire panel on Sunday!) That's all for the moment, ladies and gents! Happy (early!) Halloween!

SUNBIRD IS LIVE! They were all so hungry the following morning. Zebediah T. Crawcrustle had a comedic apron on, with the words KISS THE COOK written upon it in violently green letters. He had already sprinkled the brandy-soaked raisins and grain beneath the stunted avocado tree behind the house, and he was arranging the scented woods, the herbs, and the spices on the bed of charcoal. Mustapha Stroheim and his family had gone to visit relatives on the other side of Cairo. "Does anybody have a match?" Crawcrustle asked. Jackie Newhouse pulled out a Zippo lighter, and passed it to Crawcrustle, who lit the dried cinnamon leaves and dried laurel leaves beneath the charcoal. The smoke drifted up into the noon air. "The cinnamon and sandalwood smoke will bring the Sunbird," said Crawcrustle. "Bring it from where?" asked Augustus TwoFeathers. "Why, where it always is, third lane after the old market in the Suntown district, just before you reach the old drainage ditch that was once an irrigation canal, and if you find yourself outside One-eye Khayam's carpet shop you have gone too far, "began Crawcrustle. "But I see by the expressions of irritation upon your faces that you were expecting a less succinct, less accurate description. Very well. It is in Suntown, and Suntown is in Cairo, in Egypt, where it always is, or almost always." Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is thrilled to present a numbered, limited edition chapbook of Neil Gaiman's acclaimed short story, Sunbird, beautifully illustrated by Julie Dillon. Each package includes a 5ml bottle of perfume, created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, that was inspired by the tale. In Neil's words, "'Sunbird' smells like resin and deserts and the phoenix." This set is a limited run of 1000. 250 were sold by CBLDF at San Diego Comic Con 2009, and the remainder are available through the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab web site. Sunbird will be available on the BPAL site as long as supplies last. A million thanks and all our love to Neil, and to Charles Brownstein and his staff at the CBLDF! This August, we are beginning a series dedicated to Neil Gaiman's 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot. Each month, a new card will be featured on both the Alchemy Lab and Trading Post sites. Debuting in August: the Fool. Both the perfume oil's label and the corresponding tee were illustrated by the phenomenally ghoulish Madame Talbot. Each scent is a combination of notes inspired by Neil's story and the symbolically correct oils for the card. The Vampire Tarot series made an advance appearance at San Diego Comic Con. Madam Talbot's Fool was joined by a variant set created by our beloved friend, Alicia Dabney. Please keep an eye on the CBLDF's web site for release information on the remaining A. Dabney sets. Sunbird and the 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot are charitable, not-for-profit ventures: proceeds from every single product go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve and protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community. Also upcoming this August - The Death & Dementia Launch Party Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe! Please join Gris Grimly & Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab at Dark Delicacies Sunday, August 23 2009 from 2-4pm Featuring the premiere of… + Gris Grimly's new book Tales of Death and Dementia + Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's new line of scents inspired by Gris Grimly's illustrations + Original artwork from the book on display and for sale + Limited edition silkscreened event posters + Limited edition event t-shirts Dark Delicacies 4213 W. Burbank Burbank, CA 91505 August really is an exciting month here this year! -- This August, BPAL will be presenting a limited edition set of scents based on George Pérez's groundbreaking comic book mini-series, "Sachs and Violens". Part of Marvel's Heavy Hitters line, "Sachs and Violens" was a 4 issue comic book miniseries written by Peter David with art by George Pérez. The series was published by Marvel's Epic Comics imprint from 1993 to 1994. These two scents will debut at Wizard World Chicago at the Hero Initiative booth. They will be available concurrently at www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Proceeds from every bottle sold go to the Hero Initiative, the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers including Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Wizard Entertainment, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501©(3) charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance. George Pérez is one of the most popular and influential comic book artists currently working. He is best known for his work on Crisis on Infinite Earths, New Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, Superman, and the Avengers, and has most recently worked on DC's Final Crisis. Wizard World Chicago will be held August 6 - 9th, 2009 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The Hero Initiative can be found at booth #1340. The Hero Initiative will be hosting a really, really kickass, unique event at Wizard World Chicago to launch the line. Keep yer eyes peeled for details! Please stay tuned, as we'll be posting purchasing information for the Who Killed Amanda Palmer series as soon as we have it, and for information regarding the debut of the Hellboy series! Up-to-date information can be snagged here in the Shiny & New section of our site, through our mailing list, on the bpal.org forum, or through Twitter (@bpal & @bethshepsut).

They were all so hungry the following morning. Zebediah T. Crawcrustle had a comedic apron on, with the words KISS THE COOK written upon it in violently green letters. He had already sprinkled the brandy-soaked raisins and grain beneath the stunted avocado tree behind the house, and he was arranging the scented woods, the herbs, and the spices on the bed of charcoal. Mustapha Stroheim and his family had gone to visit relatives on the other side of Cairo. “Does anybody have a match?” Crawcrustle asked. Jackie Newhouse pulled out a Zippo lighter, and passed it to Crawcrustle, who lit the dried cinnamon leaves and dried laurel leaves beneath the charcoal. The smoke drifted up into the noon air. “The cinnamon and sandalwood smoke will bring the Sunbird,” said Crawcrustle. “Bring it from where?” asked Augustus TwoFeathers “Why, where it always is, third lane after the old market in the Suntown district, just before you reach the old drainage ditch that was once an irrigation canal, and if you find yourself outside One-eye Khayam’s carpet shop you have gone too far, ”began Crawcrustle. “But I see by the expressions of irritation upon your faces that you were expecting a less succinct, less accurate description. Very well. It is in Suntown, and Suntown is in Cairo, in Egypt, where it always is, or almost always.” Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is thrilled to present a numbered, limited edition chapbook of Neil Gaiman's acclaimed short story, Sunbird, beautifully illustrated by Julie Dillon. Each package includes a 5ml bottle of perfume, created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, that was inspired by the tale. In Neil’s words, “’Sunbird’ smells like resin and deserts and the phoenix.” This set is a limited run of 1000. 250 were sold by CBLDF at San Diego Comic Con 2009, and the remainder are available through the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab web site. Sunbird will be available on the BPAL site as long as supplies last. This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single set go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve and protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community. Sunbird will go live at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/sunbird.html) at noon (PST) on July 30, 2009. A million thanks and all our love to Neil, and to Charles Brownstein and his staff at the CBLDF!

Death & Dementia Launch Party Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe! Please join Gris Grimly & Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab at Dark Delicacies Sunday, August 23 2009 from 2-4pm Featuring the premiere of… + Gris Grimly’s new book Tales of Death and Dementia + Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s new line of scents inspired by Gris Grimly’s illustrations + Original artwork from the book on display and for sale + Limited edition silkscreened event posters + Limited edition event t-shirts Dark Delicacies 4213 W. Burbank Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com www.madcreator.com www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com

For the record, the dog on the Stinky label is Brian's best buddy Granite. Ted and I were babysitting him one day, and when we came home, there was trash all over the house and a teenage German Shepherd sitting in the middle of it... ... with a face that was as innocent as could be... ... sporting a garbage can lid plopped over his neck. The label is the photo evidence.

ALIEN INVASION A melding of science fiction and horror in which extraterrestrial life forms come to Earth in order to… * Colonize the planet * Harvest humans for foodstuffs * Enslave humanity * Destroy the planet * Use probes to perform uncomfortable sexual experiments … among other nefarious objectives. Examples: War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Plan 9 From Outer Space, the Day the Earth Stood Still Slick, spiced space fruits and residual tentacle goo. DIABOLICAL OFFSPRING The passage into parenthood is, despite all its joys, often confusing, a little shocking, and sometimes frightening. -- moreso for some parents than others. Examples: the Bad Seed, the Omen, Rosemary’s Baby, and Alice, Sweet Alice Baby sweetness and a touch of brimstone. GORE-SHOCK With its roots in the Grand Guignol, Gore-Shock is a transgressive art form, using visual depictions of graphic, horrendous violence to push the limits of social tolerance. In the words of Michael Arnzen, “Splatter films differ from typical horror films because they revel in the special effects of gore as an artform. They are part of postmodern art and depict postmodern condition as a vehicle for cultural transformation.” Then again, these might be extreme gross-out flicks and nothing deeper. Examples: Blood Feast, I Spit on Your Grave, Two Thousand Maniacs! Pulpy, scorched, pork-like flesh, glistening entrails, and doughy skin with the coppery tang of blood, salty, sweaty musk, filth, and a huff of rusted machinery. GOTHIC HORROR The blueblood of the horror genre. Gothic horror borrows heavily from Victorian Romanticism: a dark, passionate sojourn into emotionally-driven aesthetic experience – reaching through gloom towards a vision of the sublime. Using sprawling, decay-riddled visuals, and lyrical narrative rife with suspense, awe, and dread, these films tell tales of tortured souls, long-buried secrets, rapid descents into depravity and madness, and grasping supernatural beings. Examples: Vampyr, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera Morbidly romantic, thick with murky melodrama, untouched by the centuries, and dust-rimed: Byzantine incense, benzoin, myrrh, bitter clove, spikenard, oud, and ancient balsam. PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR This is not the Monstrous Other; this is the fiend next door. Examples: Psycho, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, the Collector, and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte It smells perfectly normal: a lovely, unassuming, traditional mid-20th century musk with something not quite right lying underneath. ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE Brains? Brains. Examples: Night of the Living Dead (and all things Romero-plus-Dead), 28 Days Later, Undead, Planet Terror Swirls of red jelly and sugary white ooze. Available now on the Dark Delicacies web site, and available at their brick & mortar shop once Friday night's trunk show gets going! TRUNK SHOW INFO Friday, July 17th 7 to 9pm Dark Delicacies 4213 W. Burbank Burbank, CA 91505 1-888-DARKDEL 1-818-556-6660

This morning the ancient laptop that Ted was using to access his email died a loud, sparkly death. We are attempting to fix the problem, but there will be AT LEAST a 48 hour delay on finding another temporary solution. In the meantime, please direct any pressing inquiries to BPAL’s customer service or to Ted’s pm box on bpal.org. Thanks, all!

++ VINTAGE 13 (Oct 2006) A'arab Zaroq All Souls 2007 Aquarius 2007 Archangel Winter 2007 Bad Luck Woman Blues Beatrice Binah Chanukkiya 2007 Chiroptera Christmas Rose E Pluribus Unum Emathides 2007 Forbidden Foyer 2007 Gamaliel Gingerbread Poppet 2005 Haitian Lover Haunted Palace Kalahantarika Kether Lycaon 2007 Milk Moon PP2 2007 Pulse Points Punkie Night 2006 Rat King 2005 RM Renfield Shivering Boy 2007 Smut 2007 Snow Maiden 2006 Snow Storm 2007 Sol Invictus 2006 Spirits of the Dead Tarot: Justice Tarot: the Lovers Thagirion Toxin Val Sans Retour Virahotkantita Winter of Our Discontent 2006 Yuki-Onna ++ PROTOTYPES AF1 AF3 AF5 AF6 AF8 Albedo v5 Aphrodite v3 Aphrodite v4 Apothecary v1 Ares v3 Dorian v2 Fenris Wolf v2 Hellion v2 Hua Mulan v4 Lolita v2 MB: Underbed v1 Nagarjuna v2 Nepthys v3 Nigredo v7 Osiris v4 PEX95 PL176 PL81 PPH21 PPN143 PW12 PW141 PX117 PX717 Rubedo v4 Scurvy v1 Sekhmet v5 Sol Niger v2 TKO v3 TP46 Dark Delicacies scent descriptions coming soon! =)

@wickedgoddess will be holding a twitter contest today @bpal with a promo pack as the prize. =) Thanks so much to everyone that participated!

Berry Moon is live at BPAL and BPTP! 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 golden summer musk with warm fig, orange blossom honey, sweet blueberries, and bright velvety crimson raspberries. Both the tee and the perfume will be live at their respective sites until July 9, 2009. Also new to the LE’s this month… STINKY A cure for sweaty bits and sticky wilting. Stinky is a summer refresher ‘foom for people that don’t dig run-of-the-mill “clean” scents: newly-washed skin with a dusting of rice milk, white honey, and baby powder. Ars Amatoria has two new perfumes… APEROTOS EROS Strong as death, and cruel as the grave, Clothed with cloud and tempest's blackening breath, Known of death's dread self, whom none outbrave, Strong as death, Love, brow-bound with anguish for a wreath, Fierce with pain, a tyrant-hearted slave, Burns above a world that groans beneath. Hath not pity power on thee to save, Love? hath power no pity? Nought he saith, Answering: blind he walks as wind or wave, Strong as death. Unloving love: benzoin, Indian musk, massoia bark, myrrh, ambrette seed, galbanum, bergamot, and fir. WHOSO LIST TO HUNT Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind! But as for me, alas, I may no more; The vain travail hath wearied me so sore, I am of them that furthest come behind. Yet may I by no means my wearied mind Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore Fainting I follow; I leave off therefore, Since in a net I seek to hold the wind. Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt, As well as I, may spend his time in vain. And graven with diamonds in letters plain, There is written her fair neck round about, "Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am, And wild for to hold, though I seem tame." Sensual brown musk, rich amber, English rose, oak bark, and moss. And a whole lot is going on at the Mad Tea Party… ALICE’S EVIDENCE There was a general clapping of hands at this: it was the first really clever thing the King had said that day. ‘That proves his guilt,’ said the Queen. ‘It proves nothing of the sort!’ said Alice. ‘Why, you don’t even know what they’re about!’ ‘Read them,’ said the King. The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. ‘Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?’ he asked. ‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said gravely, ‘and go on till you come to the end: then stop.’ These were the verses the White Rabbit read:— They told me you had been to her, And mentioned me to him: She gave me a good character, But said I could not swim. He sent them word I had not gone (We know it to be true): If she should push the matter on, What would become of you? I gave her one, they gave him two, You gave us three or more; They all returned from him to you, Though they were mine before. If I or she should chance to be Involved in this affair, He trusts to you to set them free, Exactly as we were. My notion was that you had been (Before she had this fit) An obstacle that came between Him, and ourselves, and it, Don't let him know she liked them best, For this must ever be A secret, kept from all the rest, Between yourself and me. ‘That’s the most important piece of evidence we’ve heard yet,’ said the King, rubbing his hands; ‘so now let the jury—’ ‘If any one of them can explain it,’ said Alice, (she had grown so large in the last few minutes that she wasn’t a bit afraid of interrupting him,) ‘I’ll give him sixpence. I don’t believe there’s an atom of meaning in it.’ The jury all wrote down on their slates, ‘She doesn’t believe there’s an atom of meaning in it,’ but none of them attempted to explain the paper. ‘If there’s no meaning in it,’ said the King, ‘that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we needn’t try to find any…’ Containing nary a neutron of meaning: rum-quince-cassis with prune and a bit of black ginger. ALL IN THE GOLDEN AFTERNOON All in the golden afternoon Full leisurely we glide; For both our oars, with little skill, By little hands are plied While little hands make vain pretence Our wanderings to guide Ah, cruel Three! In such an hour Beneath such dreamy weather, To beg a tale of breath too weak To stir the tiniest feather! Yet what can one poor voice avail Against three tongues together? Imperious Prima flashes forth Her edict to 'begin it'- In gentler tone Secunda hopes 'There will be nonsense in it!' - While Tertia interrupts the tale Not more than once a minute. Anon, to sudden silence won, In fancy they pursue The dream-child moving through a land Of wonders wild and new, In friendly chat with bird or beast - And half believe it true. And ever, as the story drained The wells of fancy dry, And faintly strove that weary one To put the subject by, 'The rest next time -It is next time!' The happy voices cry. Thus grew the tale of Wonderland Thus slowly, one by one, Its quaint events were hammered out - and now the tale is done, And home we steer, a merry crew, Beneath the setting sun. Alice! a childish story take, And with a gentle hand Lay it where Childhood's dreams are twined In Memory's mystic band, Like pilgrim's wither'd wreath of flowers Plucked in far-off land. A bizarre blend of pineapple, tangerine, tobacco, apricot, and seltzer coated with hazy amber and heady sun-baked flowers. TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE BAT Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a teatray in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little bat! How I wonder what you're at! A sparkly, batty little scent: green tea, melon, mint, lime rind, and champagne grape with lemon balm, mullein, and toadflax. Two new subsections have been added to MTP – ++ THE GARDEN OF LIVE FLOWERS This time she came upon a large flower-bed, with a border of daisies, and a willow-tree growing in the middle. IMPERIOUS TIGER-LILY `O Tiger-lily,' said Alice, addressing herself to one that was waving gracefully about in the wind, `I wish you could talk!' `We can talk,' said the Tiger-lily: `when there's anybody worth talking to." Alice was so astonished that she could not speak for a minute: it quite seemed to take her breath away. At length, as the Tiger-lily only went on waving about, she spoke again, in a timid voice -- almost in a whisper. `And can all the flowers talk?' `As well as you can,' said the Tiger-lily. `And a great deal louder.' (Tiger-lily, ginger root, neroli, purple fruits, and frankincense.) SNOOTY ROSE `It isn't manners for us to begin, you know,' said the Rose, `and I really was wondering when you'd speak! Said I to myself, "Her face has got some sense in it, thought it's not a clever one!" Still, you're the right colour, and that goes a long way.' `I don't care about the colour,' the Tiger-lily remarked. `If only her petals curled up a little more, she'd be all right.' (Red rose, oud, plum, bergamot, and red sandalwood.) Alice didn't like being criticised, so she began asking questions. `Aren't you sometimes frightened at being planted out here, with nobody to take care of you?' `There's the tree in the middle,' said the Rose: `what else is it good for?' `But what could it do, if any danger came?' Alice asked. HIGH-STRUNG DAISIES `It says "Bough-wough!" cried a Daisy: `that's why its branches are called boughs!' `Didn't you know that?' cried another Daisy, and here they all began shouting together, till the air seemed quite full of little shrill voices. `Silence, every one of you!' cried the Tiger-lily, waving itself passionately from side to side, and trembling with excitement. `They know I can't get at them!' it panted, bending its quivering head towards Alice, `or they wouldn't dare to do it!' `Never mind!' Alice said in a soothing tone, and stooping down to the daisies, who were just beginning again, she whispered, `If you don't hold your tongues, I'll pick you!' There was silence in a moment, and several of the pink daisies turned white. `That's right!' said the Tiger-lily. `The daisies are worst of all. When one speaks, they all begin together, and it's enough to make one wither to hear the way they go on!' (Daisy, pink carnation, pink pepper, and sugar.) `How is it you can all talk so nicely?' Alice said, hoping to get it into a better temper by a compliment. `I've been in many gardens before, but none of the flowers could talk.' `Put your hand down, and feel the ground,' said the Tiger-lily. `Then you'll know why. Alice did so. `It's very hard,' she said, `but I don't see what that has to do with it.' `In most gardens,' the Tiger-lily said, `they make the beds too soft -- so that the flowers are always asleep.' This sounded a very good reason, and Alice was quite pleased to know it. `I never thought of that before!' she said. `It's my opinion that you never think at all,' the Rose said in a rather severe tone. BRUSQUE VIOLET `I never saw anybody that looked stupider,' a Violet said, so suddenly, that Alice quite jumped; for it hadn't spoken before. `Hold your tongue!' cried the Tiger-lily. `As if you ever saw anybody! You keep your head under the leaves, and snore away there, till you know no more what's going on in the world, that if you were a bud!' (Violet petal, violet leaf, osmanthus, orris, mint, and opoponax.) `Are there any more people in the garden besides me?' Alice said, not choosing to notice the Rose's last remark. `There's one other flower in the garden that can move about like you,' said the Rose. `I wonder how you do it -- ' (`You're always wondering,' said the Tiger-lily), `but she's more bushy than you are.' `Is she like me?' Alice asked eagerly, for the thought crossed her mind, `There's another little girl in the garden, somewhere!' `Well, she has the same awkward shape as you,' the Rose said, `but she's redder -- and her petals are shorter, I think.' `Her petals are done up close, almost like a dahlia,' the Tiger-lily interrupted: `not tumbled about anyhow, like yours.' `But that's not your fault,' the Rose added kindly: `you're beginning to fade, you know -- and then one can't help one's petals getting a little untidy.' And… ++MORAL HYMNODY AND NONSENSE Lewis Carroll used the Looking Glasses and Rabbit Holes of his fantasy world to mock many contemporary conventions and demonstrate, through nonsense, the strangeness of the human condition. The madness of Wonderland illustrated the absurdities he perceived in the strict, orderly world he lived in. In the first perfumes of this subseries, our scents parallel the poetic parodies: Lewis Carroll versus Isaac Watts. HOW DOTH THE LITTLE CROCODILE How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws! Chocolate peppermint, mint-soaked vanilla, pistachio, oakmoss, and green cedar. Mocks… AGAINST IDLENESS AND MISCHIEF How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour And gather honey all the day From every opening flower! How skilfully she builds her cell! How neat she spreads the wax! And labours hard to store it well With the sweet food she makes. In works of labour or of skill, I would be busy too; For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do. In books, or work, or healthful play, Let my first years be passed, That I may give for every day Some good account at last. Pollen-dusted honey, diligent tonka, steadfast chamomile, and goodly hyssop. And… ‘TIS THE VOICE OF THE LOBSTER ’Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare ’You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair.’ As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes. When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark, And will talk in contemptuous tones of the shark; But, when the tide rises and sharks are around, His voice has a timid and tremulous sound. I passed by his garden and marked, with one eye, How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie: The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat, While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat. When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon, Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon: While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl, And concluded the banquet by— A woody, musky-weird base glooping over with blackberry preserves, a twist of mandarin, strawberry juice, pulverized watermelon, and a handful of smushed gardenia petals. Thumbs its nose at… THE SLUGGARD 'Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain, "You have waked me too soon, I must slumber again." As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed, Turns his sides and his shoulders and his heavy head. "A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;" Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number, And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands, Or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands. I pass'd by his garden, and saw the wild brier, The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher; The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags; And his money still wastes till he starves or he begs. I made him a visit, still hoping to find That he took better care for improving his mind: He told me his dreams, talked of eating and drinking; But scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking. Said I then to my heart, "Here's a lesson for me," This man's but a picture of what I might be: But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding, Who taught me betimes to love working and reading. Pious frankincense, angelic gardenia, unsoiled pear, and staunch ho wood conflict with prickly, overgrown thistle, idle labdanum, and lethargic lavender. Tiger Lily (Mad Tea Party) is also being discontinued due to the pressure of the current economic stress on our associates. Sincerest apologies for the suddenness of all these discontinuation! – we had no notice at all of two of the primary components of TL going dry, and just received the email with the bad news this morning. All current orders will be filled, and it will be coming down with the Lunacy on July 9th. Imperious Tiger Lily was intended to be a complimentary scent – the Tiger Lily in her element, ordering the other garden inhabitants about and berating Alice – she was meant to be the queen of the Garden of Live Flowers subsection, so to speak. Looks like her inception was fortunate, as her original incarnation has to come down. Or it was a jinx. o.O I wish there was more we could do to stem the hemorrhage. Component issues have been plaguing BPTP, causing bottlenecks with the Warrior Queens. We’re doing everything in our power to get all the WQ’s out as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for your patience! But enough of the gloomy gussitude… We have so many amazing, exciting projects coming up this season. The next set of DD Summer Blockbuster scents will be featured at our upcoming trunk show at Dark Delicacies, and a limited run of the first scents in our California series (these are exclusive to C15) will be available at Convergence 15. We’re still busting our asses to get the next act of CD out as quickly as possible – finalizing some additional artwork now, cleaning up the copy, and securing final sources for the components. Some really fucking great stuff will be debuting at Comic Con on behalf of the CBLDF (details forthcoming!), and we are working with a few brilliant illustrators, authors, musicians, and comic gods on scents that will be debuting late this summer. A new duets series is due at BPTP, and new baths, soaps, and atmospheric schpritzers are coming soon.

Due to another set of suppliers going down, we're forced to discontinue the following scents: Erich Zahn Eris Severin Succubus Tannin'iver Madrid Marianne Masabakes They'll be live until Wednesday, July 1st, so we can move remaining stock. If you place an order for one of these scents and we cannot fill it, you will be notified and refunded. Thanks so much for understanding. =(

Smoky Moon is live at BPAL and BPTP! SMOKY MOON 2009: TRISTESSES DE LA LUNE The Smoke-Veiled Moon of July brought a poem of Baudelaire’s to my mind: Ce soir, la lune rêve avec plus de paresse; Ainsi qu'une beauté, sur de nombreux coussins, Qui d'une main distraite et légère caresse Avant de s'endormir le contour de ses seins, Sur le dos satiné des molles avalanches, Mourante, elle se livre aux longues pâmoisons, Et promène ses yeux sur les visions blanches Qui montent dans l'azur comme des floraisons. Quand parfois sur ce globe, en sa langueur oisive, Elle laisse filer une larme furtive, Un poète pieux, ennemi du sommeil, Dans le creux de sa main prend cette larme pâle, Aux reflets irisés comme un fragment d'opale, Et la met dans son coeur loin des yeux du soleil. - - - Tonight the moon dreams with more indolence, Like a lovely woman on a bed of cushions Who fondles with a light and listless hand The contour of her breasts before falling asleep; On the satiny back of the billowing clouds, Languishing, she lets herself fall into long swoons And casts her eyes over the white phantoms That rise in the azure like blossoming flowers. When, in her lazy listlessness, She sometimes sheds a furtive tear upon this globe, A pious poet, enemy of sleep, In the hollow of his hand catches this pale tear, With the iridescent reflections of opal, And hides it in his heart afar from the sun's eyes. (English translation by William Aggeler, 1954) Soft sandalwood, nicotiana, and velvety orris drifting over lustrous pale musks, stephanotis, elemi, and cyclamen. The tee -- Artwork for this lunacy is the Woman in the Moon by Aubrey Beardsley. The scent and the tee will be live until 10 June 2009. This summer, we are celebrating the Aztec Feast For the Greatly Revered Ones! THE FEAST FOR THE GREATLY REVERED ONES Huey Tecuilhuitl, the Great Festival of Lords, occurs on the 8th month of the 260-day Mexica sacred calendar of Tonalpualli. This festival honors Chicomecoatl, also known as Xilonen, the Goddess of Nourishment and Plenty, Seven Snakes. She represents the female aspect of corn, and she is the counterpart of Centeotl, -- the female sheath to his phallic cob. The celebration of the Feast assured the return of the rains and a good corn harvest. Cacao mixed with ground maize, agave wine, and octli, mixed with herbs and spices native to central Mexico. A tee celebrating the Feast For the Greatly Revered Ones is also live! Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! The scent and the tee will be live until 8 August 2009. Also new to the LEs… LABORES SOLIS Nothing there is beyond hope, nothing that can be sworn impossible, nothing wonderful, since Zeus, father of the Olympians, made night from mid-day, hiding the light of the shining Sun, and sore fear came upon men. On July 22, we will be experiencing a total solar eclipse. This is the Labores Solis: the sun’s rays expressed through frankincense, amber, heliotrope, saffron, and chamomile, crossed with Luna’s Artemisias, manifesting in darkness. NONAE CAPROTINA The Nones of the Wild Fig, held on the 7th of July and celebrated only by women, is a festival of fertility honoring Juno Caprotina. Both goats and figs are sacred to Juno in this aspect, goats being notoriously randy, and figs being prolifically seedy. The milky sap of the fig tree also links to the concept of fertility, and to Juno as Mother Goddess. The scent is of goat’s milk, ripe fig, and a hint of sweet myrrh. Please note: no goats were milked in the process of creating this scent. It is an accord, and this scent is vegan. Nonae Caprotina and Labores Solis will be live until 8 August 2009. We are also pleased to announce the first scents in our Nile series… ++ ITERU SEASON OF THE INUNDATION Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Come and prosper! Come and prosper! O Nile, come and prosper! O you who make men to live through his flocks and his flocks through his orchards! Come and prosper, come, O Nile, come and prosper! Akhet: the advent of the rising of the Nile floods -- the heart of the fertility and prosperity of Egypt. As Sirius climbs the horizon, Hapi begins to collect the tears of Isis, causing the waters of the Nile to rise. As the flood ebbed, the waters left a rich, black silt that was integral to the fecundity of the land. Sweet, black silt mingled with holy myrrh, melilot, hyssop, spikenard, balsam, cedar, and a hint of melting snow from the Abyssinian hills. THE FESTIVAL OF ANUKET Anuket is the Embracer, a Goddess of Passion and of the waters of the Nile that caress the land and bring forth fruitfulness. She is the Nourisher of the Fields, the Giver of Life, and She Who Shoots Forth. A goddess of the hunt, archers, movement, and speed, she has the head of a gazelle, and sometimes wears a headdress of ostrich feathers. She is a protector of children at birth, and nursed many of the great pharaohs of Egypt. Shimmering offerings of gold scattered through life-giving, fertile waters. We will be following the pathways of the Nile this year, through the Season of the Emergence and the Season of the Harvest. Season of the Inundation and the festival of Anuket will be live until 8 August 2009. And lastly, our Summer Garden Miniseries! ++ SUMMER GARDEN MINISERIES LAWN GNOME Benevolent groundskeepers, these carefree plaster and stone companions lighten the hearts of passers by. Red currant, molasses, vanilla cream, moss, and patchouli. PLASTIC PINK FLAMINGO Vigilant day-glo guardians of lawn and patio, stalwart protectors of the home. Pink sugar-crusted marshmallow, dandelion, and sap. SPINNING MULTICOLORED METALLIC PINWHEEL Polycarbonate and metallic film monuments to domestic whimsy, whirling merrily in the summer breeze. Raspberry, lime, blueberry, tangerine, lemon, juniper, and white grape. We live near a cemetery, and on one of the streets that butts up against the graveyard -- the homes share a wall with the cemetery -- there is an abundance of… stuff… on many, many people’s lawns. Gnome motropolises, massive flocks of flamingos, elaborate witch ball dotted trees, plastic butterflies and dragonflies, plump pastel cherubs, and whipping, brightly colored flags. Its amazing. Its not just one house… it’s at least a quarter of the homes over the span of about a mile and a half. I can’t help but think something interesting is permeating these homes because of their proximity to this particular City of the Silent. Driving down that street all the time was part of the inspiration for the Summer Garden series! And truth be told… this series was also inspired, in part, by the many hours I spend staring at my own yard from my home office’s window! I have a demented fondness for gnomes, flamingos (with seasonal outfits), pinwheels, tin birds, stone toads, clay mushrooms, and spinning plastic sunflowers. Garden kitsch: I friggin’ love it all. And that’s it for now! We’re currently working on getting Act VI of the Carnaval ready to go (wewt!) as well as new additions to the GC (at long last!). Please stay tuned.

The BPTP Stock List for Cobwebs II -- ++ Bath Oils Four Seasons: L’Autunno Bath Oil Four Seasons: L’Estate Bath Oil Four Seasons: L’Inverno Bath Oil Four Seasons: La Primavera Bath Oil ++ Perfume Oils Bah Gluhwein Holly berry & Mistletow Humbug L’Autunno L’Estate L’Inverno La Primavera Snowblind (II) Uncertain Horror ++ Room Sprays Asylum Room Spray Prototype Basil Hallward’s Studio Room Spray Prototype Boot Hill Room Spray Prototype Four Seasons: L’Autunno Room Spray Four Seasons: L’Estate Room Spray Four Seasons: L’Inverno Room Spray Four Seasons: La Primavera Room Spray Parlor House Room Spray Prototype Rappaccini’s Greenhouse Room Spray Prototype Villa Diodati Room Spray Prototype Yule Inq Bah Humbug Room Spray Yule Inq Past Room Spray Yule Inq Present Room Spray Yule Inq Yet to Come Room Spray Trading Post will also be selling the first of their scent boxes. The boxes are handmade, and were constructed with sustainable mango wood. Each box has been stained and silkscreened, and have purple velveteen-lined tops. The interiors were découpaged and lacquered by Shannon Webber. Each box is unique. The silkscreening on the lids is golden, and comes in two designs: the triple dagger logo, and the Black Phoenix Ouija Board (doodled by Jennifer Williamson). There are two sizes of box: Large W 12.5” L 10” H 3.25” Small W 10” L 6.5” H 3.25” The large boxes are $50, and the small boxes are $35. Trading Post room sprays and bath oils are $25 each, and Trading Post oils are $20 each. The following oils will also be on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab smell wagon at this event -- ++ Vintage: Dragon Moon '06 Hunter Moon '07 Lick It '07 Lucy Westerna '06 Luperci '07 Nuclear Winter '05 Pluto '06 ++ Prototype: Antimony v9 Aqua Vitae v2 Arsenic v2 Cesky Krumlov v1 Copper v1 Eve v2 Eve v5 Kinnabari v4 Phosporous v5 Putrefication v3 Putrefication v5 Tetramorph v5 Dark Delicacies opens at 10am, and we will begin giving out random numbers at 11am. This gives everyone the opportunity to fondle books, poke at toys, sniff testers, and chat -- or leave and get a doughnut, whichever. We will open sales just after 12pm. For BPAL oils, there is a limit of 3 per scent per person until 4.30pm, at which point the limit will be lifted.

As y’all know, we are still up to our snouts in bottles of ancient LEs and prototypes. The following scents will be available at the May trunk show, hosted by Sue & Del @ Dark Delicacies: ++ Vintage: Abhisarika ‘07 All Souls ‘06 Angeronalia ‘07 Bakeneko ‘07 Bonfire Night ‘07 Brides of Dracula ‘06 Budding Moon ‘06 Creepy ‘06 Dolce Stil Nuova ‘07 Fruit of Paradise ‘07 Jolasveinar ‘07 La Befana ‘07 Libra ‘07 Mistletoe ‘07 Pumpkin 2 ‘07 Proshitapathika ‘07 Rose Moon ‘07 Samhain ‘07 Snowflakes ‘07 Swan Maiden ‘07 Tamamo No Mae ‘07 Vasakasajja ‘07 Wolf Moon ‘07 ++ Prototypes: Aphrodite v7 Astraphobia v1 Aswang v1 Capela dos Ossos v5 Construct v3 Hearth v2 Hermes Trimegistus v2 I Fell in Love with a Floating Brian v1 Lamia v3 Maiden v2 Miskatonic University v3 Pediophobia v1 Set v3 Spawn of the She Devil v2 Taphophobia v1 That! The Thing from Over There v1 Viola v3 CD023 P08 P013 P4W14 PEX0 PEX32 PGAI17 PPG28 PPV111 PW7 PX4 PX72 PX79 Please note: this list is subject to change. Very, very subject to change. Scents may be added as time permits. If we can swing it, Trading Post will be bringing room spray and bath oil protos. List forthcoming. Each bottle of BPAL oil is $20. No preorders will be accepted for the perfumes and room sprays at the Cobwebs event. Bottles will be sold on a first-come basis, and there is a limit of three bottles per person until 30 minutes before the end of the event, at which point, the limit is lifted. Please note: the Vintage scents will be sportin’ a new label that was created for this event. You will not be getting the original label used for this scent. Where and when is this happening? Dark Delicacies 4213 W. Burbank Burbank, CA 91505 U.S.A. Saturday, May 23rd 12pm - 5pm 1-888-DARKDEL 1-818-556-6660 darkdel *at* darkdel *.* com

The first set of Summer Blockbuster scents are live on the Dark Delicacies site! B-HORROR “B-Movie” initially referred to the second half of a double feature, usually a film that was lower in budget than the feature film, and weakly publicized. The expression has morphed over the years to encompass movies whose runtimes were under 70 minutes, low-budget films in general, an inartistic, cheaply produced genre movies, or high-budget exploitation style films. Examples: I Drink Your Blood, Horror of Party Beach, Attack of the Crab Monsters, It Conquered the World This scent is a celebration of B-grade sci fi and horror from the 50s, 60s, and 70s: a glowing glob of radioactive waste mixed with a mishmash of ingredients from assorted recipes for fake blood -- chocolate syrup, corn syrup, grenadine, and peanut butter. CREATURE FEATURE The struggle of man against metaphor: these movies symbolize man’s conflict with the destruction he wreaks on the environment. The antagonists in Creature Features are usually victims of radiation, pollution, or experiments gone awry – monsters created by the folly of men. Examples: Creature From the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Gorgo, Destroy All Monsters, Them! Giant Monster Musk! GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST HORROR Highly stylized, stark, and filled with vivid, dark symbolism, these films employed bizarre, striking geometry and mise en scène to convey mood and tell their tale. Examples: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, M, Der Golem, Schatten - Eine nächtliche Halluzination Casket dust, black musk and khus, musty velvet, black pine needle, patchouli, myrrh, and black pepper. GIALLO The term Giallo, meaning yellow, was initally coined in reference to the yellow backgrounds used on the covers of Il Giallo Mondadori pulp crime and mystery novels that influenced Italian thriller filmmaking. The film genre that emerged began as translations of these pulps, and transformed with time into a melding of traditional murder mystery storylines with guignol’esque horror, combined with stylized, tense erotica that was liberally flavored with operatic melodrama. The storylines often touched on psychological terror, feelings of isolation and alienation, and claustrophobic paranoia. Examples: Blood and Black Lace, Twitch of the Death Nerve, The House With Laughing Windows, Tenebrae Profoundly passionate and singularly sinister: opoponax, black plum, night-blooming jasmine, benzoin, red musk, violet leaf, orange blossom, mimosa, mandarin, smoky vanilla, tobacco, patchouli, and black amber. J-HORROR Ghosts, rancorous spirits, and shapeshifters abound! Japanese horror films are tense, elliptical, psychologically chilling experiences, most often inspired by Japanese folklore and Kaidan, or supernatural tales, and are woven tightly with themes of retribution and vengeance. Examples: Ringu, Jigoku, Ugetsu, The Ghost Story of Yotsuya This scent is spectral, draped in funeral white, and surges with otherworldly, malevolent rage: stargazer lily, white sandalwood, chrysanthemum, and shincha, with white mint, eucalyptus, licorice bark, and blood orange. SPLATTER COMEDY Campy, over-the-top gore, full of gleeful self-mockery. Examples: the Evil Dead series, Return of the Living Dead, Toxic Avenger A bit of blood and chainsaw grease underneath a banana cream pie. They will also be available for sniffing and purchasing at the May Trunk Show / Clearing Out the Cobwebs II: May 23rd at Dark Delicacies, noon to 5pm Dark Delicacies 4213 W. Burbank Burbank, CA 91505 1-888-DARKDEL 1-818-556-6660 www.darkdel.com Label artwork by the amazing Julie Dillon!

Oh, man. I’m so tired, all I can really do is grunt. Teething: Fun for the Whole Family. Without further grunting, we present… STRAWBERRY MOON 2009 Strawberries that in gardens grow Are plump and juicy fine, But sweeter far as wise men know Spring from the woodland vine. No need for bowl or silver spoon, Sugar or spice or cream, Has the wild berry plucked in June Beside the trickling stream. One such to melt at the tongue's root, Confounding taste with scent, Beats a full peck of garden fruit: Which points my argument. May sudden justice overtake And snap the froward pen, That old and palsied poets shake Against the minds of men. Blasphemers trusting to hold caught In far-flung webs of ink, The utmost ends of human thought Till nothing's left to think. But may the gift of heavenly peace And glory for all time Keep the boy Tom who tending geese First made the nursery rhyme. Wild strawberries, strawberry flower, vanilla-infused sugar, early summer grasses, and milky dandelion sap. And a handful of seasonal pleasures -- JUNE GLOOM It’s May in Los Angeles, and we’re baking slowly as the weather hits the low 100’s… Here at the Lab, we are praying for a little June Gloom. Bright summer flowers, fresh herbs, and a bit of citrus rind dampened by the scent of morning mist and rain. LITHA 2009 Midsummer, Ukon Juhla, Alban Heruin, the Light of the Shore. This is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, marking the sun's highest path across the sky. The Sun God and the Lord of the Forest are at the apex of their strength, and the Holy Day itself is a celebration of light's triumph over darkness. The world around us is teeming with light and life, and on this day fertility rituals for both the land and its people are observed. Golden honey and moss, with honeysuckle, chamomile, parsley, white gardenia, frankincense, carnation, vervain, gum arabic, yarrow, and liquid copal. ST JOHN’S EVE Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. -- Matthew 11:11 The birth of John the Baptist coincides with the Summer Solstice, and in keeping with the eternal rhythm of the universe, John understood that as the sun’s strength begins to wane after the Summer Solstice, so did he move aside after preparing the way for the Winter King, Christ. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I decrease. -- John 3:28-30 St. John’s holy day is full of holy significance that is so primal and archetypal that it transcends any one faith. It is a merging of the rituals of Midsummer with symbols of Biblical faith. On this eve, prayers to God for bountiful harvests and fertility are said over St. John’s blessed bonfires, a leap over the sacred flames brings good fortune in new undertakings and unions, and the waters of rivers and lakes bring renewed strength, vitality, and spiritual cleansing. A summer bonfire, with frankincense and myrrh, bay rum, and white rose. There's also something over here ... The Post is presenting its Lunacy tee in two colors this month… pink and white! And the Post is also offering a lovely, empowering summer Inquest… ++ WARRIOR QUEENS INQUEST I am the queen of war. I am the queen of the thunderbolt. I stir up the sea and calm it. I am the rays of the Sun. We live in a challenging time. Conflict, uncertainty, tension… All of us sometimes feel that adversity threatens to overwhelm us, and that we are facing -- both on a personal and worldwide scale -- insurmountable difficulty. To help combat this, we present the Warrior Queens series -- a very different sort of Goblin Inquest. This is an Inquest of Self-Empowerment. Both men and women can find strength within the tales of these Warrior Queens, and may see that through these archetypes, they enable themselves to draw upon a deeper well of internal fortitude. It's at times like this that we need to look within ourselves and celebrate our triumphs, remember our victories, and use these memories, and the stories of those who came before us, to find courage amidst chaos and hardship. We invite you to share tales of your personal victories with us as you tell us which Warrior you identify with most, and why. A little about our Heroines… BOADICEA Rebel Queen of the Iceni, she led an uprising of the tribes against the Roman Empire. After Claudius’ conquest of the area, the Iceni voluntarily allied themselves to Rome, though Rome was not a gentle parent state. The Romans conquered much of Brittania, desecrated the sacred groves at Mona, and slaughtered the druids. When Boadicea’s husband, Prasutagus, died, his will was ignored and his massive financial debt to Rome was called in forcefully. Iceni was annexed as though it was a conquered territory, property and estates were seized, both tribal nobility and the common folk were enslaved. When Boadicea objected to the treatment of her lands and her people, she was flogged, and her children were grievously injured. Boadicea took her vengeance. Under the leadership of Boadicea, the Iceni and Trinovantes united with their neighbors and the surviving druids of Mona to instigate a rebellion. They cut a swath of furious destruction. Her warriors slaughtered Legionary forces, and destroyed Camulodunum, Londinium, and Verulamium -- so scorching the earth beneath Londinium that the scar is still visible beneath modern London. HER PERFUME Amber, fig, vanilla flower, oak, patchouli, vetiver, dragon’s blood resin, leather, and neroli. HER BATH Fig, neroli, amber, vanilla, patchouli, pine needle, and vetiver. HUA MULAN Click, click, for ever click, click; Mulan sits at the door and weaves. Listen, and you will not hear the shuttle’s sound, But only a girl’s sobs and sighs. ‘Oh, tell me, lady, are you thinking of your love, Oh, tell me, lady, are you longing for your dear?’ ‘Oh no, oh no, I am not longing for my dear. But last night I read the battle-roll; The Khan has ordered a great levy of men. The battle-roll was written in twelve books, And in each book stood my father’s name. My father’s sons are not grown men, And of all of my brothers, none is older than me. Oh let me to the market to buy saddle and horse, And ride with the soldiers to take my father’s place.’ In the eastern market she’s bought a gallant hors. In the western market she’s bought saddle and cloth. In the southern market she’s bought snaffle and reins. In the northern market she’s bought a tall whip. In the morning she stole from her father’s and mother’s house. At night she was camping by the Yellow River’s side. She could not hear her father and mother calling to her by name, But only the voice of the Yellow River as its waters swirled through the night. At dawn they left the River and went on their way; At dusk they came to the Black Water’s side. She could not hear her father and mother calling to her by her name, She could only hear the muffled voices of foreign horsemen riding on the hills of Yen. A thousand leagues she tramped on the errands of war. Frontiers and hills she crossed like a bird in flight. Through the northern air echoed the watchman’s tap; The wintry light gleamed on coats of mail. The captain had fought a hundred fights, and died; The warriors in ten years had won their rest. The went home, they saw the Emperor’s face; The Son of Heaven was seated in the Hall of Light. The deeds of the brave were recorded in twelve books; In prizes he gave a hundred thousand cash. Thus spoke the Khan and asked her what she would take. ‘Oh, Mulan asks not to be made A counsellor at the Khan’s court; I only beg for a camel that can march A thousand leagues a day, To take me back to my home.’ When her father and mother heard that she had come, They went out to the wall and led her back to the house. When her little sister heard that she had come, She went to the door and rouged herself afresh. When her little brother heard that his sister had come, He sharpened his knife and darted like a flash Towards the pigs and sheep. She opened the gate that leads to the eastern tower, She sat on her bed that stood in the western tower. She cast aside her heavy soldier’s cloak, And wore again her old-time dress. She stood at the window and bound her cloudy hair; She went to the mirror and fastened her yellow combs. She left the house and met her messmates in the road; Her messmates were startled out of their wits. The had marched with her for twelve years of war And never know that Mulan was girl. For the male hare sits with its legs tucked in, And the female hare is known for her bleary eye; But set them both scampering side by side, And who so wise could tell you ‘This is he’? HER PERFUME Pink musk, white ginger, tea leaf, night blooming jasmine, bergamot, and leather. HER BATH White ginger, tea leaf, night blooming jasmine, neroli, rose, and lotus root. JINGU Known as Pimoko, the sun-daughter, Jingu was an Empress of Japan who served as regent and de facto ruler between the time of the death of her husband and the ascension of her son, Emperor Ojin. Sure that knowledge of her husband’s death would bring discord to her realm, she managed to keep his passing a secret, and successfully put down numerous insurrections in his name. Although she was pregnant with the future emperor of Japan, she donned armor and rode into battle, leading the conquest of Silla. HER PERFUME Sakura, white orchid, mandarin, bamboo, red sandalwood, plum blossom, and lilac. HER BATH Sakura, plum wine, and rice flower. SEMIRAMIS A legendary Assyrian queen, often identified with Sammu-Ramat, the wife of Shamshi-Adad V, she was believed to be the daughter of the goddess Atargatis. Her youth was filled with mythic adventure, and her otherworldly beauty and voluptuous sexuality ensured her two advantageous marriages. When she took the reins of power of Empress of Assyria, she expanded her kingdom by conquering much of Mesopotamia and Asia. She beautified and revitalized Babylon, and implemented improvements in Nineveh that helped to moderate the flow of the Tigris. She was renowned for her military and political prowess, as well as her ferocious and merciless sexual appetite. HER PERFUME Red musk, pomegranate, orange blossom, and melon. HER BATH Red musk, pomegranate, red cherry, myrrh, and blood orange. TOMOE GOZEN A "warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot." Tomoe Gozen was a fierce, noble, and courageous samurai, first captain, as well as a renowned beauty. She was an excellent swordswoman, famed for her riding ability and her skill at archery. She fought for Minamoto no Yoshinaka at Battle of Awazu, and her forces were defeated. Legend says she was seen holding the severed head of one of her foes on the battlefield, and vanished, never to be seen again. HER PERFUME Red currant, golden amber, blackberry, honey, and pink pepper. HER BATH Red currant and honey. YSABEL Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León, was a proponent of education, establishing lasting institutions of higher learning, a patron of scholars and artists, and an enthusiastic sponsor of exploratory expeditions, including Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World. She possessed a great military mind, and was integral in the retaking of Grenada, thus sealing the Reconquista. With her husband, Ferdinand, she ruled with equal authority and power, unifying Spain and laying the foundations of the Spanish Empire. HER PERFUME Red carnation, red roses, Spanish cedar, velvet musk, pomegranate, clove, and incense. HER BATH Frankincense, benzoin, carnation, and balsam of Peru. ZENOBIA Zenobia was Queen of the Palmyrene Empire. She assumed leadership of her nomadic tribe after her father’s death, eventually marrying King Septimius Odaenathus. Zenobia seemed a contradiction: chaste, dark-eyed, and lovely, but able to drink, fight, and make war like a man. She fought, on horseback, alongside her husband in many battles, and ruled the Empire with a fair and just hand after her husband’s passing. To her people, she was the Lady of Victory, conquering several Roman provinces, including Egypt, and expelling the prefect, Tenagino Probus, who was beheaded after he led an attempt to seize back control of the territory for Rome. Her conquests enabled her to control many vital trade routes, further earning her the ire of the Romans. Unfortunately, she eventually overextended her reach. She was betrayed, and then captured by Emperor Aurelian, displayed in chains in a triumphal procession through Rome, her Empire dissolved. Rather than capitulate to misfortune, she made a new life for herself, and became a Roman matron, philosopher, and socialite. HER PERFUME Orris, clove, costus storax, patchouli, hyssop, frankincense, balsam, and saffron. HER BATH Orris, amber, balsam, calamus, and frankincense. Each set comes with a 5ml bottle of the Queen’s perfume, a 4oz bottle of the Queen’s bath oil, and a squirt of Templum Victoriae Atmospheric Spray: frankincense, olive leaf, champaca, beeswax, amber, and bay myrtle. If you choose not to enter a plea and have opted to forego the quiz, you can leave the selection up to us, or you can specify your choice of Queen in the comments field. Each of the Warrior Queens are only sold as a set, the packs cannot be split up, and the products in this LE cannot be sold on their own. You may place an order for multiple sets, or place multiple orders; in either case, each will be considered separately in the course of the Inquest process. If you are placing an order for more than one set, you may submit multiple tales, applicable to each order. Please indicate which statement or quiz result pertains to which order. You have until May 31, 2009 to participate, at which point the Inquest will end. Please note: Inquests will not begin to ship until May 22, 2009. And with that, I’m going to crawl into bed. Good night, all!

Planting Moon is live at BPAL and BPTP! PLANTING MOON As is the garden such is the gardener, A man’s nature runs either to herbs or to weeds. – Francis Bacon This Full Moon marks a time for new growth, both within nature and within our spirits. It is a time of fertility and fruitfulness, for sowing seeds to ensure blessings and bounty later in the year. The scent of Planting Moon is that of summer squashes, pole beans, tomato leaves, upturned earth, and sun-warmed herbs. Stunning artwork provided by our beloved Jennifer Williamson. The scent (at BPAL) and the tee (at BPTP) will be live until April 11, 2009. The Velvet Painting Exhibit will be departing the Salon on June 1, 2009, and Le Mat will also vanish from Black Phoenix Trading Post that day.

Sorry about the delay; 13 broke the internetz at BPAL for a few hours! This 13 is presented by the notorious Doc Constantine.

Flower Moon is live at BPAL and BPTP! FLOWER MOON April, too, marks the apex of the year's fertility, expresses the reawakening of the sexuality of the Earth and her inhabitants, and May's full moon celebrates both the fecundity of the creatures and flora of this world and the vibrancy, rejuvenation and life-affirming energy of Spring. Flower Moon embodies the unrestrained bliss, energy and color of the season: a bouquet of vivid, sexy blooms, coated in thick, golden honey... wisteria, swamp jasmine, honeysuckle, daffodil, rhododendron, phlox, and a mix of California wildflowers. Trading Post presents a lovely, petal-dappled phoenix tee by Jennifer Williamson! -- Lemony yellow and white shimmer inks on black tee! And in the spirit of springtime flora, there are some new additions to the Garden at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab! THE APPLE OF SODOM …their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. The tree’s bark is grey and cork-like, and the fruit, when ripe, is bright yellow, comely and sweet-scented. After their success in tempting Adam and Eve to the knowledge of sin, Satan and his cronies celebrated by partaking of the Apple: There stood A Grove hard by, sprung up with this thir change, His will who reigns above, to aggravate Thir penance, laden with Fruit like that Which grew in Paradise, the bait of Eve Us'd by the Tempter: on that prospect strange Thir earnest eyes they fix'd, imagining For one forbidden Tree a multitude Now ris'n, to work them furder woe or shame; Yet parcht with scalding thurst and hunger fierce, Though to delude them sent, could not abstain, But on they rould in heaps, and up the Trees Climbing, sat thicker then the snakie locks That curld Megæra: greedily they pluck'd The Frutage fair to sight, like that which grew Neer that bituminous Lake where Sodom flam'd; This more delusive, not the touch, but taste Deceav'd; they fondly thinking to allay Thir appetite with gust, instead of Fruit Chewd bitter Ashes, which th' offended taste With spattering noise rejected: oft they assayd, Hunger and thirst constraining, drugd as oft, With hatefullest disrelish writh'd thir jaws With soot and cinders fill'd; so oft they fell Into the same illusion, not as Man Whom they triumph'd once lapst. Thus were they plagu'd And worn with Famin, long and ceasless hiss, Till thir lost shape, permitted, they resum'd, Yearly enjoynd, some say, to undergo This annual humbling certain number'd days, To dash thir pride, and joy for Man seduc't. Native to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, this fruit turns to ashes when plucked as a sign of God’s displeasure. BOHUN UPAS The Tree of Poisons. Every aspect of this tree is toxic, from the narcotic, lethal fumes that it emits, to its oozing, poisonous sap. A deceptively tranquil scent: heady fruits, dry bark, and deep green leaves, enveloped by a dark and sinister murk. THE LOTUS TREE Thence the winds bore me, blowing fierce and fell, Across the fish-abounding ocean swell A nine-days’ space: and on the tenth we reached The land where the Lotus-eaters dwell, Who fed on flowery food: there landed we And drew us water, and by the sea By the swift ships taking our midday meal We drank and ate bread in sufficiency. Then of my crew I sent to bring me word, Exploring inland, what they saw or heard Of dwellers on the acres, choosing out Twain, and as a herald with them for the third. And straightway going forth, anigh they drew The Lotus-eaters; who against our crew Devised not hurt, but gave them of the fruit To taste upon the lotus-trees that grew. But whoso of them once began to eat The lotus-fruit, that is as honey sweet, Had no will longer in him to return Or bring back tidings, but desired to fleet His days among the lotus-eating men, Eating the lotus, nor return again. Howbeit I drove them weeping to the ships, And to the ships’ hold haled and bound them then Under the benches: but I bade anon My fellows to the swift ships get them gone In haste, that none might of the lotus-fruit Eat, and forget the way he went upon. Honey-sweet and soporific. THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL After these things, surveying the entrances of the north, above the mountains, I perceived seven mountains replete with pure nard, odoriferous trees, cinnamon and papyrus. From there I passed on above the summits of those mountains to some distance eastwards, and went over the Erythraean sea. And when I was advanced far beyond it, I passed along above the angel Zateel, and arrived at the garden of righteousness. In this garden I beheld, among other trees, some which were numerous and large, and which flourished there. Their fragrance was agreeable and powerful, and their appearance both varied and elegant. The tree of knowledge also was there, of which if any one eats, he becomes endowed with great wisdom. It was like a species of the tamarind tree, bearing fruit which resembled grapes extremely fine; and its fragrance extended to a considerable distance. I exclaimed, How beautiful is this tree, and how delightful is its appearance! Then holy Raphael, an angel who was with me, answered and said, This is the tree of knowledge, of which your ancient father and your aged mother ate, who were before you; and who, obtaining knowledge, their eyes being opened, and knowing themselves to be naked, were expelled from the garden. Whiffs of cinnamon bark, almond, and spikenard surround a perfect fruit, whose scent is akin to a tamarind, with the grace of a fine grape, as warm and rich as a fresh fig, glistening red like pomegranate seeds, and as crisp as an apple. YA-TE-VO Travelers have told us of a plant, which they assert grows in Central Africa and also in South America, that is not contented with myriad of larger insects which it catches and consumes, but its voracity extends to making even humans its prey. This marvelous vegetable Minotaur is represented as having a short, thick trunk, from the top of which radiate giant spines, narrow and flexible but of extraordinary tenaciousness, the edges of which are armed with barbs, or dagger-like teeth. Instead of growing upright, or at an inclined angle from the trunk, these spines lay their outer ends upon the ground, and so gracefully are they distributed that the trunk resembles an easy couch with green drapery around it. The unfortunate traveler, ignorant of the monstrous creation which lies in his way, and curious to examine the strange plant, or to rest himself upon its inviting stalk approaches without a suspicion of his certain doom. The moment his feet are set within the circle of the horrid spines, they rise up, like gigantic serpents, and entwine themselves about him until he is drawn upon the stump, when they speedily drive their daggers into his body and thus complete the massacre. The body is crushed until every drop of blood is squeezed out of it and becomes absorbed by the gore-loving plant, when the dry carcass is thrown out and the horrid trap set again. Barbed, sanguinary greenery, fleshy and sharp. THE ZIEBA TREE A massive tree that held, in its lowest boughs, a nest of bare-breasted men and women. The souls sprawled within the Zieba Tree’s branches were trapped in reverie, lost for all eternity in their fantasies. A dreamlike, listless scent, misty and hazed, with wisps of white sandalwood, eddying musks the colors of eventide, shimmering pale resins, davana, lemon blossom, orange blossom, and white peach. The world is in the midst of massive upheaval, and to help keep the uncertainty, fear, and fretting at bay, we present a new type of Chaos Theory that melds the comfort and harmony of the familiar with a injection of jolly tumult... CHAOS THEORY V: RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star. - Friedrich Nietzsche A new take on Chaos! For this series, we decided to try a different type of chaotic experimentation. Each CT:5 scent has a base of one of the following scents, in wildly varying proportions: Dorian O Penitence Snake Oil From these bases comes a new series of flowing, fragrant fractals that emanate from these four roots. Random combinations of oils have been added to every individual bottle, resulting in a truly unique blend that retains some of the tone, essence, and soul of the original. This is an exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Most common allergens have been omitted from the experiment. No pennyroyal, no nuts, no cinnamon, no cassia. Regardless, if you have any sensitivities, please do not participate in Chaos Theory. The contents of the oils are not recorded [that's the whole point!] and we will not be able to answer questions about specific bottles of CT:5 or guarantee that an allergen is not present in your order. By purchasing CT:5, you agree to absolve Black Phoenix of any responsibility related to an allergic reaction to one of the oils in this series. Please make a responsible choice, and use caution and discretion when ordering. This is intended to be a fun, exciting project. Please bear in mind that all Black Phoenix oils are made in an environment that contains nuts, both literally and figuratively. The Chaos blends were created by m‘self, Doc Constantine, and Mister Teddy from Black Phoenix Trading Post, so you get an extra dollop of chaos! We hope that you enjoy these scents as much as we enjoyed creating them! CHAOS THEORY V: RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY V1 The Dorian Series CHAOS THEORY V: RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY V2 The O Series CHAOS THEORY V: RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY V3 The Penitence Series CHAOS THEORY V: RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY V4 The Snake Oil Series A portion of all the proceeds from CT:5 will go to United Way. Flower Moon will be live until March 13th, and CT:5 will be live until April 15th! Until next time, ladies and gents!

What have we here? New jewelry?! The hell you say! Black Phoenix Trading Post is OVERJOYED to present the first in a series of lockets and pendants inspired by the short stories of Neil Gaiman! This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single piece go to Match It For Pratchett, which is raising money to match Terry Pratchett’s $1,000,000.00 donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust. Thank you so much, Neil, for giving us so many years of joy, wonder, and inspiration, and for the pleasure of working with you on this project! Heartfelt thanks to Alicia Dabney and Julie Dillon for providing the artwork for the lockets and pendant! Also new to the Post -- the Brimstone and Triple Dagger pendants! Suds, smells, shirts, and more will be coming this spring!