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Happy Halloween! Leaves are a-stirrin’, cider is a-brewin’, and pumpkins are aglow at Black Phoenix Trading Post! A trillion thanks to Ms. Kaitlin Reeves of Form and Function for helping us get the Halloween update up and running! Live, and o-so-Halloweenie – the first in our Inspirations series! Illustrated by Abigail Larson! BRAM STOKER No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be. MARY SHELLEY It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world. Bathe in autumnal bliss: ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN BATH OIL AUTUMN DUSK Frankincense, black copal, and myrrh veiled in night-blooming jasmine, black rose, smoky patchouli leaf, and a dribble of red wine. BOO Eerie billows of spun sugar, fluttering white cotton, and sheets of cream. CARAMEL APPLES AND ANCIENT OAKS Sticky-sweet caramel apples and a gentle rain of apple blossoms clutched by gnarled oak boughs. PUMPKIN ICE CREAM Lightly spiced pumpkin ice cream! Want to liven (deaden?) up your atmosphere? We can help! -- ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS BALEFIRE A crack in the door to the underworld: blackened leaves, woodsmoke and flame, dusty mullein, and apple bark against a backdrop of sepulchral myrrh. BLACK POMEGRANATE AND BLACKCURRANT Piquant, tart, and strangely hypnotic. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 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. PUMPKIN S’MORES Pumpkin marshmallows smushed into brown sugar-dusted graham crackers with melted chocolate and a hint of campfire smoke. ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN CANDLES AUTUMN MIDNIGHT Frankincense, honeycomb, black copal, and myrrh veiled in night-blooming jasmine, dusky amber, black rose, smoky patchouli leaf, bitter cacao, and a dribble of red wine. PUMPKIN CLOVE Warm pumpkin and Madagascar clove bud. SPIKED APPLE CIDER Spiced apple cider livened up with a splash of apple brandy. SWEET GINGER AND FRANKINCENSE Oman frankincense with unpeeled Ginger rhizome and Italian bergamot. TOBACCO POMEGRANATE Blood red pomegranate with tobacco absolute, Haitian tobacco leaf, and oudh. Our candles are handcrafted by Sara Robey! Many, many thanks to our beloved Sara for lending us her time and limitless talent! Work out those kinks with our limited edition autumn massage oil: ++ BPTP LIMITED EDITION AUTUMN MASSAGE OIL PATCHOULI CLOVE A decadently warming blend of three patchoulis, Himalayan cedar, and a touch of sweet clove. Tricksy has returned from the grave! This time, she’s a perfume… ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN LIMITED EDITION PERFUME TRICKSY Patchouli, aquilaria aguillocha, and Manuka honey. Also Halloweenie, two new tees! One is limited… Illustration by Abigail Larson! Due to the zomg number of colors in this piece, we’ve tried something new with Abigail’s Halloween art. This tee was printed using the DTG process, and isn’t silkscreened like BPTP’s other tees. And the other is an addition to our permanent collection! Illustration by Tanya Bjork! This Fall, we are thrilled to introduce the Hallowenches of Black Phoenix Trading Post! The Ladies of Samhain were lovingly illustrated by Aidan Casserly! ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN 2013: CALLIDORA, THE VAMP CALLIDORA PERFUME Blood musk, Egyptian myrrh, Mayan cacao, 7-year aged red patchouli, Siamese benzoin, and tobacco absolute. BLOODBATH BATH OIL This vamp’s secret to eternal youth: red musk, black patchouli, rose milk, and sugar blossom. SILKYBAT HAIR GLOSS Sensual sugared patchouli. ++ LAVINA, THE CREATURE LAVINA PERFUME Ruby peppermint, Moroccan white mint, red currant, wild plum, neroli, green tea, and cassis. RECHARGING STATION BATH OIL An invigorating shock of eucalyptus petals, white mint, pink lime, and rosemary! LIGHTNING STORM HAIR GLOSS Vivid flashes of dazzling electricity: white mint, white tea, white ginger, a jolt of yuzu, and electric green lime! ++ SYLVIA, THE SHE-WOLF SYLVIA PERFUME Snuggly brown musk spicy carnation, leather balsam, bourbon vanilla, terebinth pine, yew berry, and a touch of clove. SUDSY SHE-WOLF BATH OIL The warmest, snuggiest way to tame a savage beast: hazelnut coffee with dark chocolate, sweet fig milk, warm brown amber, and terebinth pine. SHINY FURBALL HAIR GLOSS Smell like you’ve been on a Full Moon Stalk even when you’re at the office! Himalayan cedar, vanilla musk, lavender, black clove, honeyed coconut, fir balsam, and juniper berry! Now with natural flea repellants! (FOR WEREBEAST USE ONLY. DO NOT SPRAY ON PETS, PLS!)

The first scents from our Gail Potocki-inspired BPAL line for her Fragmented Alice series are live on the Century Guild web site! Tonight's event exclusive, Time's Infliction of Eternity, will be live on their site today only, and will be on sale tonight at Gail's closing event! If you are in the neighborhood, please join us tonight, from 7-10 at Century Guild!

An October vision of Harvest Moon is our Lunacy this month: HARVEST MOON 2013 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. - Carl Sandburg Red roses and wild red leaves. The Harvest Moon tee is available at Black Phoenix Trading Post! Artwork by Tanya Bjork! We’ve plucked some Oakmoss for your perusal -- ++ SINGLE NOTES OAKMOSS ACCORD Oakmoss is a lichen that grows on the branches and trunks of conifers and deciduous trees. Oakmoss’ scent can vary, depending on how it is grown and which tree has housed it. Generally, it is deep, earthy, green, moist, and tenacious, though oakmoss grown on pine trees may possess a thinner, sharper scent. Some extractions smell vaguely leathery, and some are velvety green, while others can be dry and woodsy. In perfumery, oakmoss is considered a base note, and it is often employed as a fixative. It adds depth, a sense of grounding, and solemnity, and acts as an anchor for more capricious notes. And a new subsection of our catalogue is debuting! ++ INSPIRATION This is a paean to all the writers, artists, poets, dramatists, composers, sculptors, scientists, inventors and innovators that inspire us. The accompanying tees are available at our sister site, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. MARY SHELLEY Illustrated by Abigail Larson. Purchase the tee here! It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world. The scent of absinthe, lightning, stormclouds, and laudanum crashing through a veil of soft Victorian oriental perfume. BRAM STOKER Illustrated by Abigail Larson. Purchase the tee here! No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be. Bourbon vetiver with opoponax, Italian bergamot, and hay absolute. Coming up next… Black Phoenix Trading Post’s Halloweenies! - - - A gentle reminder! -- On September 21st, Century Guild is hosting a closing party for Gail Potocki’s phenomenal Fragmented Alice series, and Black Phoenix will be there debuting our new collaboration with the artist! We'll also have an event exclusive for the evening: Time’s Infliction of Eternity, a sanguine blend of Dragon’s Blood sedum and black tea. Time’s Infliction of Eternity will ONLY be sold on the evening of the event! The Fragmented Alice scents that will be debuting are: WORMWOOD FIELD Wormwood accord, pink lime, yuzu, thyme flower, hinoki, cedar wood, and green musk. HATTA Copaiba balsam, battered brown leather, and Ceylon cinnamon. NEVAR Black plum and opium poppy with violet leaf and petal, white musk, indigo incense smoke, olibanum, vetiver, and cacao. And the rest of the upcoming Fragmented Alice scents will be on display for you to experience! Wormwood Field, Hatta, and Nevar are limited to 250 bottles each, and when they’re gone… they’re gone. They will be sold the night of the event, and the remainder will be sold through Century Guild and the BPAL site soon afterwards. Join us on the 21st! Gail Potocki’s Fragmented Alice: Closing Night September 21, 2013 7-10pm CENTURY GUILD 6150 Washington Blvd Culver City, CA 90232 1.800.610.2368 http://centuryguild.net/

Happy Friday the 13th, all! 13 13 is significant, whether you consider it lucky, unlucky or just plain odd. Many believe it to be unfortunate… …because there were 13 present at the Last Supper. …Loki crashed a party of 12 at Valhalla, which ended in Baldur's death. …Oinomaos killed 13 of Hippodamia's suitors before Pelops finally, in his own shady way, defeated the jealous king. …In ancient Rome, Hecate's witches gathered in groups of 12, the Goddess herself being the 13th in the coven. Concern over the number thirteen echoes back beyond the Christian era. Line 13 was omitted form the Code of Hammurabi. The shivers over Friday the 13th also have some interesting origins: …Christ was allegedly crucified on Friday the 13th. …On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and sixty of his senior knights. …In British custom, hangings were held on Fridays, and there were 13 steps on the gallows leading to the noose. To combat the superstition, Robert Ingersoll and the Thirteen Club held thirteen-men dinners during the 19th Century. Successful? Hardly. The number still invokes trepidation to this day. A recent whimsical little serial killer study showed that the following murderers all have names that total thirteen letters: Theodore Bundy Jeffrey Dahmer Albert De Salvo John Wayne Gacy And, with a little stretch of the imagination, you can also fit "Jack the Ripper" and "Charles Manson" into that equation. More current-era paranoia: modern schoolchildren stop their memorization of the multiplication tables at 12. There were 13 Plutonium slugs in the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Apollo 13 wasn't exactly the most successful space mission. All of these are things that modern triskaidekaphobes point to when justifying their fears. For some, 13 is an extremely fortuitous and auspicious number… …In Jewish tradition, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy. Also, there were 13 tribes of Israel, 13 principles of Jewish faith, and 13 is considered the age of maturity. …The ancient Egyptians believed that there were 12 stages of spiritual achievement in this lifetime, and a 13th beyond death. …The word for thirteen, in Chinese, sounds much like the word which means “must be alive”?. Thirteen, whether you love it or loathe it, is a pretty cool number all around. …In some theories of relativity, there are 13 dimensions. …It is a prime number, lucky number, star number, Wilson Prime, and Fibonacci number. …There are 13 Archimedean solids. AND… …There were 13 original colonies when the United States were founded. Says a lot about the US, doesn't it? A fortune’s wheel of thirteen lucky and unlucky herbs, spun around a rich, dark core of pure cacao: allspice berries, cascara sagrada, ladybug beans, cinnamon, catnip, sweet clove, cumin, huckleberry leaves and fruit, master root, copal negro, sarsaparilla, nutmeg, and green rice. And lookit! There are two new Friday the 13th tees over at Black Phoenix Trading Post! The Black Cat Friday the 13th Tee by Abigail Larson! The Unlucky Day Friday the 13th Tee by Aiden Casserly! 13, the fragrance, will be live until Saturday the 14th, and the tees will be live til Halloween! Also new at the ‘Post… ++ ALCHEMICAL SKULL WALL PLAQUE This alchemical skull wall plaque was created by wonderfully talented Michael Locascio. It is based on one of his original designs, which he modified so that it could hold and added two 5ml bottle holders just for Black Phoenix! These miniplaques are 5 3/4 inches tall and 4 ½ wide. Each plaque was cast in high quality resin and is hand-painted by the artist! And two new general catalogue soy candles! Crafted, as always, by Sara Robey! - ABSINTHE Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon. PERVERSION Smoky rum and black tobacco with a whisper of steamy leather with a splash of crystalline chardonnay, layered over a sensual, sweet, and deceptively magnetic base of tonka. And a scent that Ted composed for Lilith -- CAPAX INFINITI Limited Edition (Lilith’s Birthday!) Scent Dear Lilith, Your giggle makes me smile. Your tears touch my heart. Your hugs give me strength. I love seeing the world through your eyes. Thank you for letting me hold your hand as we walk along your path of life. I love you infinity. Dad A scent warmed by a whole lot of love: honey-snuggled skin musk, sweet vanilla ice cream residue, and lavender oil (Lilith’s favorite!), with a gentle hint of Dorian. What’s that I smell in the air? Pumpkins, dry leaves, and candy corn? Must be Halloween at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab… ++ HALLOWEEN 2013 A WORLD WHERE THERE ARE OCTOBERS October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths. Anne reveled in the world of color about her. "Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs" 'I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them." An armload of maple boughs and a swirl of autumn leaves. ALL SOULS 2013 A day of remembrance and intercession. Without the prayers and sacrifices of their families and loved ones, the faithful departed may not be cleansed of their venal sins, and thereby cannot attain beatific vision. On November 2nd, prayers are sung and offerings are made to aid lost souls in transcending purgatory. An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes. AUTUMN FANCIES Faded the clover now ;-- sere and withered the grasses: What dreams the matsumushi in the desolate autumn-fields? Strangely sad, I thought, sounded the bell of evening;-- Haply that tone proclaimed the night in which autumn dies! Viewing this autumn-moon, I dream of my native village Under the same soft light,--and the shadows about thy home. Dry grasses bathed in amber light, muted by gentle shadows. DAY OF SKULLS 2013 In Bolivia, many people hold to the tradition of keeping the skulls of their ancestors with them in their homes, caring for their remains. It is believed that each person has seven souls, and one of those souls stays with the skull after death, enabling a spirit to grant protection and prophetic dreams to their descendants, and to bless their families with good health and prosperity. The Bolivian Fiesta de las Natitas, or Dia de los Natitas, is a day of honor for these ancestors. Their skulls are dressed with fragrant blossoms, and offerings of cocoa leaves, alcohol, and cigarettes are made. White sandalwood, beeswax, and frankincense crowned by hydrangea, rose, and kantuta blossoms, dressed with tobacco, cocoa leaves and flowers from the sacred Cactus of the Four Winds. DARK PUMPKIN MEAD Thick, heady pumpkin mead sweetened with clover honey and a hint of maple. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 2013 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. FLOR DE MUERTO 2013 The orange marigold, or zempasúchitl, has been one of Death's symbols since the pre-Columbian era. The yellow and orange petals are believed to represent the rays of the sun, bringing joy and light to the souls dwelling in the realm of the dead. These flowers surround Day of the Dead altars to guide the spirits to their offerings. GHOSTS IN LOVE 2013 "Tell me, where do ghosts in love Find their bridal veils?" "If you and I were ghosts in love We'd climb the cliffs of Mystery, Above the sea of Wails. I'd trim your gray and streaming hair With veils of Fantasy From the tree of Memory. 'Tis there the ghosts that fall in love Find their bridal veils." - Vachel Lindsay White sandalwood, tobacco flower, lily of the valley, white carnation, and magnolia blossom with tea rose, labdanum, and oudh. GOBLIN MARKET Apples and quinces, Lemons and oranges, Plump unpecked cherries, Melons and raspberries, Bloom-down-cheeked peaches… Like honey to the throat, but poison in the blood. HAUNTED HOUSES All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. We meet them at the door-way, on the stair, Along the passages they come and go, Impalpable impressions on the air, A sense of something moving to and fro. There are more guests at table than the hosts Invited; the illuminated hall Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts, As silent as the pictures on the wall. The stranger at my fireside cannot see The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear; He but perceives what is; while unto me All that has been is visible and clear. We have no title-deeds to house or lands; Owners and occupants of earlier dates From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates. The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air. Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires; The struggle of the instinct that enjoys, And the more noble instinct that aspires. These perturbations, this perpetual jar Of earthly wants and aspirations high, Come from the influence of an unseen star An undiscovered planet in our sky. And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud Throws o’er the sea a floating bridge of light, Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd Into the realm of mystery and night,— So from the world of spirits there descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this, O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends, Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quiet, ineffective ghosts haunting the realm of mystery and night, stretching dusty hands back to homes and lifetimes unforgotten: pale gossamer musks swirling in thick, dense otherworldy vapours through cracks in dry wood and old, old stones. THE HELL-GATE OF IRELAND 2013 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. JOHN BARLEYCORN 2013 There was three men come out o' the west their fortunes for to try, And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn must die, They plowed, they sowed, they harrowed him in, throwed clods upon his head, And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn was dead. Barley, beer, blood, and whiskey. LE REVENANT 2013 Comme les anges à l'oeil fauve, Je reviendrai dans ton alcôve Et vers toi glisserai sans bruit Avec les ombres de la nuit; Et je te donnerai, ma brune, Des baisers froids comme la lune Et des caresses de serpent Autour d'une fosse rampant. Quand viendra le matin livide, Tu trouveras ma place vide, Où jusqu'au soir il fera froid. Comme d'autres par la tendresse, Sur ta vie et sur ta jeunesse, Moi, je veux régner par l'effroi. - - - Like angels with wild beast's eyes I shall return to your bedroom And silently glide toward you With the shadows of the night; And, dark beauty, I shall give you Kisses cold as the moon And the caresses of a snake That crawls around a grave. When the livid morning comes, You'll find my place empty, And it will be cold there till night. I wish to hold sway over Your life and youth by fear, As others do by tenderness. -- Charles Baudelaire, translation by William Aggeler. A shroud of gardenia, narcissus, and sandalwood with ambrette seed, white cognac, muguet, davana, and white musk. MICTECACIHUATL 2013 Known as the Mistress of Bones and the Lady of the Dead, she is the Queen of Mictlan, the Aztec Underworld, who still presides over today's Day of the Dead rituals. Sometimes known now as La Huesuda, she brings peace and joy to the spirits of the deceased, and blesses the living who do honor to those who have passed before them. Copal, precious woods, South American spices, agave nectar, cigar tobacco, and roses. OOKY 2013's Ridiculous Halloweenie! Less spooky than Spooky, and nowhere near as creepy as Creepy, this is the scent of lightly spiced pumpkin candies, decorated with thick marzipan, sweetened with buttercream, an decorated with a touch of lemon zest. SAMHAIN 2013 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. SEPTEMBER MIDNIGHT Lyric night of the lingering Indian Summer, Shadowy fields that are scentless but full of singing, Never a bird, but the passionless chant of insects, Ceaseless, insistent. The grasshopper’s horn, and far-off, high in the maples, The wheel of a locust leisurely grinding the silence Under a moon waning and worn, broken, Tired with summer. Let me remember you, voices of little insects, Weeds in the moonlight, fields that are tangled with asters, Let me remember, soon will the winter be on us, Snow-hushed and heavy. Over my soul murmur your mute benediction, While I gaze, O fields that rest after harvest, As those who part look long in the eyes they lean to, Lest they forget them. - Sara Teasdale A myrrh-darkened amber chypre sweetened by newly-ripened black pomegranate. THEME IN YELLOW I spot the hills With yellow balls in autumn. I light the prairie cornfields Orange and tawny gold clusters And I am called pumpkins. On the last of October When dusk is fallen Children join hands And circle round me Singing ghost songs And love to the harvest moon; I am a jack-o'-lantern With terrible teeth And the children know I am fooling. - Carl Sandburg Ghost songs and love to the harvest moon: fresh pumpkins warmed by candlelight and aglow with Halloween joy. And the Phobos Collection: ...none more skilled than he to insinuate grasping terror and to steal courage from the heart; voices and hands innumerable has the monster, and aspects to assume at will; all-persuasive is he, and his onslaughts drive cities mad with horror. - Statius ++ HALLOWEEN 2013: PHOBOS EDITION ACHLUOPHOBIA Fear of darkness. Oppressive, stifling, suffocating, blinding: black patchouli, tobacco absolute, opoponax, and inky black musk. NOCTIPHOBIA Fear of nighttime. The vast, endless canopy of the night sky, dotted with cold, harsh pinpoints of light under a bulging white moon: PHASMOPHOBIA Fear of ghosts. Whispers in the darkness and cold breath upon your neck: calla lilies, white sandalwood, snow rose, white amber, and iced wine. PLACOPHOBIA Fear of tombstones. Jagged claws of crumbling stone thrusting through tear-soaked moss. SAMHAINOPHOBIA 2013 Fear of Halloween. Menacing Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and clove with a shock of bourbon geranium, grim oakmoss, and dread-inspiring balsams pierce the innocuous scent of autumn leaves. ++ HALLOWEEN 2013: THE PUMPKIN PATCH There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! ALICE IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH DORIAN IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH MOROCCAN PUMPKIN PATCH SAMHAIN IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH SIN IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH SNAKE OIL IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH The Black Phoenix Trading Post Halloweenies will be live soon, including a gorgeous pair of Halloween-themed tees, creeptastic atmosphere sprays, gloomy candles, and howlingly lovely bath oils. Also in the works… a trip to the Miskatonic Valley and the Castle of the Crystal, and a complete BPAL site overhaul -- yes, the search feature is coming back at long last!

Black Phoenix Trading Post posted a little update last night! CAPAX INFINITI Limited Edition (Lilith’s Birthday!) Scent Dear Lilith, Your giggle makes me smile. Your tears touch my heart. Your hugs give me strength. I love seeing the world through your eyes. Thank you for letting me hold your hand as we walk along your path of life. I love you infinity. Dad A scent warmed by a whole lot of love: honey-snuggled skin musk, sweet vanilla ice cream residue, and lavender oil (Lilith’s favorite!), with a gentle hint of Dorian. A new wall plaque! -- ALCHEMICAL SKULL WALL PLAQUE This alchemical skull wall plaque was created by wonderfully talented Michael Locascio. It is based on one of his original designs, which he modified so that it could hold and added two 5ml bottle holders just for Black Phoenix! These miniplaques are 5 3/4 inches tall and 4 ½ wide. Each plaque was cast in high quality resin and is hand-painted by the artist! And two new general catalogue soy candles! Crafted, as always, by Sara Robey - ABSINTHE CANDLE Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon. PERVERSION CANDLE Smoky rum and black tobacco with a whisper of steamy leather with a splash of crystalline chardonnay, layered over a sensual, sweet, and deceptively magnetic base of tonka. Next stop, Friday the 13th...

On September 21st, Century Guild is hosting a closing party for Gail Potocki’s phenomenal Fragmented Alice series, and Black Phoenix will be there debuting our new collaboration with the artist! We'll also have an event exclusive for the evening: Time’s Infliction of Eternity, a sanguine blend of Dragon’s Blood sedum and black tea. Time’s Infliction of Eternity will ONLY be sold on the evening of the event! The Fragmented Alice scents that will be debuting are: WORMWOOD FIELD Wormwood accord, pink lime, yuzu, thyme flower, hinoki, cedar wood, and green musk. HATTA Copaiba balsam, battered brown leather, and Ceylon cinnamon. NEVAR Black plum and opium poppy with violet leaf and petal, white musk, indigo incense smoke, olibanum, vetiver, and cacao. And the rest of the upcoming Fragmented Alice scents will be on display for you to experience! Wormwood Field, Hatta, and Nevar are limited to 250 bottles each, and when they’re gone… they’re gone. They will be sold the night of the event, and the remainder will be sold through Century Guild's gift shop and web site. Join us on the 21st! Gail Potocki’s Fragmented Alice: Closing Night September 21, 2013 7-10pm CENTURY GUILD 6150 Washington Blvd Culver City, CA 90232 1.800.610.2368 http://centuryguild.net/

Happy birthday to our beloved little angel! Five already!? Where does the time go? ++ LILITH'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY UPDATE! BLUE LOLLIPOPS Preschool graduation celebration! Blueberry-swirled blue lollipops! BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS, AND JEWELS ATTENDING Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things Inspired by the moment in time frozen in this photo - my fairy child, laughing and playing amongst gargantuan flowers. An ethereal, iridescent, twilit scent, sparkling with mystery and innocent joy: white patchouli with provence rose, delicate freesia, pink tuberose, jasmine sambac, orange blossom, butterfly musk, vanilla orchid, and delicate spices. THE FUTURE BALL One day, Lilith digs up one of my old crystal balls and asks me what it does. I tell her that some people read the future in crystal balls, so she asks me to tell her what’s going to happen tomorrow. “I see a little girl waking up and asking for spaghetti for breakfast.” “I see a yellow building and a yellow toy bus.” “I see a big brown dog. The dog is trying to steal a little girl’s dinner.” “I see a little girl surrounded by stuffed animals. Her mother is trying to get her to go to sleep, but the little girl keeps asking for more stories.” This went on every day for weeks. She’d pull out the ball, and ask (demand) that I tell her what was going to happen to her tomorrow. Fun stuff, motherhood! Crystalline white musk, Somalian olibanum, smoky benzoin, Damascus rose, dark myrrh, sacred sandalwood, life everlasting, rock rose, and gummy bear fingerprint residue. LILITH’S BUBBLEGUM AND ROSES This summer, Lilith spent Tuesdays and Thursdays with us here at the Lab. One day, she decides that she wants to make a perfume for herself that all her friends can wear, too. We talk for a little while, and I let her smell some components before she finally decides that she wants her fragrance to smell like bubblegum and roses. Little lady, your wish is my command. Lilith’s creation: a spray of pink roses, red rose petals, and pink sticky bubblegum! LILITH’S FEEL BETTER FLOWERS I’ve been trying to teach Lilith a little bit about herbalism, aromatherapy, and plant lore. We talk about all the plants that are growing in the yard, we talk about all the tinctures, simples, and other concoctions that mom makes, and we play a board game that’s all about wildharvesting herbs. Lilith and I were talking about oils one day at work, and she told me that she wanted to make a perfume with all the “feel better flowers”. I told her that I’d put in every flower whose purpose she could remember… … so here’s what she made: + carnations (to make people happy) + lavender (for sleeping and keeping away bedroom monsters) + honey (it’s for smiles and good throats) + ginger (for tummies) + aloe (for too much sun) + blessed thistles (for buronic (sic) plague) + chamomile (for happy families) + chocolate peppermint (because mom grows it just for me) Please remember! – this is a perfume, not a medicine! Please don’t drink, rub on wounds, use as a suppository, or anything else nutty. LITTLE PYTHIA Ever since toddler’dom, Lilith has had a thing for tarot cards. What kid wouldn’t? They’re big, they’re colorful, and each of them has a story to tell. She has her own decks now (Rider Waite and Thoth), but she still steals mine all the time. This pic was accidental, and, to me, hilarious. She was playing with her Thoth deck when out of nowhere, she grabbed these cards and smooshed them on her cheeks. I’m not sure why she did it, but I’m hella glad I had a camera handy! Channeling Uncle Al, perhaps? An incense for a budding baby magus: vanilla frankincense and rose champaca with a little bit of red licorice. TARANTULA FASCINATOR This summer, Lilith got to play with a ton of bugs, reptiles, and other wigglies during a special event at her preschool. She made a new friend that day – Ursula the Tarantula. “Lilith, what would a tarantula smell like?” “Maybe fuzzy chocolate? With stripes?” Done and done: fuzzy cacao-drenched hazelnut with hay absolute, black pepper, and nutmeg, laced with stripes of wild plum and white sandalwood. - - - Lil's birthday scents and the Garden of Proserpine will be live til November! Teddy's scent, dedicated to Lilith, will be debuting at Black Phoenix Trading Post soon!

These Skeksis are debuting at DragonCon! skekZok the Ritual-Master An incense of deception: frankincense, opoponax, hyssop, champaca, and opium poppy accord. skekUng the Garthim-Master Brute force and destruction: vetiver, smoke, steel, and dragon's blood resin. skekTek the Scientist Metal and stone beams of dark light: hyssop, black currant, black viola, passionflower, and myrrh. skekNa the Slave-Master The essence of vile gluttony: an abundance of spices, sweet cakes, thick creams, and opulent liqueurs mixed with the scent of whip leather and rusted padlocks.

Halloween is almost upon us, the air is alight with Black Butterflies, the fruits of forgetfulness are ripening in Persephone's Garden, and a whiff of pungent incense heralds the coming of autumn -- Illustration by Tanya Bjork! The tee is available at Black Phoenix Trading Post! 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. ++ SINGLE NOTES OLIBANUM Representative of the Path of Shin, connecting Hod (Splendour) with Malkuth (Kingdom), and is one of the primary ingredients in Abramelin incense and oil. In some traditions, olibanum is also a perfume of Tiphareth (Beauty), and is integral in assisting in helping one connect with their higher self. Our olibanum represents purification by fire, and possesses all the generous, expansive, radiant qualities of Sol. ++ THE GARDEN OF PROSERPINE An ode to pale-limbed Persephone, inspired by Algernon Swinburne with artwork by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. ...'tis thine in earth's profundities to dwell, fast by the wide and dismal gates of hell. I AM TIRED OF TEARS AND LAUGHTER I am tired of tears and laughter, And men that laugh and weep Of what may come hereafter For men that sow to reap: I am weary of days and hours, Blown buds of barren flowers, Desires and dreams and powers And everything but sleep. White lavender, oudh, and Siamese benzoin. SHE CRUSHES FOR DEAD MEN DEADLY WINE No growth of moor or coppice, No heather-flower or vine, But bloomless buds of poppies, Green grapes of Proserpine, Pale beds of blowing rushes Where no leaf blooms or blushes, Save this whereout she crushes For dead men deadly wine. Poppy wine, chthonic incense, Balm of Gilead, and pomegranate. PALE, WITHOUT NAME OR NUMBER Pale, without name or number, In fruitless fields of corn, They bow themselves and slumber All night till light is born; And like a soul belated, In hell and heaven unmated, By cloud and mist abated Comes out of darkness morn. Greek musk, violet leaf, carrot seed, and ho wood. HE TOO WITH DEATH SHALL DWELL Though one were strong as seven, He too with death shall dwell, Nor wake with wings in heaven, Nor weep for pains in hell; Though one were fair as roses, His beauty clouds and closes; And well though love reposes, In the end it is not well. Somalian myrrh, purple roses, orris root concrete, French cypress, and pomegranate juice. CROWNED WITH CALM LEAVES SHE STANDS Pale, beyond porch and portal, Crowned with calm leaves she stands Who gathers all things mortal With cold immortal hands; Her languid lips are sweeter Than love's who fears to greet her To men that mix and meet her From many times and lands. A diadem of narcissus blossoms and pale daffodils. DEAD DREAMS OF DAYS FORSAKEN There go the loves that wither, The old loves with wearier wings; And all dead years draw thither, And all disastrous things; Dead dreams of days forsaken, Blind buds that snows have shaken, Wild leaves that winds have taken, Red strays of ruined springs. 15-year aged patchouli, Egyptian cumin, white frankincense, labdanum, and bitter almond. TO-DAY WILL DIE TO-MORROW We are not sure of sorrow, And joy was never sure; To-day will die to-morrow; Time stoops to no man's lure; And love, grown faint and fretful, With lips but half regretful Sighs, and with eyes forgetful Weeps that no loves endure. Siamese benzoin, white lilac, tuberose, aniseseed, and white carnation. HOPE AND FEAR SET FREE From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free, We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never; That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea. Bourbon vanilla and 10-year aged frankincense. THE SLEEP ETERNAL Then star nor sun shall waken, Nor any change of light: Nor sound of waters shaken, Nor any sound or sight: Nor wintry leaves nor vernal, Nor days nor things diurnal; Only the sleep eternal In an eternal night. Opium tar, asphodel, and lavender, with tuberose, grave moss, frankincense, and mandrake root. Coming soon: Black Phoenix Trading Post's fruits from Garden of Proserpine, a hat tip to Stoker and Shelley, the return of Carnaval Diabolique, a gritty, modern interpretation of the Alice mythos, and, of course, the Halloweenies.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Trading Post is thrilled to announce our con exclusives for Dragon*Con! Black Phoenix will be vending at Dragon*Con 2013 at booths 1206 & 1208 in AmericasMart, building 1, floor 1. For your perusal, we present the Peach Pit: + MILLIONS OF PEACHES / BPAL DRAGON*CON 2013 PEACH I Golden peach, tobacco absolute, tonka bean, and honey with a squirt of red musk. PEACH II White peach, tangerine, and champagne grapes. PEACH III Georgia peaches, madeira wine, mimosa, and Cherokee roses. PEACH IV Golden peach, Egyptian amber, myrrh, ho wood, frankincense, burgundy pitch, musk seed, and oudh. PEACH V White peach, white tea, honey, and neroli. + MILLIONS OF PEACHES / BPTP DRAGON*CON 2013 PEACHES IN THE BPAL GARDEN ATMOSPHERE SPRAY Ripe peaches, freshly mown grass, lemon verbena, honeysuckle, cedar sap, orange blossom, and tomato vine. SUGARED PEACH BATH OIL Spun sugar and golden peaches. WHITE PEACH AND INCENSE HAIR GLOSS White peach, champaca flower, and frankincense. BPAL’s Peach Pit fragrances are $24 each, BPTP’s peachy atmosphere spray and bath oil are $26 each, and the White Peach and Incense Hair Gloss is $33!

The Red Moon is rising over Black Phoenix! RED MOON 2013 August is a month of reflection. It is the month of rest before the harvest, and it holds for us a time between toils, a brief period of relaxation before we take up the burden of our work again. It is the Time of the Phoenix, a season of celebrating health, vitality, warmth and joy, but it is also the time at which the Corn God dies for the sake of the land, his blood soaking the earth to ensure a bountiful harvest in the fall. The Full Red Moon of August was named thus by some Native American tribes because as the moon rises, it dons a reddish veil, visible through the hot, sweltering summer evening haze. Our blend for this Moon mixes traditional lunar oils with the warmth of amber, tolu balsam, and heliotrope, the russet haze of dragon's blood resin, bittersweet red currant, and crushed orange peel, and a swirl of summertime herbs: chamomile, cilantro, rue, elder flower, yellow yarrow, and marigold. The Red Moon tee is available now at Black Phoenix Trading Post! Artwork by our much-beloved friend, Tanya Bjork! In the Single Note Garden, another crop of patchouli is being harvested - EAST AFRICAN BLACK PATCHOULI Smokier and woodier than her Red cousin, East African Black Patchouli is rich, passionate, and earthy, possessing a unique, distinctive elegance. And the second set of scents inspired by Neil Gaiman's Coraline are live! Thank you so much, Neil! We love you! - THE GHOST CHILDREN “What happened to you all?” asked Coraline. “How did you come here?” “She left us here,” said one of the voices. “She stole our hearts, and she stole our souls, and she took our lives away, and she left us here, and she forgot about us in the dark.” “You poor things,” said Coraline. “How long have you been here?” “So very long a time,” said a voice. “Aye. Time beyond reckoning,” said another voice. “I walked through the scullery door,” said the voice of the one that thought it might be a boy, “and I found myself back in the parlor. But she was waiting for me. She told me she was my other mamma, but I never saw my true mamma again.” “Flee!” said the very first of the voices—another girl, Coraline fancied. “Flee, while there’s still air in your lungs and blood in your veins and warmth in your heart. Flee while you still have your mind and your soul.” “I’m not running away,” said Coraline. “She has my parents. I came to get them back.” “Ah, but she’ll keep you here while the days turn to dust and the leaves fall and the years pass one after the next like the tick-tick-ticking of a clock.” “No,” said Coraline. “She won’t.” There was silence then in the room behind the mirror. “Peradventure,” said a voice in the darkness, “if you could win your mamma and your papa back from the beldam, you could also win free our souls.” “Has she taken them?” asked Coraline, shocked. “Aye. And hidden them.” “That is why we could not leave here, when we died. She kept us, and she fed on us, until now we’ve nothing left of ourselves, only snakeskins and spider husks. Find our secret hearts, young mistress.” “And what will happen to you if I do?” asked Coraline. The voices said nothing. “And what is she going to do to me?” she said. The pale figures pulsed faintly; she could imagine that they were nothing more than afterimages, like the glow left by a bright light in your eyes, after the lights go out. “It doth not hurt,” whispered one faint voice. “She will take your life and all you are and all you care’st for, and she will leave you with nothing but mist and fog. She’ll take your joy. And one day you’ll awake and your heart and your soul will have gone. A husk you’ll be, a wisp you’ll be, and a thing no more than a dream on waking, or a memory of something forgotten.” “Hollow,” whispered the third voice. “Hollow, hollow, hollow, hollow, hollow.” I based the scent on a description of the characters that Neil sent to me in an email: “Well, I like the idea that it would contain flowers and flame and fairy things... but from so long ago that they've almost forgotten who they are. So it would be a ghost perfume....” In the perfume, I also tried to capture the blue-violet-white of an afterimage and the silence of a snuffed candle. The scent is dry with age, taut with loss, grief, and heartbreak, and sorrowful in the unspeakable desolation of simply being forgotten. THE OTHER MISS FORCIBLE ~and~ THE OTHER MISS SPINK …are distorted versions of their “real” perfumes: sticky sweet, cobwebby, and grotesque. THE OTHER HOT CHOCOLATE The other mother took the bacon from under the grill and put it on a plate. Then she slipped the cheese omelette from the pan onto the plate, flipping it as she did so, letting it fold itself into a perfect omelette shape. She placed the breakfast plate in front of Coraline, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a mug of frothy hot chocolate. “Yes,” she said. “I think I like this game. But what kind of game shall it be? A riddle game? A test of knowledge or of skill? “An exploring game,” suggested Coraline. “A finding-things game.” “And what is it you think you should be finding in this hide-and-go-seek game, Coraline Jones?” Coraline hesitated. Then, “My parents,” said Coraline. “And the souls of the children behind the mirror.” The other mother smiled at this, triumphantly, and Coraline wondered if she had made the right choice. Still, it was too late to change her mind now. “A deal,” said the other mother. “Now eat up your breakfast, my sweet. Don’t worry—it won’t hurt you.” Coraline stared at the breakfast, hating herself for giving in so easily, but she was starving. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline. “I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s grave.” “Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline. “Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.” “Swear on something else. So I can trust you to keep your word.” “My right hand,” said the other mother, holding it up. She waggled the long fingers slowly, displaying the clawlike nails. “I swear on that.” Coraline shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “It’s a deal.” She ate the breakfast, trying not to wolf it down. She was hungrier than she had thought. As she ate, her other mother stared at her. It was hard to read expressions into those black button eyes, but Coraline thought that her other mother looked hungry, too. She drank the orange juice, but even though she knew she would like it she could not bring herself to taste the hot chocolate. THE OTHER MOTHER’S RIGHT HAND Coraline opened the front door and looked at the gray sky. She wondered how long it would be until the sun came up, wondered whether her dream had been a true thing while knowing in her heart that it had been. Something she had taken to be part of the shadows under the hall couch detached itself from beneath the couch and made a mad, scrabbling rush on its long white legs, heading for the front door. Coraline’s mouth dropped open in horror and she stepped out of the way as the thing clicked and scuttled past her and out of the house, running crablike on its too-many tapping, clicking, scurrying feet. She knew what it was, and she knew what it was after. She had seen it too many times in the last few days, reaching and clutching and snatching and popping blackbeetles obediently into the other mother’s mouth. Five-footed, crimson-nailed, the color of bone. It was the other mother’s right hand. It wanted the black key. A scrabbling, skittering, clacking scent: white as bone, black as a beetle, and red as blood - orris root, vetiver, and daemonorops. THE SNOW GLOBE She looked around the room. It was so familiar—that was what made it feel so truly strange. Everything was exactly the same as she remembered: there was all her grandmother’s strange-smelling furniture, there was the painting of the bowl of fruit (a bunch of grapes, two plums, a peach and an apple) hanging on the wall, there was the low wooden table with the lion’s feet, and the empty fireplace which seemed to suck heat from the room. But there was something else, something she did not remember seeing before. A ball of glass, up on the mantelpiece. She went over to the fireplace, went up on tiptoes, and lifted it down. It was a snow globe, with two little people in it. Coraline shook it and set the snow flying, white snow that glittered as it tumbled through the water. Then she put the snow globe back on the mantelpiece, and carried on looking for her true parents and for a way out. Cold leaded glass, bone chip snow, and glycerin. THE SILVER STREAM The boy with the dirty face stood up and hugged Coraline tightly. “Take comfort in this,” he whispered. “Th’art alive. Thou livest.” And in her dream Coraline saw that the sun had set and the stars were twinkling in the darkening sky. Coraline stood in the meadow, and she watched as the three children (two of them walking, one flying) went away from her across the grass, silver in the light of the huge moon. The three of them came to a small wooden bridge over a stream. They stopped there and turned and waved, and Coraline waved back. And what came after was darkness. Bittersweet: the scent of forgetfulness, peace, and oblivion. Like asphodel petals on moonlit water. And over at the Post... ++ THE SLIPPING INTO MADNESS CTHULHU PLAQUE Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu lw'nafh freff’gtdh 'fhalma hupadgh N'ghft Osoph’guax Crax’axxaha Shag-Ron wgah'nagl fhtagn z’zxo. Translation: In his palace at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits for the Mother Born of the Black Phoenix to finish the goddamn Carnaval Diabolique update. This plaque, an homage to Great Cthulhu’s artisanal fragrance obsession, was sculpted by Jake Johnson-Alhazred, great-great-great-great-great grandson of Abdul Alhazred and Arkham High School’s favorite art teacher, and crafted by hand by blind, mute cultists in a subterranean workshop located miles beneath the frozen wastes of Nunavut. The scent, Slipping Into Madness, was created by Elizabeth Barrial to be partnered with this plaque in an effort to placate the Sleeping God. His bottles of Madame Moriarty and Midnight on the Midway are empty, y’see. ++ SLIPPING INTO MADNESS A slow, murky sojourn into bedlam: slick, black Arabian musk, aged red patchouli, tobacco absolute, wild salvia, and a sliver of screeching, high-pitched zdravetz. (Ok, fine. Our Cthulhu plaque was /actually/ designed by Jake Johnson exclusively for Black Phoenix Trading Post, and manufactured - by hand in Canada! - by our friends at GreatBeard!) Dread Cthulhu’s plaque has a spot that fits one BPAL bottle in his writhing tentacles. (Please note: the plaque doesn’t really writhe. I don’t want anyone to be disappointed in the lack of actual, literal writhing. This plaque isn’t actually alive, and it isn’t the least bit animated. Unless you’re hallucinating, in which case all bets are off.) The deets: The plaques are 9 inches tall x 6 ¾ wide, and weigh a solid 2lbs. They are composed of cold cast bronze. This includes a finished cold cast bronze plaque, with an antique black patina, and 2 coats of crystal clear acrylic coat for protection. The entire plaque isn't bronze: the exterior of it is real bronze powder and it is back filled with resin in an effort to lighten the piece. Each plaque is slightly different, as each and every one was hand-crafted by real human beings! Conceived of, designed, sculpted, and produced in North America! ++ GOBLIN SACK STATUE Oh, those hardworking Black Phoenix Trading Post goblins. Without them, the Post would be complete and absolute chaos. Thanks to their noble efforts, orders are packed efficiently, shelves are dusted, the dungeon is tidy, coffee is made, our goats are milked, the liquor cabinet is emptied, and incoming phone calls are ignored. They’re kinda like the shoemaker’s elves, except not at all. This statue was sculpted from polymer clay by Jake Johnson exclusively for Black Phoenix Trading Post, and is manufactured in Canada by our friends at GreatBeard! Each goblin statue can fit one BPAL bottle under his arm and another in its wee lil’ sack for a total of two - count ‘em, TWO - bottles! A bottle of Goblin Sack will be makin' its way to you with each statue! – GOBLIN SACK Vanilla-laced leather with 3-year aged patchouli and a warm sack o’hazelnuts. The Deets: The goblin statues are 6 ¼ tall x 4 inches wide, and weigh 5oz. They are composed of poured resin. Each statue is slightly different, as each and every one was hand-crafted by real human beings! Conceived of, designed, sculpted, hand-painted, and produced in North America! These little fellas come in three colors… Burlap Sack Brown Hella Dark Burgundy Wine Arterial Spray Red All are patina’d black. Our friends at GreatBeard will be happy to customize your goblin in any color you desire for an additional fee. Please contact Teddy, Goblin Taskmaster, at tradingpost@papow.net if this tickles your fancy. The Goblin Statue and Goblin Sack come as a set and cannot be separated. You wouldn’t separate a goblin from his sack, wouldja?

Itty bitty delay on the Lunacy update. It'll be goin' live tomorrow! =) Thanks for your patience, all!

The wifi at the Westgate can be iffy and the cellular data network during SDCC is explody, so we can’t promise that it’ll be smooth sailing with our credit card processor at the event. We will have a separate cash line in an effort to speed things along. =) (Dunno why I picked this photo to use with this post. I guess I was just looking for an excuse to put it up.)

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab will be vending at the CBLDF’s Comic-Con Welcome Party! The soiree starts at 8pm on Thursday, July 18th at the Westgate Hotel in San Diego, CA. Our event exclusives are -- SINGLE NOTE: BURNING BOOK As good almost kill a man as kill a good book; who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye. — John Milton Book burning has a long, sordid history of being a tool in efforts to suppress dissenting views. It is a symbolic destruction of ideas, a theatrical ideological exercise in censorship, protest, and fear-mongering. Every bottle of Single Note: Burning Book will support the protection and preservation of our First Amendment rights by helping to fund the efforts of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Also available at the CBLDF SDCC shindig are two prototypes from our Neil Gaiman series, released with his permission: SNOW GLASS APPLES v4 The apple note is greener and tarter, the snow slightly less snowy. AGNES NUTTER v2 Slightly sweeter and witchspicier, less gunpowdery. (Thank you so much, Neil! <3 ) $23 each, and proceeds from every single bottle go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! CBLDF Comic-Con Welcome Party Thursday, July 18 The Westgate Hotel 1055 Second Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 8pm to 11pm This event is free for CBLDF members, and there is a suggested $10-$20 donation at the door for non-members. Please join us in supporting free speech with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!

Two new scents are live at Dark Delicacies! BLACK TAFFETA The dry, musty wooden scent of a crumbling cedar trunk dusted upon a gleaming swath of black Byzantine silk taffeta: opoponax and opium tar, Chinese geranium, smoky patchouli, bourbon vanilla absolute, and lustrous black and white musks. SUMMER LACE A Victorian bathing beauty: wisps of vanilla cream, caramelized tobacco absolute, white opium poppy, summer honeysuckle nectar, effervescent white mandarin, apple blossom, and green cognac. Black Taffeta and Summer Lace are $23 per bottle. They'll be live til Sept 1! Stay tuned for an announcement re: BPAL & San Diego Comic Con!

Weekend extension! The single notes (Passion Flower, Sumatran Red Patchouli, and Wild Dandelion) and current Pickman Gallery: A Tremulous Song scents will be live until Monday! When they're gone, they're gone!

Things & Stuff!

Lookit! Stuffs! =D https://www.etsy.com/shop/alchemylab If you would like to combine orders, please let us know in the comments field of your order!

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy. Summer Solstice is upon us, and the long day's sun is shining on hungry ghosts and a monastic garden overflowing with sweet peas: HUNGRY GHOST MOON On the 14th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the Gates of Hell burst open, and ghosts pour forth from the Nine Darknesses into the sunlit world. To placate the dead, Hell Money is burned, offerings are made, and paper boats and floating lanterns are set out to give comfort and direction to wayward spirits. Though many spirits simply seek out the comforts of their former homes and the company of their loved ones, rancorous spirits also roam the streets, seeking revenge on those who have wronged them, before and after their deaths. Offerings of hell money, ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost's perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit and the purging of earthly concerns from the soul. SINGLE NOTE: SWEET PEA By helpful fingers taught to twine Around its trellis, grew A delicate and dainty vine; The bursting bud, its blossom sign, Inlaid with honeyed-dew. Developing by every art To floriculture known, From tares exempt, and kept apart, Careful, as if in some fond heart Its legume germs were sown. So thriving, not for me alone Its beauty and perfume -- Ah, no, to rich perfection grown By flower mission loved and known In many a darkened room. And once in strange and solemn place, Mid weeping uncontrolled, Upon the crushed and snowy lace I saw them scattered 'round a face All pallid, still, and cold. Oh, some may choose, as gaudy shows, Those saucy sprigs of pride The peony, the red, red rose; But give to me the flower that grows Petite and pansy-eyed. Thus, meditation on Sweet Peas Impels the ardent thought, Would maidens all were more like these, With modesty -- that true heartsease -- Tying the lover's knot. First cultivated in the late 17th century by a Sicilian monk, Father Francis Cupani, sweet peas represent chastity, bliss, and innocent pleasures. The vines and flowers are used in magick to protect children, guard virtue, inspire affection, and cultivate friendship. The Hungry Ghost Moon tee was illustrated by Tanya Bjork, and can be found at Black Phoenix Trading Post! This month, we turn our attentions to the breathtaking strangeness of the natural world and the internalization of our relationship with it: ++ SONG OF NATURE Mine are the night and morning, The pits of air, the gulf of space, The sportive sun, the gibbous moon, The innumerable days. I hid in the solar glory, I am dumb in the pealing song, I rest on the pitch of the torrent, In slumber I am strong. No numbers have counted my tallies, No tribes my house can fill, I sit by the shining Fount of Life, And pour the deluge still; And ever by delicate powers Gathering along the centuries From race on race the rarest flowers, My wreath shall nothing miss. And many a thousand summers My apples ripened well, And light from meliorating stars With firmer glory fell. I wrote the past in characters Of rock and fire the scroll, The building in the coral sea, The planting of the coal. And thefts from satellites and rings And broken stars I drew, And out of spent and aged things I formed the world anew; What time the gods kept carnival, Tricked out in star and flower, And in cramp elf and saurian forms They swathed their too much power. Time and Thought were my surveyors, They laid their courses well, They boiled the sea, and baked the layers Or granite, marl, and shell. But he, the man-child glorious,-- Where tarries he the while? The rainbow shines his harbinger, The sunset gleams his smile. My boreal lights leap upward, Forthright my planets roll, And still the man-child is not born, The summit of the whole. Must time and tide forever run? Will never my winds go sleep in the west? Will never my wheels which whirl the sun And satellites have rest? Too much of donning and doffing, Too slow the rainbow fades, I weary of my robe of snow, My leaves and my cascades; I tire of globes and races, Too long the game is played; What without him is summer's pomp, Or winter's frozen shade? I travail in pain for him, My creatures travail and wait; His couriers come by squadrons, He comes not to the gate. Twice I have moulded an image, And thrice outstretched my hand, Made one of day, and one of night, And one of the salt sea-sand. One in a Judaean manger, And one by Avon stream, One over against the mouths of Nile, And one in the Academe. I moulded kings and saviours, And bards o'er kings to rule;-- But fell the starry influence short, The cup was never full. Yet whirl the glowing wheels once more, And mix the bowl again; Seethe, fate! the ancient elements, Heat, cold, wet, dry, and peace, and pain. Let war and trade and creeds and song Blend, ripen race on race, The sunburnt world a man shall breed Of all the zones, and countless days. No ray is dimmed, no atom worn, My oldest force is good as new, And the fresh rose on yonder thorn Gives back the bending heavens in dew. Words by Ralph Waldo Emerson, illustrations by Ernst Haeckel, fragrances by Elizabeth Barrial for Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. AURELIA Wild strawberry and red currant squished into a deep green blend of oakmoss, crushed mint, green tea leaf, mastic, petitgrain, Terebinth pine, and cypress. CALOCYCLAS Black leather accord with olibanum, black pepper, white sandalwood, luminous Asian blossoms, and sheer elemi. DESMONEMA White amber and mimosa with tendrils of Italian bergamot, myrrh, green tangerine and green patchouli, sheer coconut, quince, and vetiver. ELAPHOSPYRIS Luminous white musk with lemon verbena, Calabrian lemon, guiac wood, vetiver, Arkansas black apple, white sage, and white thyme. EPIBULIA East Indian Mango, cassis, blackcurrant, orange carnation, sugared coconut, and Maid of Orleans. OCTOPUS Pale moss, white kelp, sea buckthorn berry, ambergris accord, Somalian frankincense, rose geranium, and salt. STENTOR White mint, lime rind, champaca flower, khus, juniper berry, and matcha tea. TYMPANIDIUM Black licorice root, aged red patchouli, white sandalwood, orange blossom, lemon peel, and dried jewel-toned fruits. At the Post, Song of Nature baths are a-brewin'! – ++ SONG OF NATURE BATH OILS ASTERIAS BATH OIL Sweet apricot, white honey, orris root, white sandalwood, and white peach. PERIPHYLLA BATH OIL Bulgarian rose, ambrette seed absolute, saffron, white pear, oudh, and a touch of oakmoss. And for the moment, that’s all the news that’s fit to print!

West Coast Will Call June 23, 4-7pm Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd Burbank, CA 91505 - - - Vermont Will Call June 23, 4-7pm Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 Hope to see you there!

We're giving away a bottle of Honey Moon!

Because I love Douglas Adams more than I love cheese, chocolate, and tacos ALL COMBINED, I will give a free random imp to anyone that shows up to our will call event at Dark Delicacies tonight /with their towel/. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Full Moon Thingy Tonight, 4-7pm at Dark Delicacies 3512 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505

The Honey Moon tee is live at BPTP! Also, the Taurus clocket is back in stock for a very limited time. The Honey Moon tee was designed by Tanya Bjork, and the Taurus clocket was designed by Alicia Dabney!

We are thrilled to be a part of Century Guild’s kickstarter project - Century Guild Magazine 2013: from Klimt to The Great Gatsby. THE SCENT! -- PURSUE RABBIT Inspired by one of Gail Potocki's extraordinary interpretations of the Cheshire Cat, and created exclusively for Century Guild! An enigmatic blend of vanilla-infused sandalwood with wild black tobacco, white tea leaf, matcha, white musk, orange blossom, pale incense, and opium tar. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/337503446/century-guild-magazine-2013-from-klimt-to-the-grea/posts/484614 The oil is limited to fifty bottles, all emblazoned with Gail Potocki’s artwork, and is available in three packages: $26 for the oil alone, $47 for a package including the magazine, and $99 for a special package with the oil, the magazine, and a signed and numbered print of Gail’s Cheshire Cat! Even if you don’t choose to purchase the oil packages, please consider supporting this project! Century Guild is an incredible salon, Gail is a phenomenal artist, and Tom, Chandra, and Melissa are three of our favorite people! Visit Century Guild 6150 Washington Boulevard Culver City, CA 90232

Hullo, all! The BPAL side of the full moon update is going live a wee bit early this month, as we're taking a Sanity Reset Trip to Yosemite, and I wanted to make sure all was well before we headed north! Black Phoenix Trading Post's update will be live at Standard Update Time (just before the full moon), but here's an art teaser - Honey Moon was illustrated by Tanya Bjork. There are no words to describe how much I love this! Speaking of Trading Post... have y'all checked out the new site? We are beyond thrilled with it, and we're so grateful to Kaitlin at Form and Function for all of her hard work, her dedication, and her kindness, and for lending us both her time and her talent. We love you, Kaitlin! And without further ado... smelly things... HONEY MOON 2013 From honey sprang this Plant to life; with honey now we dig thee up. Make us as sweet as honey, for from honey hast thou been produced. My tongue hath honey at the tip, and sweetest honey at the root: Thou yieldest to my wish and will, and shalt be mine and only mine. My coming in is honey-sweet and honey-sweet, my going forth: My voice and words are sweet: I fain would be like honey in my look. Sweeter am I than honey, yet more full of sweets than licorice: So mayst thou love me as a branch full of all sweets, and only me. Around thee have I girt a zone of sugar-cane to banish hate. That thou mayst be in love with me, my darling never to depart. - Hymns of the Atharva Veda, XXXIV Honey Moon contains five different honeys, ranging from pale and sweet to deep and heady, with hints of jasmine, white gardenia, Hawaiian white ginger and thyme. SINGLE NOTE: PASSION FLOWER An elegant botanical sigil representing the crucifixion of Christ, this plant is said to grant blessings of peace and love (philía and storge) to a home, especially when grown around the door, gate, or fence. SINGLE NOTE: SUMATRAN RED PATCHOULI Sexy, dirty, much-maligned and much-loved patchouli… oh, how you get a bad rap. Though some associate you with head shops and Dead show parking lots, you really are so much more: You are utilized in Chinese medicine to normalize the flow of qi. In aromatherapy, you are used to diffuse stress, bring comfort and succor, and alleviate depression. You inspire lust, passion, and carnality, and create a veil of sexual intrigue unmatched by any other fragrance. You correspond with Saturn and Earth, facilitating grounding, stability, and protection, as well as the acquisition of property and money. You form the oft-unrecognized basis of innumerable perfumes, adding a unique depth and sensuality, sometimes imperceptibly. Your olfactory profile is incredibly fluid, ranging from mossy and gritty to wine-rich and voluptuous, and you age like a glorious silver screen goddess. So the next time someone tells you that you smell like an unwashed hippie, Patchouli, just smile your enigmatic smile. The enlightened know how amazing you are. SINGLE NOTE: WILD DANDELION Simple and fresh and fair from winter's close emerging, As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been, Forth from its sunny nook of shelter'd grass - innocent, golden, calm as the dawn, The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face. - Walt Whitman A scent as fresh as spring and as radiant as summer: the splendor of a crown of golden petals, the tartness of sap and pungent greens, and the gentle touch of white seed florets drifting in the breeze. We're going to be posting an etsy boom concurrent with this update! We are happy to combine etsy and BPAL orders - just email us with the info on the orders you'll be combining! Alchemy Lab and Trading Post are busy prepping some exciting new (and old!) stuff for summer, so keep your eyes peeled!