kebechet Report post Posted June 6, 2009 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
