kebechet Report post Posted August 23, 2010 Artwork by Manda Lander! The Harvest Moon update is live at BPAL & BPTP! HARVEST MOON 2010 Harvest Moon is celebrated in almost every culture, and the bounty of the season is marked in a myriad of ways. Harvest Moon touches the Equinox, the festival of Janus, the culmination of Homowo, the "crying of the neck" in Cornwall, and the Women's Festival of the Moon. This is a day that celebrates abundance and beauty, fertility and progress, and the light of this full moon blesses new undertakings and reunites lost loves. The Harvest Moon, by definition, is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox, and thus, it shares some of that Sabbat's characteristics. This Full Moon was thus named because it rises within half an hour of the sun's setting, in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this time farmers are able to work longer into the night by the light of this Moon. As the year draws to a close, the Full Moon rises an average of fifty minutes later each night, with the exception of a few nights surrounding the Harvest Moon, which only rises 10-30 minutes later. This moon is also, to the human eye, the fullest and largest of the year's Moons, hanging gloriously huge, yellow and low in the night sky, and many lunar illusions play tricks our eyes at this time. The Harvest ushers in many celebrations, including the Equinox and the Festival of Janus, God of Doors. Janus is the Roman Lord of Gateways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. Thus, the Harvest Moon is a time for blessing new ventures, the onset of new and progressive phases in one's life, and rites of passage into adulthood. This time of year also marks one of the Festivals of Dionysus, Lord of Ecstasy and the Vine. This Harvest lunacy combines the autumnal scents of dry leaves, mulling spices, balsam fir, cedar, juniper berry, clove, saffron, damson plum, sage, yarrow, and lily twined with Dionysus' sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple and pumpkin, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine. At BPAL, we're going to party like it's 2004! Welcome back, Mabon and Wildfire! MABON 2010 The Autumnal Equinox. The Second Harvest of the witches: a celebration of rest after labor, and repose after the rigors of Initiation. This is the mark of the completion of the Harvest and giving thanks for the previous season's abundance. In ceremonial magick, this is a time to begin the search for one's Higher Self anew, to celebrate rebirth and new life, and to revitalize the spirit. It is an Osirian time, contractive and catabolic. At this time, the Eleusinian mysteries were observed, celebrating the drama of Kore and Demeter. Blackberry wine and apple with hops, English ivy, rosemary, hazel, sage, chamomile, sweetgrass, oak bark, wild nuts, and myrrh. WILDFIRE 2010 A traditional blend of woods used in Celtic pyromantic divinatory practices, updated and contemporized with the addition of a fae blend of orris essence, dragon's blood, juniper berry, and red rose. Mabon 2010 and Wildfire 2010 are live until September 25, 2010, and Harvest Moon will be live until August 26, 2010. We at BPAL are thrilled to announce a new scent collaboration with the wonderful people at the Mütter! Victorian Garden, summer honey infused with medicinal herbs and gently cloaked by French lavender, is now available exclusively at the Mütter Museum. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has created limited edition scents based on the groundbreaking comic book series Dawn by Joseph Michael Linsner. The four scents, Dawn: Maiden, Dawn: Mother, Dawn: Crone and Cernunnos, will debut at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA. from Sep. 3-6, 2010. We will not be vending there ourselves, but the scents will be available from the Hero Initiative booth, BT-20, and the Linsner booth, BT-18 and 19, in the Grand Hall East of the Hyatt Regency. They will also be available starting Tuesday, Sep. 7 at www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com./dawn.html for $26. Scent descriptions will be posted soon. Proceeds from every bottle sold go to the Hero Initiative, the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book writers and artists in need. The 501©(3) charity assists comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance. BPAL will be vending alongside Dark Delicacies at the West Hollywood Book Fair, on Sunday, September 26th, from 10am to 6pm. There will be scents and signings, and all sorts of fun stuff. Details will be announced soon. Aaaaaaaaaaaand… BPAL will be vending at NYCC, October 8 - 10th at the Javits Center in New York City, Booth 2851. Please keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Black Phoenix Trading Post Halloween update! It's a doozy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
