A Halloween Vision of the Past, with Some Spiders, a Pumpkin Patch, and Beaver Moon Rising!

[wickedgoddess]

Beaver Moon and the second half of our massive Halloween celebration is live now at BPAL and BPTP!

 

Beaver Moon

 

BEAVER MOON 2012

Traditionally, Beaver Moon is named thus for a very obvious reason: during this time of year, beavers are hard at work building their dams and preparing for the onset of winter. However, we at BPAL rarely let an opportunity for sleazy campiness pass us by! For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: gooey apple cheesecake!

 

 

 

Beaver Moon art by the awesome Andrew Fogel!

 

 

 

This month's single note accord:

 

HAITIAN VETIVER

Vetiver is easily one of my favorite base notes. Dark, earthy, and somber, it makes an excellent perfume fixative, and radiates a scent that is profoundly relaxing and gently grounding. In aromatherapy, it is used to treat stress disorders, anxiety, and soul-weariness. It is a truly multidimensional scent, possessing more than a hundred and fifty aromatic molecules, and its fragrance grows even deeper - richly sweeter - and more intense with time.

 

 

 

And a Halloween vision of the past with some spiders, a new gallery exhibition, and a brand new pumpkin patch.

 

 

 

++ HALLOWEEN: MNEMOSYNE

HALLOWEEN IN INNSMOUTH

When I was little, a summoning went awry at the standing stones in the grove by my house, and the ensuing carnage in the neighborhood effectively ruled out the possibility of trick or treating locally that year. My parents didn't want me to be disappointed, so they drove my brother and m'self to Innsmouth for the night. The people manning the festively decked-out skiffs that were moored in the sand-clogged harbor were incredibly generous with their candy, and my brother and I ended the night as happy as two sugar-high little kids could be.

 

The strange beauty of the crumbling Georgian houses and their widow's walks is forever etched in my memory, along with the distinct scent of fish and kelpy incense.

 

Innsmouth: Halloween, 1983. Fish and ceremonial incense.

 

 

 

HALLOWEEN IN THE MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

During my sophomore year in college, I found myself pressed for time while working on a paper about Tsathogguan Rites of Passage in Ancient Cimmeria. It was due on the first Friday of November, and I had barely started. My grades were failing, and I couldn't really afford to blow this. Earlier in the quarter, I'd made the mistake of trying to copy test answers from the person who sat next to me in my Non-Euclidean Geometry class, not realizing he was as big a fuck-up as I was. We both failed, we were both caught, and I was only saved from expulsion by Professor Upham's unfortunate institutionalization. In the hopes of salvaging my GPA, I headed off to the university library instead of going out with friends on Halloween night.

 

I passed Dr. Armitage, the Head Librarian, as I entered the Antediluvian Anthropology wing. The library was desolate, and for a moment I felt a little lonely and out of sorts. The silence was soothing, though, and the scent of the yellowed books and polished oak tables reminded me strongly of my childhood home. I found myself a table, and set to work.

 

Around midnight, someone wandered in. Absorbed in my research, I was profoundly irritated at the disturbance, but when I saw who had entered the reading room, I softened. It was a guy who I'd worked with a few times at my day job–I was doing marketing for a junior line of cultist's robes, and he was the photographer for our catalogue. We got to talking. He'd had a falling out with his girlfriend earlier in the evening, and rather than spend the rest of the night at home, he'd come to the library looking for some inspiration for his photography. His breath smelled like pumpkin lattes, and there was a faint trace of cologne swirling around him. He quoted Byron, I told terrible jokes, and in the end I nearly failed my paper, but I fell in love.

 

To this day, I still wrestle with putting things off 'til the last minute, and I'm still easily distracted by a handsome face.

 

 

 

 

 

++ HALLOWEEN: ARACHNAPHOBIA

A noiseless, patient spider,

I mark'd, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;

Mark'd how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,

It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;

Ever unreeling them–ever tirelessly speeding them.

 

And you, O my Soul, where you stand,

Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,–seeking the spheres, to connect them;

Till the bridge you will need, be form'd–till the ductile anchor hold;

Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.

 

Photography by Madelyn Boudreaux, poem by Walt Whitman, scents by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

 

GOLDENROD CRAB SPIDER

White mint, coconut, Indonesian champaca flower, lime rind, white ginger, and green tea.

 

 

 

ORB WEAVER SPIDER

East African black patchouli, lilac, lavender, Italian neroli, King mandarin, Terebinth pine, and star anise.

 

 

 

WOLF SPIDER

Tonka bean, patchouli, bourbon vanilla, Cuban tobacco, coconut, clary sage, galbanum, white musk, and chamomile.

 

 

 

 

 

++ HALLOWEEN: PUMPKIN PATCH

PUMPKIN I

Pumpkin, hay, champaca, and leather accord.

 

PUMPKIN II

Pumpkin, coffee absolute, tonka, teakwood, cedar, cypress, and patchouli.

 

PUMPKIN III

Pumpkin, mandarin, black pepper, frankincense, red sandalwood, and carnation.

 

PUMPKIN IV

Pumpkin, mimosa, black amber, mahogany, and Madagascan saro.

 

PUMPKIN V

Lightly spiced pumpkin pulp swirled with bourbon vanilla, French vanilla, and raw vanilla bean.

 

 

 

This month there's also three new additions to our 'Weenies:

 

PUMPKIN VINES

A tangle of lush greenery and thick, rooty vines with a hint of pumpkin rind, crumbled leaves, and rich soil.

 

 

 

THE TEARS OF LILITH

O lovely demon, half-divine!

Hemlock and hydromel and gall,

Honey and aconite and wine

Mingle to make that mouth of thine—

 

Thy mouth I love: but most of all

It is thy tears that I desire—

Thy tears, like fountain-drops that fall

In gardens red, Satanical;

 

Or like the tears of mist and fire,

Wept by the moon, that wizards use

To secret runes when they require

Some silver philter, sweet and dire.

- Clark Ashton Smith

 

Hemlock and hydromel and gall, honey and aconite and wine, lavishly poured over a blend of deep red musk, velvet-red rose, and silvery ambergris.

 

 

 

WITCH DANCE

As in the Sabatt's ancient round

With strange and subtle steps you went:

And toward the heaven and toward the ground

Your steeple shapen hat was bent

As in the sabbat's ancient round.

 

Between the windy, swirling fire

And all the stillness of Ihe moon.

Sweet witch, you danced at my desire,

Turning some weird and lovely tune

To paces like the swirling fire.

Your supple youth and loveliness

A glamor left upon the air:

Whether to curse, whether to bless,

You wove a stronger magic there

With your lithe youth and loveliness.

 

Upon the earth your paces wrought

A circle such as magicians made…

And still some hidden thing you sought

With hands desirous, half afraid,

Beyond the ring your paces wrought.

 

Your fingers, on the smoke and flame,

Moved in mysterious conjuring,

You seemed to call a silent Name,

And lifted like an outstretched wing

Your somber gown against the flame.

 

What darkling and demonian Lord,

In fear or triumph, did you call?

Ah! was it then that you implored,

With secret signs equivocal,

The coming of the covens' Lord?

 

Sweet witch, you conjured forth my heart

To answer always at your will!

Like Merlin, in some place apart,

It lies enthralled and captive still:

Sweet witch, you conjured thus my heart!

- Clark Ashton Smith

 

Bonfire smoke rising through a cloud of ceremonial incense, encircled by swirling autumn leaves and a dribble of blood red musk.

 

 

 

Beaver Moon, Haitian Vetiver and all of our current Halloweenie offerings are available on our limited edtion page.

 

 

 

And lastly, there's a new exhibit in Pickman's Gallery.

 

 

 

Sadly, something has to go to make room for all this madness, so this month's tribute is Nocnista. Effective immediately, Nocnista is no longer available.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Black Phoenix Trading Post are getting ready for Halloween as well, and are thrilled to present a wee little collection to help put you in the Trick or Treating mood!

 

 

 

++ BPTP HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS

APPLE ORCHARD

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still,

And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three

Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.

But I am done with apple-picking now.

Essence of winter sleep is on the night,

The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.

I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight

I got from looking through a pane of glass

I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough

And held against the world of hoary grass.

It melted, and I let it fall and break.

But I was well

Upon my way to sleep before it fell,

And I could tell

What form my dreaming was about to take.

Magnified apples appear and disappear,

Stem end and blossom end,

And every fleck of russet showing clear.

My instep arch not only keeps the ache,

It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.

I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.

And I keep hearing from the cellar bin

The rumbling sound

Of load on load of apples coming in.

For I have had too much

Of apple-picking: I am overtired

Of the great harvest I myself desired.

There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,

Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.

For all

That struck the earth,

No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,

Went surely to the cider-apple heap

As of no worth.

One can see what will trouble

This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.

Were he not gone,

The woodchuck could say whether it's like his

Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,

Or just some human sleep.

 

Baskets of apples, sun warmed, sit beneath tree boughs dappled with autumn light.

 

 

 

OAK LEAVES AND KYPHI

Oak leaves falling through a haze of kyphi, champaca, and blackened pomegranate rind.

 

 

 

SAMHAIN

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

 

 

 

THE WITCH'S GARDEN

Hidden beneath the arms of an ancient gnarled oak sits an overgrown, weedy patch of monkshood, sacred to Hecate and brought forth from Cerberus' spittle, that is surrounded by shrieking mandragora, black nightshade, wise sage, dire hemlock, creeping ivy, and thorn apple.

 

 

 

++ BPTP HALLOWEEN BATH OILS

PUMPKIN PIE

Devilishly decadent and a little bit ridiculous!

 

 

 

RED VELVET TRUFFLE

The scent of pulverized red velvet cake mixed with cream cheese frosting, stuffed with candy bark, rolled into balls, and coated with white chocolate.

 

 

 

SPIDER SILK

White coconut, orris root, delicate vanilla, white dammar, papyrus blossom, and osmanthus.

 

 

 

TORN CANDY BAG

Sour gummies, lemon drops, jujubes, and lollipops scattered on a broken patch of cement and dandelion-dotted grass.

 

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP HALLOWEENIE PERFUME

BLACK PUMPKIN FLOSS

Pumpkin candyfloss spiked with black licorice, black currant, and smoked maple.

 

 

 

ORANGE PUMPKIN FLOSS

Pumpkin candyfloss with neroli, pink grapefruit, blood orange, and petitgrain.

 

 

 

RED PUMPKIN FLOSS

Pumpkin candyfloss with red licorice, wild cherry, wild plum, and red currant.

 

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP HALLOWEENIE CANDLES

ALL SOULS

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.

 

 

 

BLACK CLOVE

Smoky Maluku clove and a hint of aged patchouli.

 

 

 

DEAD LEAVES AND DESOLATION

A barren grove, silent. Dry, crumbling oak leaves dance through the skeletal, grasping arms of ancient trees.

 

 

 

PUMPKIN TART

Fresh pumpkin puree seasoned with brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg, and clove baked into an anise seed crust.

 

 

 

 

 

++ BPTP HALLOWEENIE SOAPS

C8H10N4O2

Sweet hazelnut coffee with a triple shot of espresso.

 

 

 

PUMPKIN TART

Fresh pumpkin puree seasoned with brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg, and clove baked into an anise seed crust.

 

 

 

SUBSTRATUM

A deep, earthy blend of soothing, grounding, nurturing oils: Himalayan cedar, Sumatran patchouli, spikenard, and black fig.

 

 

 

TRICK OR TREAT

The sticky sweet scent of candy corn!

 

 

 

Additionally, Spanish Red Carnation has been added to the general catalog soaps.

 

SPANISH RED CARNATION SOAP

A celebratory scent, spicy and joyful. This is the nation flower of Spain. It symbolizes the suffering of Christ, the passion of lovers, and the laurels of victory.

 

 

 

And, just in time for Halloween, there is a new Dia de los Muertos imp case.

 

 

 

And last but not least, we are introducing:

 

++ BPTP HALLOWEEN HARD CANDIES

These gourmet hard candies were hand-made exclusively for Black Phoenix by Confounding Confections. Confounding Confections Hard Candies are created and wrapped by hand, using only the finest of natural ingredients.

 

All ingredients used are natural, vegan, gluten-free, and free of common allergens. Gift tins are made in the U.S.A., and are reusable and recyclable.

 

VOL. 1 - TRICKS & TREATS

Includes 15 individually wrapped sweeties (2 oz.) packaged in a handsome 4 inch gift tin. In this collection you will find 5 delicious and long-lasting pieces each of the following varieties:

 

GHOULISH

Black cherry, and coconut amaretto, gently laced with saffron.

 

BLUE PUMPKIN FLOSS

Puffy clouds of pumpkin candyfloss with a trickle of blackberry juice.

 

AUTUMN CIDER

Fermented apple juice, brown sugar, spice, lemon zest, butterscotch liquor, and orange slices.

 

Halloween Candies, Candles, Soaps, Bath Oils, Atmosphere Sprays and Perfume Oils can all be found on Black Phoenix Trading Post's limited edition Halloween page.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

You will be able to preview many of these fine offerings at our Will Call events this weekend in Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA, and South Burlington, VT.

 

The west coast will call event will be held on Saturday, September 29th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies.

 

Dark Delicacies

3512 W. Magnolia Blvd

(1 block east of Hollywood Way)

Burbank, CA 91505

www.darkdel.com

 

Seattle Will Call will be held at Bedlam Bedlam on Saturday, September 29th, from 6:30 to 9:30pm.

 

BedlamBedlam

613 East Pike Street

Seattle WA 98122

http://bedlambedlam.com/

 

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, September 30th from 3:00 to 6:00pm, in the Learning Center.

 

Healthy Living Market

222 Dorset Street,

South Burlington, VT, 05403