 |
11 October 2011: 
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, warm, brown spices, white oak, Himalayan cedar, Russian sage, red apple, sweet black plum, juniper berry, clove, saffron, verbena, and yarrow with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, and a gentle breath of Harvest Festival woodsmoke and sweet red wine. So much thanks to Julie Dillon for illustrating Harvest Moon! Harvest Moon will be live on both sites until August 15th, 2011. Updated 12 July 2011 Berry Moon is live at Alchemy Lab and Trading Post!  BERRY MOON In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender limbs. -- Henry David Thoreau A sensuous, deep berry bouquet: blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries with Morello cherries, apricots, and strawberries, swirled in heady red musk and brandy. Berry Moon art by Manda Lander! Updated 13 June 2011! Hungry Ghost Moon is live at Alchemy Lab and Trading Post!  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 sweet rice, ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost’s perfume of white sandalwood, wisteria, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, and crystalline musk. This scent is tempered by the presence of ten herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit. Through this scent, we can release ourselves from sorrow and discontentment, unbinding our souls from the chains that shackle us to our baser needs so we may truly understand and experience compassion, empathy, and joy. Illustration by Julie Dillon! We've got a small addition to Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s RPG line: GNOME An explosive blend of effervescent golden ginger and black peppercorn with sarsaparilla, gurjum balsam, nutmeg, gear lubricant, and smoke.  … and a ginormical addition to Black Phoenix Trading Post's Atmosphere line! Hello thar, RPG Atmosphere sprays! + RPG ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS These atmosphere sprays (and the accompanying fragrance line at BPAL!) were inspired by the many years that I played pen and paper role-playing games. Each of these atmosphere sprays is inspired by a RPG location trope: Entering a musty crypt? We’ve got the scent for you! Confronting a cult of nefarious evildoers? Shoot a bit of Unspeakbly Evil Temple into the air! Your party is crawling through a wererat-infested sewer? We’ve got that comin’, too. While these scents were created to be used to enhance pen and paper RPG gameplay, they can also be used in your living space to evoke the illusion of a mist-shrouded elven forest, a gnomish workshop, an exotic bazaar, or a lich’s laboratory. The scents were created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab for the Trading Post. These sprays are generously scented with copious amounts of Black Phoenix perfume oil and disperse beautifully. A little goes a long way. Labels printed on an Earth-friendly corn biopolymer. The Black Phoenix Partnership does not test on animals. We test on friends and family, and on the linens of friends and family! FAE FOREST Mist-shrouded woods: Siberian fir needles, white pine bark, aspen leaf, wild lily, bergamot, wood violet, thimbleberry, sun-star, golden bell, snowdrop, heartsease, and bloodroot. UNSPEAKABLY EVIL TEMPLE A profane blend of opoponax, galangal root, dried mosses, wormwood accord, sandarac, frankincense, myrrh, and black copal. EXOTIC BAZAAR Nepalese amber, white sandalwood, black peppercorn, ambrette seed, neroli, coconut sugar, cardamom pods, ginger, fennel, bitter almond, liquorice root, henna, copaiba balsam, and spikenard. Stuff is being posted all the friggin’ time on BPAL’s etsy shop, Trading Post’s etsy shop, and the Black Phoenix ebay thingydooder. And for the moment… that’s that! Updated 13 May 2011! Happy Friday the 13th! Moon of Horses is also live on BPAL and BPTP!  MOON OF HORSES One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. Grape vines, cinnamon, frankincense, olive leaf, red wine, saffron, stacte, galbanum, costus root, smoke, and brimstone. Charmingly apocalyptic artwork by Julie Dillon! The Black Phoenix Trading Post RPG line of atmosphere sprays will be live later this month! From the 15 April 2011 update: The Weeping Moon update is live at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post! 
The moon glimmers like bright snow, and plum blossoms appear like reflected stars Ah! The golden mirror of the moon passes overhead as fragrance from the jade chamber fills the garden Graceful, arching branches, heavy with plum and apricot blossoms, sweet ichigo, and a bouquet of peony, anemone, honeysuckle, spider lily, and hydrangea against a backdrop of luminescent, gently glowing lunar oils. So much thanks to Julie Dillon for illustrating Weeping Branches Moon! Weeping Branches Moon will be live on both sites until April 19, 2011. 
This month, Black Phoenix Trading Post is introducing Snow, Glass, Apples soap! She said nothing. Her eyes were black as coal, black as her hair; her lips were redder than blood. She looked up at me and smiled. Her teeth seemed sharp, even then, in the lamplight. "What are you doing away from your room?" "I'm hungry," she said, like any child. It was winter, when fresh food is a dream of warmth and sunlight; but I had strings of whole apples, cored and dried, hanging from the beams of my chamber, and I pulled an apple down for her. "Here." Autumn is the time of drying, of preserving, a time of picking apples, of rendering the goose fat. Winter is the time of hunger, of snow, and of death; and it is the time of the midwinter feast, when we rub the goose-fat into the skin of a whole pig, stuffed with that autumn's apples, then we roast it or spit it, and we prepare to feast upon the crackling. She took the dried apple from me and began to chew it with her sharp yellow teeth. "Is it good?" She nodded. I had always been scared of the little princess, but at that moment I warmed to her and, with my fingers, gently, I stroked her cheek. She looked at me and smiled -- she smiled but rarely -- then she sank her teeth into the base of my thumb, the Mound of Venus, and she drew blood. I began to shriek, from pain and from surprise; but she looked at me and I fell silent. Black Phoenix Trading Post is thrilled to present a handcrafted soap inspired by Neil Gaiman's acclaimed short story, Snow, Glass, Apples. The soap was created by the fiercely talented master soaper Brooke Stant, and the label, designed by Kira Butler, includes one of Julie Dillon’s haunting illustrations from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's chapbook of the tale. The soaps are scented with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s 2008 Limited Edition scent, Snow, Glass Apples. In Neil's words, 'It smells like green apples and like sex and vampires, all at the same time. (Actually, it smells like sexy vampire apples.)' Snow, Glass, Apples will be available as long as supplies last. These gloriously luxuriant soaps were created with the finest skin-nurturing ingredients. They are made by hand, from scratch, by Villainess, and are generously scented with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume. Each bar is at least 3.5oz (without any water weight), and are cut 1" thick from a 3" square block of soap. The faces of the bars are smooth and bear unique, undulating, surrealistically beautiful swirls and marbles - rivulets of blood swirling though snow - and the sides are textured and raw, exhibiting the complex landscape of unsculpted handmade soap. As always, no animals were harmed during the creation of this soap, and all products were tested on friends and family. This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single set go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve and protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community. A million thanks and all our love to Neil, and to Charles Brownstein and his staff at the CBLDF! In other news, @EmpressPixie set up a great feed that you can subscribe to on twitter (@bpaletsyupdates) that'll keep you posted whenever the BPAL or BPTP etsy sites are updated!
From the 17 March 2011 update:  BONY MOON 2011 In the stark darkness of February, food is so scarce that some are forced to chew bones and make marrow soup for nourishment. It is a time when we honor our ancestors with fasting, solemn ritual, and reflection on the triumphs and accomplishments of those who have passed before us. White sandalwood, dry cedar, and radiant, crisp lunar herbs. Amazing, AMAZING artwork by Julie Dillon! Julie, we are so grateful to you for sharing your immense talent with us! Buy the shirt here! Embalming Fluid and Snake Oil are now part of the permanent bath collection. Morocco and Shanghai bath oils have also been added! The price for Snake Oil has gone up, as several of the components of Snake oil are very precious and rare and it is extremely expensive to keep in production in this format. And, frankly… Ted uses a metric shit ton of Snake Oil in the mix. The Black Phoenix Trading Post Lupercalia update will be along shortly. We're shooting for a week from now. From the 19 December 2010 update: Wolf Moon is live at Black Phoenix Trading Post!  Artwork by Julie Dillon.
Updated 17 November 2010:  Artwork by Julie Dillon.  Artwork by Julie Dillon.  Artwork by Jennifer Williamson.  Artwork for the tee by Manda Lander. The Harvest Moon perfume and tee will be live until August 26, 2010. The Black Phoenix Trading Post Halloween update is imminent. Please stay tuned. From the 25 July 2010 update: This month, the Lunacy is Joyful Moon! -  Artwork for the tee by Manda Lander. The Joyful Moon perfume and tee will be live until Thursday, July 29. Updated 25 June 2010: Happy Midsummer! This month, the Lunacy is Fledgling Raptor Moon –  Artwork for the tee by Jennifer Williamson. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Raptor perfume and the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Raptor tee will be live until Tuesday, June 29. At Black Phoenix Trading Post, we’re thrilled to debut the Ars Moriendi yoga pants, with artwork by Alicia Dabney, and a new pair of socks, courtesy of the master weavers at Sock Dreams!   Due to the rising price of silver and the cost of manufacture, Black Phoenix Trading Post has no choice but to raise the prices of the pendants and lockets. The new prices are as follows: GC Lockets: $80 GC Pendants: $45 Clocket: $85 Neil Lockets: $85 Neil Pendants: $50 Updated 9 June 2010: UNDERWORLD CUP XXI CHAMPIONSHIP IS UNDERWAY! The Battle for the Silver Key has begun! Communities across the Dreamlands and Earth’s Miskatonic Valley are alight with excitement as the Cats From Saturn take on the P’nathi Bholes for the coveted Key! Leng’s newly refurbished Unnamable Arena, Abbatoir, and Convention Centre will host the Carcosan Interdimensional Football Association’s showpiece Championship games. Many thanks to the People of Leng for their hospitality!  Black Phoenix Trading Post will enjoy the prestigious responsibility of providing interdimensional transport for the event's teams and managers, while the Mi-Go have generously donated their time and energy to ferrying the brains of those who cannot attend the matches in person.  THE MOLLY CRABAPPLE TEE IS LIVE!  Updated 25 May 2010:  LOTUS MOON "Courage!" he said, and pointed toward the land, "This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon." In the afternoon they came unto a land In which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast the languid air did swoon, Breathing like one that hath a weary dream. Full-faced above the valley stood the moon; And like a downward smoke, the slender stream Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did seem. A land of streams! some, like a downward smoke, Slow-dropping veils of thinnest lawn, did go; And some thro' wavering lights and shadows broke, Rolling a slumbrous sheet of foam below. They saw the gleaming river seaward flow From the inner land: far off, three mountain-tops, Three silent pinnacles of aged snow, Stood sunset-flush'd: and, dew'd with showery drops, Up-clomb the shadowy pine above the woven copse. The charmed sunset linger'd low adown In the red West: thro' mountain clefts the dale Was seen far inland, and the yellow down Border'd with palm, and many a winding vale And meadow, set with slender galingale; A land where all things always seem'd the same! And round about the keel with faces pale, Dark faces pale against that rosy flame, The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came. Branches they bore of that enchanted stem, Laden with flower and fruit, whereof they gave To each, but whoso did receive of them, And taste, to him the gushing of the wave Far far away did seem to mourn and rave On alien shores; and if his fellow spake, His voice was thin, as voices from the grave; And deep-asleep he seem'd, yet all awake, And music in his ears his beating heart did make. They sat them down upon the yellow sand, Between the sun and moon upon the shore; And sweet it was to dream of Fatherland, Of child, and wife, and slave; but evermore Most weary seem'd the sea, weary the oar, Weary the wandering fields of barren foam. Then some one said, "We will return no more"; And all at once they sang, "Our island home Is far beyond the wave; we will no longer roam." Soporose and lenitive: opium-laced golden lotus with rich amber, red sandalwood, pomegranate, frankincense, and rose otto. Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! Lotus Moon will be live until 31 May 2010. Updates 26 April 2010: Panther Moon is live at Black Phoenix Trading Post!  Sein Blick ist vomVorübergehn der Stäbe so müd geworden, daß er nichts mehr hält. Ihm ist, als ob es tausend Stäbe gäbe und hinter tausend Stäben keine Welt. Der weiche Gang geschmeidig starker Schritte, der sich im allerkleinsten Kreise dreht, ist wie ein Tanz von Kraft um eine Mitte, in der betäubt ein großer Wille steht. Nur manchmal schiebt der Vorhang der Pupille sich lautlos auf - dann geht ein Bild hinein, geht durch der Glieder angespannte Stille - und hört im Herzen auf zu sein. His gaze those bars keep passing is so misted with tiredness, it can take in nothing more. He feels as though a thousand bars existed, and no more world beyond them before. Those supply-powerful paddings, turning there in the tiniest of circles, well might be the dance of forces round a center where some mighty will stands paralyticly. Just now and then the pupil's noiseless shutter is lifted - then an image will indart, down through the limbs' intensive stillness flutter, and end its being in the heart. (Der Panther by Rainer Maria Rilke. Translation by Walter Arndt.) Artwork for the Panther Moon tee by the lovely Alicia Dabney! The next duet in the Great Loves and Tragedies of Ancient Greece is also live - + PYRAMUS & THISBE Pyramus was the most handsomest youth, and Thisbe the loveliest maiden, of all the East lived in Babylon, where Semiramis reigned. Their parents occupied adjoining houses; and neighborhood brought the young people together, and acquaintance ripened into love. They longed to marry, but their parents forbade. One thing however they could not forbid - that love should glow with equal ardor in the bosoms of both. They conversed by signs and glances, and the fire burned more intensely for being covered up. In the wall that parted the two houses there was a crack, caused by some fault in the structure. No one had remarked it before, but the lovers discovered it. What will not love discover! It afforded a passage to the voice; and tender messages used to pass backward and forward through the gap. As they stood, Pyramus on this side, Thisbe on that, their breaths would mingle. "Cruel wall," they said, "why do you keep two lovers apart? But we will not be ungrateful. We owe you, we confess, the privilege of transmitting loving words to willing ears." Such words they uttered on different sides of the wall; and when night came and they must say farewell, they pressed their lips upon the wall, she on her side, he on his, as they could come no nearer. Next morning, when Aurora had put out the stars, and the sun had melted the frost from the grass, they met at the accustomed spot. Then, after lamenting their hard fate, they agreed that next night, when all was still, they would slip away from watchful eyes, leave their dwellings and walk out into the fields; and to insure a meeting, repair to a well-known edifice, standing without the city's bounds, called the Tomb of Ninus, and that the one who came first should await the other at the foot of a certain tree. It was a white mulberry tree, and stood near a cool spring. All was agreed on, and they waited impatiently for the sun to go down beneath the waters and night to rise up from them. Then cautiously Thisbe stole forth, unobserved by the family, her head covered with a veil, made her way to the monument and sat down under the tree. As she sat alone in the dim light of the evening she descried a lioness, her jaws reeking with recent slaughter, approaching the fountain to slake her thirst. Thisbe fled at the sight, and sought refuge in the hollow of a rock. As she fled she dropped her veil. The lioness, after drinking at the spring, turned to retreat to the woods, and seeing the veil on the ground, tossed and rent it with her bloody mouth. Pyramus, having been delayed, now approached the place of meeting. He saw in the sand the footsteps of the lion, and the color fled from his cheeks at the sight. Presently he found the veil all rent and bloody. "O, hapless girl," said he, "I have been the cause of thy death! Thou, more worthy of life than I, hast fallen the first victim. I will follow. I am the guilty cause, in tempting thee forth to a place of such peril, and not being myself on the spot to guard thee. Come forth, ye lions, from the rocks, and tear this guilty body with your teeth." He took up the veil, carried it with him to the appointed tree, and covered it with kisses and with tears. "My blood also shall stain your texture," said he, and drawing his sword plunged it into his chest. The blood spurted from the wound, and tinged the white mulberries of the tree all red; and sinking into the earth reached the roots, so that the red color mounted through the trunk to the fruit. By this time, Thisbe, still trembling with fear, yet wishing not to disappoint her lover, stepped cautiously forth, looking anxiously for the youth, eager to tell him the danger she had escaped. When she came to the spot and saw the changed color of the mulberries she doubted whether it was the same place. While she hesitated she saw the form of one struggling in the agonies of death. She started back, a shudder ran through her frame as a ripple on the face of the still water when a sudden breeze sweeps over it. But as soon as she recognized her lover, she screamed and beat her breast; embracing the lifeless body, pouring tears into its wounds, and imprinting kisses on the cold lips. "O, Pyramus," she cried, "what has done this? Answer me, Pyramus; it is your own Thisbe that speaks. Hear me, dearest, and lift that drooping head!" At the name of Thisbe, Pyramus opened his eyes, then closed them again. She saw her veil stained with blood and the scabbard empty of its sword. "Thy own hand has slain thee, and for my sake," she said. "I too can be brave for once, and my love is as strong as thine. I will follow thee in death, for I have been the cause; and death, which alone could part us, shall not prevent my joining thee. And ye, unhappy parents of us both, deny us not our united request. As love and death have joined us, let one tomb contain us. And thou, tree, retain the marks of slaughter. Let thy berries still serve for memorials of our blood." So saying, she plunged the sword into her breast. Her parents ratified her wish, the gods also ratified it. The two bodies were buried in one sepulchre, and the tree ever after brought forth purple berries, as it does to this day. (Translation of Ovid's Metamorphosis by Thomas Bulfinch.) PYRAMUS Dragon's blood resin, frankincense, amber, white tea, lavender, and golden musk. THISBE Diaphanous sandalwood, pink rose, lotus root, lemon orpur, and iris stained by mulberry juice. From the 28 March 2010 update: The Egg Moon tee is live!  Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! The Egg Moon tee will be live until 31 March 2010. From the 26 February 2010 update: The Chaste Moon update is live at Black Phoenix Trading Post!  Pale, luminous grey shimmer ink on black tee. Artwork for Trading Post's Lunacy tee by Jennifer Williamson! The next in our joint series inspired by Neil Gaiman's 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot is also live (undead) at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post: the Priestess.  Black ink on dusty cobalt burnout fabric. The tees are $35, and the tarot card and perfume set is $30. Artwork by the inimitable Madame Talbot! Proceeds from all sales from the Tarot series, both the scent and card set at Alchemy Lab and the tee at Black Phoenix Trading Post, benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! Black Phoenix Trading Post is celebrating its 5th anniversary with an epic update… Trading Post is thrilled to present the Return of the Suds - We are proud to present our newest joint-venture: exquisite handmade soaps by Villainess, scented by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. These gloriously luxuriant soaps were created with the finest skin-nurturing ingredients. They are made by hand, from scratch, by the fiercely talented master soaper Brooke Stant, and are generously scented with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab brews. Each bar is at least 3.5oz (without any water weight), and are cut 1" thick from a 3" square block of soap. The faces of the bars are smooth and bear unique, undulating, surrealistically beautiful swirls and marbles, and the sides are textured and raw, exhibiting the complex landscape of unsculpted handmade soap. As always, no animals were harmed during the creation of this soap, and all products were tested on friends and family. $8.50 per bar! ++ SOAPS EMBALMING FLUID SOAP A light, pure scent: white musk, green tea, aloe and lemon. The soap: absolutely smooth, sheer, silken lather. PORT ROYAL SOAP Spiced rum and ship's wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute's perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down. The soap: gunpowder-black clay, imported silk, and a thick crust of sea salt. SHUB-NIGGURATH SOAP A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices. The soap: absolutely smooth, sheer, silken lather. SNAKE OIL SOAP A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. The soap: absolutely smooth, sheer, silken lather enriched with milky kaolin and flecked with blackened vanilla bean. XMVLZENCAB SOAP The family of bee deities that governed creation in the Mayan lands. Their scent is wild honey, black laurel flower, plumeria, and South American ginger. The soap: absolutely smooth, sheer, silken lather drenched in sticky, humectant honey. To celebrate the union, we are offering a few corresponding bath oils for a limited time: ++ LIMITED EDITION BATH OILS EMBALMING FLUID BATH OIL SNAKE OIL BATH OIL XMVLZENCAB BATH OIL The chilled air of winter is harbinger to a limited scent series at Black Phoenix Trading Post: the Great Loves and Tragedies of Ancient Greece. Two doomed duets will appear every month for four months. The first - ++ THE GREAT LOVES AND TRAGEDIES OF ANCIENT GREECE: ECHO & NARKISSOS ECHO Fam'd far and near for knowing things to come, From him th' enquiring nations sought their doom; The fair Liriope his answers try'd, And first th' unerring prophet justify'd. This nymph the God Cephisus had abus'd, With all his winding waters circumfus'd, And on the Nereid got a lovely boy, Whom the soft maids ev'n then beheld with joy. The tender dame, sollicitous to know Whether her child should reach old age or no, Consults the sage Tiresias, who replies, "If e'er he knows himself he surely dies." Long liv'd the dubious mother in suspence, 'Till time unriddled all the prophet's sense. Narcissus now his sixteenth year began, Just turn'd of boy, and on the verge of man; Many a friend the blooming youth caress'd, Many a love-sick maid her flame confess'd: Such was his pride, in vain the friend caress'd, The love-sick maid in vain her flame confess'd. Once, in the woods, as he pursu'd the chace, The babbling Echo had descry'd his face; She, who in others' words her silence breaks, Nor speaks her self but when another speaks. Echo was then a maid, of speech bereft, Of wonted speech; for tho' her voice was left, Juno a curse did on her tongue impose, To sport with ev'ry sentence in the close. Full often when the Goddess might have caught Jove and her rivals in the very fault, This nymph with subtle stories would delay Her coming, 'till the lovers slip'd away. The Goddess found out the deceit in time, And then she cry'd, "That tongue, for this thy crime, Which could so many subtle tales produce, Shall be hereafter but of little use." Hence 'tis she prattles in a fainter tone, With mimick sounds, and accents not her own. This love-sick virgin, over-joy'd to find The boy alone, still follow'd him behind: When glowing warmly at her near approach, As sulphur blazes at the taper's touch, She long'd her hidden passion to reveal, And tell her pains, but had not words to tell: She can't begin, but waits for the rebound, To catch his voice, and to return the sound. The nymph, when nothing could Narcissus move, Still dash'd with blushes for her slighted love, Liv'd in the shady covert of the woods, In solitary caves and dark abodes; Where pining wander'd the rejected fair, 'Till harrass'd out, and worn away with care, The sounding skeleton, of blood bereft, Besides her bones and voice had nothing left. Her bones are petrify'd, her voice is found In vaults, where still it doubles ev'ry sound. A scent shrouded behind a veil: vanilla orchid, amyris, white sandalwood, grey amber, and tuberose. NARKISSOS Thus did the nymphs in vain caress the boy, He still was lovely, but he still was coy; When one fair virgin of the slighted train Thus pray'd the Gods, provok'd by his disdain, "Oh may he love like me, and love like me in vain!" Rhamnusia pity'd the neglected fair, And with just vengeance answer'd to her pray'r. There stands a fountain in a darksom wood, Nor stain'd with falling leaves nor rising mud; Untroubled by the breath of winds it rests, Unsully'd by the touch of men or beasts; High bow'rs of shady trees above it grow, And rising grass and chearful greens below. Pleas'd with the form and coolness of the place, And over-heated by the morning chace, Narcissus on the grassie verdure lyes: But whilst within the chrystal fount he tries To quench his heat, he feels new heats arise. For as his own bright image he survey'd, He fell in love with the fantastick shade; And o'er the fair resemblance hung unmov'd, Nor knew, fond youth! it was himself he lov'd. The well-turn'd neck and shoulders he descries, The spacious forehead, and the sparkling eyes; The hands that Bacchus might not scorn to show, And hair that round Apollo's head might flow; With all the purple youthfulness of face, That gently blushes in the wat'ry glass. By his own flames consum'd the lover lyes, And gives himself the wound by which he dies. To the cold water oft he joins his lips, Oft catching at the beauteous shade he dips His arms, as often from himself he slips. Nor knows he who it is his arms pursue With eager clasps, but loves he knows not who. What could, fond youth, this helpless passion move? What kindled in thee this unpity'd love? Thy own warm blush within the water glows, With thee the colour'd shadow comes and goes, Its empty being on thy self relies; Step thou aside, and the frail charmer dies. Still o'er the fountain's wat'ry gleam he stood, Mindless of sleep, and negligent of food; Still view'd his face, and languish'd as he view'd. At length he rais'd his head, and thus began To vent his griefs, and tell the woods his pain. "You trees," says he, "and thou surrounding grove, Who oft have been the kindly scenes of love, Tell me, if e'er within your shades did lye A youth so tortur'd, so perplex'd as I? I, who before me see the charming fair, Whilst there he stands, and yet he stands not there: In such a maze of love my thoughts are lost: And yet no bulwark'd town, nor distant coast, Preserves the beauteous youth from being seen, No mountains rise, nor oceans flow between. A shallow water hinders my embrace; And yet the lovely mimick wears a face That kindly smiles, and when I bend to join My lips to his, he fondly bends to mine. Hear, gentle youth, and pity my complaint, Come from thy well, thou fair inhabitant. My charms an easy conquest have obtain'd O'er other hearts, by thee alone disdain'd. But why should I despair? I'm sure he burns With equal flames, and languishes by turns. When-e'er I stoop, he offers at a kiss, And when my arms I stretch, he stretches his. His eye with pleasure on my face he keeps, He smiles my smiles, and when I weep he weeps. When e'er I speak, his moving lips appear To utter something, which I cannot hear. "Ah wretched me! I now begin too late To find out all the long-perplex'd deceit; It is my self I love, my self I see; The gay delusion is a part of me. I kindle up the fires by which I burn, And my own beauties from the well return. Whom should I court? how utter my complaint? Enjoyment but produces my restraint, And too much plenty makes me die for want. How gladly would I from my self remove! And at a distance set the thing I love. My breast is warm'd with such unusual fire, I wish him absent whom I most desire. And now I faint with grief; my fate draws nigh; In all the pride of blooming youth I die. Death will the sorrows of my heart relieve. Oh might the visionary youth survive, I should with joy my latest breath resign! But oh! I see his fate involv'd in mine." This said, the weeping youth again return'd To the clear fountain, where again he burn'd; His tears defac'd the surface of the well, With circle after circle, as they fell: And now the lovely face but half appears, O'er-run with wrinkles, and deform'd with tears. "Ah whither," cries Narcissus, "dost thou fly? Let me still feed the flame by which I die; Let me still see, tho' I'm no further blest." Then rends his garment off, and beats his breast: His naked bosom redden'd with the blow, In such a blush as purple clusters show, Ere yet the sun's autumnal heats refine Their sprightly juice, and mellow it to wine. The glowing beauties of his breast he spies, And with a new redoubled passion dies. As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run, And trickle into drops before the sun; So melts the youth, and languishes away, His beauty withers, and his limbs decay; And none of those attractive charms remain, To which the slighted Echo su'd in vain. She saw him in his present misery, Whom, spight of all her wrongs, she griev'd to see. She answer'd sadly to the lover's moan, Sigh'd back his sighs, and groan'd to ev'ry groan: "Ah youth! belov'd in vain," Narcissus cries; "Ah youth! belov'd in vain," the nymph replies. "Farewel," says he; the parting sound scarce fell >From his faint lips, but she reply'd, "farewel." Then on th' wholsome earth he gasping lyes, 'Till death shuts up those self-admiring eyes. To the cold shades his flitting ghost retires, And in the Stygian waves it self admires. For him the Naiads and the Dryads mourn, Whom the sad Echo answers in her turn; And now the sister-nymphs prepare his urn: When, looking for his corps, they only found A rising stalk, with yellow blossoms crown'd. Gently blushing vanilla, haughty opoponax, duosmon, oude, and narcissus. ++ THE GREAT LOVES AND TRAGEDIES OF ANCIENT GREECE: + CLYTIE AND HELIOS HELIOS The Sun, the source of light, by beauty's pow'r Once am'rous grew; then hear the Sun's amour. Venus, and Mars, with his far-piercing eyes This God first spy'd; this God first all things spies. Stung at the sight, and swift on mischief bent, To haughty Juno's shapeless son he went: The Goddess, and her God gallant betray'd, And told the cuckold, where their pranks were play'd. Poor Vulcan soon desir'd to hear no more, He drop'd his hammer, and he shook all o'er: Then courage takes, and full of vengeful ire He heaves the bellows, and blows fierce the fire: >From liquid brass, tho' sure, yet subtile snares He forms, and next a wond'rous net prepares, Drawn with such curious art, so nicely sly, Unseen the mashes cheat the searching eye. Not half so thin their webs the spiders weave, Which the most wary, buzzing prey deceive. These chains, obedient to the touch, he spread In secret foldings o'er the conscious bed: The conscious bed again was quickly prest By the fond pair, in lawless raptures blest. Mars wonder'd at his Cytherea's charms, More fast than ever lock'd within her arms. While Vulcan th' iv'ry doors unbarr'd with care, Then call'd the Gods to view the sportive pair: The Gods throng'd in, and saw in open day, Where Mars, and beauty's queen, all naked, lay. O! shameful sight, if shameful that we name, Which Gods with envy view'd, and could not blame; But, for the pleasure, wish'd to bear the shame. Each Deity, with laughter tir'd, departs, Yet all still laugh'd at Vulcan in their hearts. Thro' Heav'n the news of this surprizal run, But Venus did not thus forget the Sun. He, who stol'n transports idly had betray'd, By a betrayer was in kind repay'd. What now avails, great God, thy piercing blaze, That youth, and beauty, and those golden rays? Thou, who can'st warm this universe alone, Feel'st now a warmth more pow'rful than thy own: And those bright eyes, which all things should survey, Know not from fair Leucothoe to stray. The lamp of light, for human good design'd, Is to one virgin miserly confin'd. Sometimes too early rise thy eastern beams, Sometimes too late they set in western streams: 'Tis then her beauty thy swift course delays, And gives to winter skies long summer days. Now in thy face thy love-sick mind appears, And spreads thro' impious nations empty fears: For when thy beamless head is wrapt in night, Poor mortals tremble in despair of light. 'Tis not the moon, that o'er thee casts a veil 'Tis love alone, which makes thy looks so pale. Leucothoe is grown thy only care, Not Phaeton's fair mother now is fair. The youthful Rhodos moves no tender thought, And beauteous Porsa is at last forgot. Fond Clytie, scorn'd, yet lov'd, and sought thy bed, Ev'n then thy heart for other virgins bled. Leucothoe has all thy soul possest, And chas'd each rival passion from thy breast. To this bright nymph Eurynome gave birth In the blest confines of the spicy Earth. Excelling others, she herself beheld By her own blooming daughter far excell'd. The sire was Orchamus, whose vast command, The sev'nth from Belus, rul'd the Persian Land. Deep in cool vales, beneath th' Hesperian sky, For the Sun's fiery steeds the pastures lye. Ambrosia there they eat, and thence they gain New vigour, and their daily toils sustain. While thus on heav'nly food the coursers fed, And night, around, her gloomy empire spread, The God assum'd the mother's shape and air, And pass'd, unheeded, to his darling fair. Close by a lamp, with maids encompass'd round, The royal spinster, full employ'd, he found: Then cry'd, A-while from work, my daughter, rest; And, like a mother, scarce her lips he prest. Servants retire!- nor secrets dare to hear, Intrusted only to a daughter's ear. They swift obey'd: not one, suspicious, thought The secret, which their mistress would be taught. Then he: since now no witnesses are near, Behold! the God, who guides the various year! The world's vast eye, of light the source serene, Who all things sees, by whom are all things seen. Believe me, nymph! (for I the truth have show'd) Thy charms have pow'r to charm so great a God. Confus'd, she heard him his soft passion tell, And on the floor, untwirl'd, the spindle fell: Still from the sweet confusion some new grace Blush'd out by stealth, and languish'd in her face. The lover, now inflam'd, himself put on, And out at once the God, all-radiant, shone. The virgin startled at his alter'd form, Too weak to bear a God's impetuous storm: No more against the dazling youth she strove, But silent yielded, and indulg'd his love. The searing brightness of the sun: Gum Arabic, frankincense, liquid copal, cistus, neroli, golden cedarwood, and saffron. CLYTIE This Clytie knew, and knew she was undone, Whose soul was fix'd, and doated on the Sun. She rag'd to think on her neglected charms, And Phoebus, panting in another's arms. With envious madness fir'd, she flies in haste, And tells the king, his daughter was unchaste. The king, incens'd to hear his honour stain'd, No more the father nor the man retain'd. In vain she stretch'd her arms, and turn'd her eyes To her lov'd God, th' enlightner of the skies. In vain she own'd it was a crime, yet still It was a crime not acted by her will. The brutal sire stood deaf to ev'ry pray'r, And deep in Earth entomb'd alive the fair. What Phoebus could do, was by Phoebus done: Full on her grave with pointed beams he shone: To pointed beams the gaping Earth gave way; Had the nymph eyes, her eyes had seen the day, But lifeless now, yet lovely still, she lay. Not more the God wept, when the world was fir'd, And in the wreck his blooming boy expir'd. The vital flame he strives to light again, And warm the frozen blood in ev'ry vein: But since resistless Fates deny'd that pow'r, On the cold nymph he rain'd a nectar show'r. Ah! undeserving thus (he said) to die, Yet still in odours thou shalt reach the sky. The body soon dissolv'd, and all around Perfum'd with heav'nly fragrancies the ground, A sacrifice for Gods up-rose from thence, A sweet, delightful tree of frankincense. Tho' guilty Clytie thus the sun betray'd, By too much passion she was guilty made. Excess of love begot excess of grief, Grief fondly bad her hence to hope relief. But angry Phoebus hears, unmov'd, her sighs, And scornful from her loath'd embraces flies. All day, all night, in trackless wilds, alone She pin'd, and taught the list'ning rocks her moan. On the bare earth she lies, her bosom bare, Loose her attire, dishevel'd is her hair. Nine times the morn unbarr'd the gates of light, As oft were spread th' alternate shades of night, So long no sustenance the mourner knew, Unless she drunk her tears, or suck'd the dew. She turn'd about, but rose not from the ground, Turn'd to the Sun, still as he roul'd his round: On his bright face hung her desiring eyes, 'Till fix'd to Earth, she strove in vain to rise. Her looks their paleness in a flow'r retain'd, But here, and there, some purple streaks they gain'd. Still the lov'd object the fond leafs pursue, Still move their root, the moving Sun to view, And in the Heliotrope the nymph is true. Excess of love begetting excess of grief: heliotrope, frankincense, muguet, osmanthus, and neroli. $40 per set. On a lighter note -- The District atmosphere sprays are live! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post are proud to present a scent series representing the people, places, and culture of New Orleans' Storyville, featuring artwork by the inimitable Molly Crabapple. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is pandering the perfumes, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is offering District-themed atmosphere sprays! Lavish bordellos and shady cribs, dazzling jazz, and swinging saloons: bounded by Basin, Iberville, Robertson, and St Louis, Storyville, known to locals as the District, was New Orleans' legal red light district from 1897 to 1917. This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture. Proceeds from every bottle go to Habitat for Humanity: New Orleans. Habitat for Humanity builds houses in partnership with sponsors, volunteers, communities, and homeowner families, whereby families are empowered to transform their own lives, and aids in eliminating poverty housing in the New Orleans area while serving as a catalyst to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. $27.50 per 4oz bottle. ++ THE DISTRICT GERTRUDE DIX'S White magnolias, vanilla orchid, and a cascade of champagne. MAHOGANY HALL Polished mahogany and teakwood and swirls of cigar smoke, with deep patchouli, tonka, cardamom, Spanish moss, and bourbon vanilla. PETE LALA'S CAFE Dusty leather, dry cedar and fir, fresh tobacco smoke, and the scent of tucked-away gris gris bags for luck in love, potency, and virility. New general catalogue bath oils are also live! - Recline in pleasurable, tranquil languor, or bathe with intent to stimulate your senses or replenish your joy while utilizing one of our therapeutic oils. Soak in your sins, or wash away all traces of your vices. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab offers you the best of both worlds, the heavenly and the diabolical, in your bathing experience. Whatever your predilection may be, our blend of softening and replenishing oils, with rosehip, shea, evening primrose, fractionated coconut, and vitamin E, will ensure that you experience the utmost in sublime (or fiendish!) pleasure. Superbly moisturizing without being greasy, lushly scented without being heavy-handed. Paraben & formaldehyde free. No sodium lauryl or sodium laureth sulfate. Labels printed on an Earth-friendly corn biopolymer. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab does not test on animals. All of our products are tested on friends and family. ++ VICES AND VIRTUES HUMANITAS No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. - Aesop Carnation, black cherry, wild strawberry, helichrysum, and frankincense. IRA If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. - Chinese proverb Blood orange, patchouli, and vetiver. ++ THERAPEUTIC BATH OILS HEDONSIM He who allows his day to pass by without practicing generosity and enjoying life's pleasures is like a blacksmith's bellows: he breathes but does not live. - Proverb Awaken all of your senses with a bath that reawakens the passion of the soul. INTENSITY When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. - Wilma Rudolph For concentration and clarity of thought. This bath helps you banish distractions, and gives you a renewed strength of purpose. GAUDIUM True joy is a serious thing - Seneca Enflame your delight in everyday things, and fill yourself with enthusiasm for life's little joys. New shiny things are also at Black Phoenix Trading Post! -- Graceful handmade Black Phoenix-inspired pendants created by Alicia Dabney. These pendants are exclusive to the Trading Post, and were created for Black Phoenix. They cannot be found anywhere else in all of Heaven and Earth. Each pendant is $39.00US, and comes in a Black Phoenix Trading Post velvet pouch.  Carnaval Diabolique/Triple Dagger: Pendant is a 1" square frame of antique copper with clear glass to cover the artwork, and a hematite drop with a copper daisy embellishment. It is strung on a 1.5mm ball chain that measures 18" and closes with a lobster clasp.  Bat-Woman Pendant is a 40x30 clear acrylic cabochon mounted onto the artwork, with in a two-tone antiqued silver bead ball rim setting. It is strung onto a 1.5mm ball chain that measures 18" and closes with a lobster clasp.  Ligeia Pendant is a 1-7/8" rectangular diamond glass tile over the artwork, and is sealed with a dark backing and diamond glaze. A 1.5mm ball chain that measures 18" and closes with a lobster clasp has been strung onto a silver plated aanraku bail. The current run for each style of pendant is twenty-five pieces. Since each piece is handmade the pendants will come down temporarily as they sell out in order for us to take the time and care necessary to create more. And last, but absolutely not least, Black Phoenix Trading Post is introducing its new kids' line: the Black Phoenix Imp Brigade! Clothing for the wee ones!  Mad Hatter  Poe  Rocking-Horse-Fly  White Rabbit And now for some not-so-happy news… We have done our best to absorb the USPS postal increases. The last time we adjusted our shipping prices was in November of 2005, and there have been four USPS postage hikes since then: June 2007, May 2008, May 2009, and January 2010. Regrettably, we have to adjust our shipping prices. Orders weighing up to 1 lbs: $7.50 Orders weighing up to 2 lbs: $10.00 Orders weighing up to 4 lbs: $15.50 Orders weighing up to 6 lbs: $19.00 Orders weighing up to 7 lbs: $22.50 7 lbs + : $30.50 Shipping is free for all orders that exceed $500.00. From the 28 January 2010 update: Happy New Year! The Candles Moon tee is live!  This beautiful tee was designed by Jennifer Williamson, and will be live until February 2, 2010. The Black Phoenix Trading Post Anniversary update is coming soon... From the 30 November 2009 update: HOLIDAY SHIPPING NOTICE: In order to receive your Trading Post Package by Christmas Eve… Internationals! Please place your order by midnight PST December 5th. Domestics! Please place your order by midnight PST December 7th. Black Phoenix Trading Post orders that include the Whirling Wind Moon tee and/or the Blue Moon tee are not guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas. Lunacy tees and most LE tees do not go into production until we're done taking orders for them, and they take a few weeks to be made. Please bear in mind that we are not responsible for USPS shenanigans. We do promise that we will bust our asses to get you your orders asap. And... please do not take offense at our using Christmas, specifically, as a date marker. It is not meant as an affront to any other holidays, cultural celebrations, or religions. The Whirling Wind Lunacy tee is live!  And the Blue Moon 2009 tee is also live!  Whirling Wind was illustrated by Alicia Dabney, and Blue Moon's goblin party was illustrated by Jennifer Williamson! Whirling Wind will be live until December 5, 2009, and Blue Moon will be live until January 5, 2009. From the 19 November 2009 update: The 2009 Naughty & Nice Inquisition is live!  From the 18 November 2009 update: Much is new at Black Phoenix Trading Post! Several new claw polishes are live at the 'Post, inspired by BPAL's Bordello, Croquet, Malediction, Sed Non Satiata, and two Phoenix Steamworks-inspired colors: Smokestack and Robotic Scarab. A tee commemorating BPAL's annual Resurrection of the Smells is live!  Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! And last, but not least, Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples locket is live!  Based on illustrations by Julie Dillon for the Snow, Glass, Apples chapbook produced by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. We are tying up one remaining loose end with the Inquisition, and it will be live later this week! Please mark it on your calendars: Dark Delicacies will be hosting the final Black Phoenix trunk show of 2009 on November 29, 2009 from 12pm til 3pm! Details to come! From the 28 October 2009 update: Peach Moon is ripening early at Alchemy Lab and Trading Post! Both will be live on their respective sites until November 5, 2009! PEACH MOON Smoke hangs on the stream, The peach-trees shed bright leaves in the water, Sound drifts in the evening haze Dew-covered peach blossom, white tea, moonlit musk, night-blooming jasmine, ho wood, and chrysanthemum.  Black Phoenix Trading Post has gone live with the next installment of Neil Gaiman's 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot: the Magician!  Bring home your memories of this year's Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire with a stylish commemorative tee! Doubles as a cultist robe in a pinch, and machine washable, too!  The Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire Official Event Tee! What else is new at Black Phoenix Trading Post? The Yule Bath Oils and Yule Atmosphere Sprays are back! - with a new addition! ++ YULE BATH OILS ICE PRINCE BATH OIL As beautiful and cold as a December storm. Crystalline musk, winter lily, bergamot, plum, and frozen pine boughs. PROSERPINA BATH OIL For thine came pale and a maiden, and sister to sorrow; but ours, Her deep hair heavily laden with odour and colour of flowers, White rose of the rose-white water, a silver splendour, a flame, Bent down unto us that besought her, and earth grew sweet with her name. The emergence of light in darkness. Frozen pomegranate and a hint of nocturnal blossoms. WINTER MAIDEN BATH OIL Ice-rimed innocence. The blush of youth, frozen for eternity. Snow-laden woods, iced blackberry and bergamot, white rose, and crystallized amber. HOLIDAY STRESS RELIEF BATH OIL Relax, revive, restore. Peppermint, spearmint, geranium bourbon, lavender, clary sage, white amber, juniper berry, laurel leaf, coriander, opoponax, and mandarin. ++ YULE ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS KRAMPUSUMZÜGE Dirt-spattered rags, rusted chains, and dry switches against a backdrop of black fir and snow. SNOW WHITE A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Snow White and Krampusumzüge are $25 each. Ice Prince, Proserpina, and Winter Maiden are $30 each, and Holiday Stress Relief is $40. The Yule sprays and bath oils are available until December 15, 2009. BPTP's District collaboration with Molly Crabapple will be ready to go live in a few weeks time, and the Inquisition is coming up as soon as we iron out some of the kinks! Black Phoenix Trading Post customer service will be offline from Thursday, October 28 til Tuesday, November 3. Ted will be able to resume answering your questions and flirting long-distance on the 3rd. I, personally, will be offline, too, but BPAL customer service will be available and production and shipping at both BPAL and BPTP will continue as usual. A gentle reminder: West Coast Will Call will not be on the full moon in November, as many of our will call staffers will be out of town for the holiday. WCWC has been moved to Wednesday, November 4, 7-10pm. The theme this month is Dia de los Muertos! Costumes welcome and encouraged! We will be holding a canned food drive this month, so if you bring canned food, we will give you something in return. East Coast Will Call is at Whole Foods Market, aka Harry's Farmer's Market, in Roswell, GA on November 8, from 5-8. If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Please note: there is a slight delay in shipping for BPAL and BPTP orders at this time. We're experiencing the holiday crunch, but we are endeavoring to get everything you order into your hands as quickly as possible! From the 2 October 2009 update: The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? The Raven Moon tee is live at BPTP!  The tee will be live until 6 October 2009! Coming soon: the next Vampire Tarot tee and a winter Inquisition! From the 4 September 2009 update: The Falling Leaf Moon tee is live at BPTP!  The tee will be live until 9 September 2009! From the 2 September 2009 update: There's a whole lot new at Black Phoenix Trading Post! - The first of the tees inspired by Neil Gaiman's 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot are here!  A new set will be added to the collection each month, spanning 15 months. T-shirts featuring Madame Talbot's artwork are available through Black Phoenix Trading Post. The Fool is the first of our tees. The Fool tee will begin to ship on September 14, 2009. We chose to utilize tees that have been put through the burnout process in order to mimic parchment. It is an extensive and expensive process, and along with the 2-sided print, it makes for a higher price point. The fabric is weathered and has been washed over and over again. It looks deliberately vintage, and has a comfy, well-loved feel to it. The fabric is garment dyed 50% cotton and 50% polyester, and was made in the good ol' US of A. Due to the burnout process, no two tees are exactly the same. We tested the burnouts for two years prior to offering them. The tees we tested withstood innumerable washings over the years, in addition to the abuse of being worn by Ted while he plays hockey (yowch!), and they just keep getting softer and more comfortable over time. (No, we are not selling tees that Ted has worn during hockey. That would be a biohazard.) The fit of the tees, both babydoll and standard crew, are slightly smaller than the usual Black Phoenix Trading Post tees. Please refer to the size chart on the Trading Post site for more information. The babydolls are crews, have a "boyfriend" fit, and were created to hang gently on the body and slide across your figure; they are not skin-tight. Black ink on grey-brown parchment fabric. The Fool tee is $45. This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single set and tee go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve the First Amendment rights of the comic community. Also new at the Post -- Two new Atmosphere Sprays! EREBOS Thus saying, from her side the fatal Key, Sad instrument of all our woe, she took; And towards the Gate rouling her bestial train, Forthwith the huge Porcullis high up drew, Which but her self not all the STYGIAN powers Could once have mov'd; then in the key-hole turns Th' intricate wards, and every Bolt and Bar Of massie Iron or sollid Rock with ease Unfast'ns: on a sudden op'n flie With impetuous recoile and jarring sound Th' infernal dores, and on thir hinges great Harsh Thunder, that the lowest bottom shook Of EREBUS. She op'nd, but to shut Excel'd her power; the Gates wide op'n stood, That with extended wings a Bannerd Host Under spread Ensigns marching might pass through With Horse and Chariots rankt in loose array; So wide they stood, and like a Furnace mouth Cast forth redounding smoak and ruddy flame. Before thir eyes in sudden view appear The secrets of the hoarie deep, a dark Illimitable Ocean without bound, Without dimension, where length, breadth, and highth, And time and place are lost; where eldest Night And CHAOS, Ancestors of Nature, hold Eternal ANARCHIE, amidst the noise Of endless warrs and by confusion stand. Solace in darkness, the personification of shadow: lavender, black vanilla, white melon, night-blooming jasmine, rose, cedar, cyclamen, violet, and hyacinth. THE FAINTING ROOM Lush velvet cushions and prim tea rose, a splash of rose water on a lace doily, strong black tea, a whiff of pomander, and an orris root sachet. Also new to the Post! - the SKELETON LIBRARIAN PLAQUES!  The Skeleton Librarian Plaques are here! Inspired by the Skeleton Librarian t-shirt, this plaque is based on artwork created for Black Phoenix Trading Post by Kali of Johnny Ace Studios! Hand cast and hand painted, these plaques come in two styles: cold cast bronze and cold cast resin with a bone finish. These plaques aren't simply decorative: they hold eight bottles for display. Due to the handcrafted nature of these plaques, no two are exactly the same! Dimensions are 15"x9.5" This is a limited stock item: there are seventy-five bone plaques, and twenty-five bronze plaques. Once they're gone, they're gone. Suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Please note: the cold cast bronze plaque will patina over time. The Post is also thrilled to offer some Halloween treats! The Wanton Voluptuousness series - At Black Phoenix, we have a real thing for Lucy. This collection contains a bath oil, Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses, which is innocent sensuality and sweetness personified. There are two room sprays: Lucy's Boudoir, which embodies Lucy's youth, beauty, and coquettish innocence, and another, Lucy's Darkness, that is the scent wafting through her room during her room during her final days among the living. They can be used alone, or the latter can be sprayed to corrupt the former. Lucy, Kissed is a perfume illustrating the scent of her undeath. $29 per 8oz Bath Oil $25 per 4oz Room Spray $17.50 per 5ml Perfume Oil No squirts or samples are available for this series. OCEANS OF LOVE AND MILLIONS OF KISSES BATH OIL Why can't they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble? Orange blossom and honey. LUCY'S BOUDOIR ATMOSPHERE SPRAY Rose water and lavender with stargazer lily, white carnation, bois de rose, white iris, violet, and honey. LUCY IN DARKNESS ATMOSPHERE SPRAY And then insensibly there came the strange change which I had noticed in the night. Her breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, and the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than ever. In a sort of sleep-waking, vague, unconscious way she opened her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said in a soft, voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips, "Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me!" Denn die Todten reiten Schnell. Black opium poppy, laudanum, blood, and a chaplet of garlic flowers. LUCY, KISSED PERFUME OIL There was a long spell of silence, big, aching, void, and then from the Professor a keen "S-s-s-s!" He pointed, and far down the avenue of yews we saw a white figure advance, a dim white figure, which held something dark at its breast. The figure stopped, and at the moment a ray of moonlight fell upon the masses of driving clouds, and showed in startling prominence a dark-haired woman, dressed in the cerements of the grave. We could not see the face, for it was bent down over what we saw to be a fair-haired child. There was a pause and a sharp little cry, such as a child gives in sleep, or a dog as it lies before the fire and dreams. We were starting forward, but the Professor's warning hand, seen by us as he stood behind a yew tree, kept us back. And then as we looked the white figure moved forwards again. It was now near enough for us to see clearly, and the moonlight still held. My own heart grew cold as ice, and I could hear the gasp of Arthur, as we recognized the features of Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed. The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness. Van Helsing stepped out, and obedient to his gesture, we all advanced too. The four of us ranged in a line before the door of the tomb. Van Helsing raised his lantern and drew the slide. By the concentrated light that fell on Lucy's face we could see that the lips were crimson with fresh blood, and that the stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death-robe. Diabolical voluptuousness, a siren song from the grave: juniper and yew brushing against blackened violets and funeral roses, red musk and hot blood, veined white marble and icy, brittle musk, all pulsing with the sinister, hypnotic scent of patchouli, amber, oude, and cubeb. (Many thanks to Aunt Beastie for inspiring the perfume's name! You were born to be an undead seductress, woman!) There are also some traditional Halloween offerings! - PUMPKIN PIE BATH OIL Devilishly decadent and a little bit ridiculous! BARMBRACK ATMOSPHERE SPRAY An Irish Halloween tradition! This fruit bread is used as a method of divination: a medallion of the Virgin Mary, a sliver of rag, a pea, a coin, a stick, and a ring are baked into the pastry. On Halloween night, it is cut up and served to the household. If you received the stick, you would spend the next year in conflict… if you received the medallion, you would be called to the priesthood… if you received the rag, you would be plagued with misfortune… if you received the ring, you would be married within the year… if you received the pea, you would not marry within the year… Each bottle of Barmbrack spray comes with a toy coin and a wish for your good fortune in 2010! KNOCK-A-DOLLY Ding Dong Ditch! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Samhain scent with cinnamon sugar and candy dust! Unfortunately, our illustrator is running a little late, so we're not able to post the Lunacy tee for another day or two. We're truly sorry for the delay, and will be extending the ordering time on the tee. It has been a very strange year. Every single order placed with Black Phoenix Trading Post from now til November 2nd will receive an imp of the Last Squished Jelly Bean. And that's that for now! From the August 2009 update: The Black Butterfly Moon tee is live at BPTP!  It will be live until 9 August 2009. Good news! The WQ bath oils are back in production and we will be able to resume shipping this week! Though Halloween has landed at BPAL, its still summertime here at the 'Post. Please keep your eyes peeled for our imminent Halloweenie update! From the 5 July 2009 update: The Berry Moon tee is live at BPTP!  It will be live until 9 July 2009. From the 6 June 2009 update! The Smoky Moon tee is live at BPTP!  It will be live until 10 June 2009. A tee celebrating the Feast For the Greatly Revered Ones is also live!  It will be live until 8 August 2009. From the 8 May 2009 update: Strawberry Moon is live at the 'Post!  Adorable artwork by Jennifer Williamson! This tee will be live until May 11, 2009. Also live at the post...  From the 7 April 2009 update: Planting Moon is live at BPTP!  This tee will be up until 11 April 2009! Le Mat will be live until 1 June 2009! From the 9 March 2009 update: Flower Moon is live at BPTP!  This tee will be up until 13 March 2009! From the 7 March 2009 update: What have we here? New jewelry?! The hell you say! Black Phoenix Trading Post is OVERJOYED to present the first in a series of lockets and pendants inspired by the short stories of Neil Gaiman! This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single piece go to Match It For Pratchett, which is raising money to match Terry Pratchett’s $1,000,000.00 donation to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust. Thank you so much, Neil, for giving us so many years of joy, wonder, and inspiration, and for the pleasure of working with you on this project! Heartfelt thanks to Alicia Dabney and Julie Dillon for providing the artwork for the lockets and pendant! Also new to the Post -- the Brimstone and Triple Dagger pendants! Suds, smells, shirts, and more will be coming this spring! From the 9 February 2009 update: Windy Moon is live at BPTP!  This tee will be up until 13 February 2009! From the January 2009 update: Bony Moon is live at the 'Post!  Adorable artwork by Jennifer Williamson! It will be live until January 13, 2009. Love is in the air at BPTP, and to celebrate, we're offering a complete Valentine's Day sensory experience: A room spray… LUPANAR Good God, what a night that was, The bed was so soft, and how we clung, Burning together, lying this way and that, Our uncontrollable passions Flowing through our mouths. If I could only die that way, I'd say goodbye to the business of living. Honey, myrrh, ylang ylang, and almond. An exercise in control and release: GLACIES BATH OIL For cooling the libido and soothing the senses. Cucumber mint, sea lettuce, French lavender, geranium bourbon, and lemon balm. INCENDIA For stimulating the libido and arousing the senses. Vanilla, palmarosa, patchouli, jasmine, cocoa absolute, bergamot, sweet orange, nutmeg, ylang ylang, rose otto, and Haitian vetiver. And a set of perfumes designed to illustrate the synergy of love and lust: In alchemy, the white and red roses symbolize the male / female polarity, the active and receptive, the light and the dark. Together, the roses become the alchemical concept of Mercury: perfect unity. Our Red Rose scent is the embodiment of vigorous passion, and our White Rose personifies purity, virtue, and unconditional love. The scents individually are powerful, but layered together - combined - they become their perfected self. RED ROSE Red rose buds, with amber, clove, tonka, Indian musk, fir, and tobacco. WHITE ROSE White rose buds, with vanilla tea, benzoin, orris, coconut meat, and frankincense. $25 per 4oz Spray Bottle of Lupanar room spray, $30 per 8oz bottle of Incendia and Glacies bath oil, $35 for the pair of Roses. The Roses are not sold seperately, and goblin squirts are not available for Lupanar. The Valentine offerings will be available until March 13, 2009. From the December 2008 update: The Moon of the Terrible tee is here!  Mauve and slate grey ink on black tee. Artwork by the inimitable Jennifer Williamson. Please note: orders that include the Moon of the Terrible tee will not ship in time for Christmas. Lunacy tees do not go into production until we're done taking orders for them, and they take a few weeks to be made. Now that Storytime has come down, the goblins are able to get crackin' on reading the pleas. Due to the nature of this project, there is a delay in getting these out so we can ensure that every order gets the attention it deserves. Storytime packs will begin to ship after the 15th. Happy holidays, everyone! From the 22 November 2008 update: The 'Post has a whole bunch o'new stuff! New to the GC Bath Oils: INVIDIA O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. White grapefruit, tea leaf, white ginger, orange blossom, jasmine, honey myrtle, and lime. PATIENTIA Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. -- John Quincy Adams Sandalwood, benzoin, cardamom, calamus, palmarosa, and sage. And new to the GC Atmosphere Sprays: DOC CONSTANTINE'S MEDICINE SHOW Polished wood, olibanum, questionable medicinal herbs, sarsaparilla, and a splash of bay rum. OKIYA Cherry blossom, green tea, and sake. SALOON #10 Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10, Deadwood, Black Hills, Dakota Territory: sweaty leather, chewing tobacco, and Red Eye. We are phasing out the 8oz room sprays, so only the Queen's Croquet Ground, Cathouse, and Down the Rabbit Hole will be offered in that size. All of the GC sprays are available in 4oz bottles, and in Goblin Squirt form! We are thrilled to present this season's limited edition offerings: The Bah Humbug tee!  ++ WINTER ATMOSPHERE SPRAY SNOW WHITE A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. ++ WINTER BATH OILS ICE PRINCE BATH OIL As beautiful and cold as a December storm. Crystalline musk, winter lily, bergamot, plum, and frozen pine boughs. PROSERPINA BATH OIL For thine came pale and a maiden, and sister to sorrow; but ours, Her deep hair heavily laden with odour and colour of flowers, White rose of the rose-white water, a silver splendour, a flame, Bent down unto us that besought her, and earth grew sweet with her name. The emergence of light in darkness. Frozen pomegranate and a hint of nocturnal blossoms. WINTER MAIDEN BATH OIL Ice-rimed innocence. The blush of youth, frozen for eternity. Snow-laden woods, iced blackberry and bergamot, white rose, and crystallized amber. HOLIDAY STRESS RELIEF BATH OIL Relax, revive, restore. Peppermint, spearmint, geranium bourbon, lavender, clary sage, white amber, juniper berry, laurel leaf, coriander, opoponax, and mandarin. Please note: Snow White Atmosphere Spray is only offered in the 4oz size. The bath oils are all 8oz. Holiday Stress Relief is $40US due to the cost of the components, and Winter Maiden, Ice Prince, and Proserpina are $30US. And… This season's Inquisition is live! The Goblins of Yuletide Storytime! Tell your tale and receive an atmosphere spray and a perfume oil in a fancy schmancy green velveteen pouch! Storytime and the Bah Humbug tee will be live until December 5, 2008, and the winter room spray and bath oils will be live until December 15, 2008. A quickie public service announcement: Please note that all orders, including domestic orders, are currently taking an excess of 14 - 21 business days to process, pack and ship out due to a heavy workload. Lunacy and Inquisition items may exceed 21 - 28 days to process. All of our products are handmade, and the tees are hand-screened. Due to the nature of the beast, we cannot guarantee Christmas shipping on orders that contain Storytime, but we will do our very best. Thank you for understanding! Pendants and new scent lockets are coming soon! And that's it for now! From the 12 November 2008 update: Moon of Small Spirits is live at Black Phoenix Trading Post!  Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! Moon of Small Spirits will be live until 15 November 2008! The Inquisition, pendants, and winter LEs are coming soon! From the 19 October 2008 update: Dungeon Atmospheric spray has been discontinued due to a component issue. Apologies for the short notice, and thank you for understanding! From the 13 October 2008 update: Mourning Moon is live at Black Phoenix Trading Post!  Artwork by Jennifer Williamson! Mourning Moon will be live until 17 October 2008! The Inquisition will be rearing its head at Black Phoenix Trading Post in a few weeks. Also comin' to the post in the next few months… greeting cards, bath powders, new garments, new lockets, pendants, and a whole heap of shiny, fun stuff! A small reminder… please note that all orders, including domestic orders, are currently taking an excess of 14 - 21 business days to process, pack and ship out due to a heavy workload. Lunacy and Inquisition items may take 21 - 28 days to process, as the products for these projects generally aren't in full production until we have a final count. All of our products are handmade, and the tees are hand-screened, which makes for quality products… but it sometimes takes a bit of time to get everything done. Thank you for understanding! From the 15 September 2008 update: Blood Moon 2008 is live!  The MVJBA has also posted an update! From the 14 August 2008 update: Harvest Moon 2008 is live!  A new tee has been added to the General Catalogue's commemorative collection... Dia de los Muertos!  Please note: the artwork is deliberately distressed for an 'aged' feel. Artwork for both Harvest Moon and Dia de los Muertos by the phenomenal Jennifer Williamson! Also new at the 'Post - FOOT SCRUBS! These invigorating, softening foot scrubs were created with the finest environmentally-responsible and body-friendly ingredients. They are vegan, and are contain no harsh chemicals or unwholesome fillers. Our scrubs are paraben and formaldehyde free, and do not contain sodium lauryl or sodium laureth sulfate, and our labels are printed on an Earth-friendly corn biopolymer. Our foot scrubs exfoliate gently, and soften your skin beautifully. They leave your feet polished without feeling abused. As always, no animals were harmed during the creation of this product, and all products were tested on friends and family. These foot scrubs were created by Michelle Groff of Nail Polish, Etc, so you know your feet are in good hands! Scents by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab! DE RØDE SKO Do your feet feel like they've been cursed? Don't chop them off! Soothe your tired, aching toes with our warming, stimulating scrub! Red ginger, sweet orange, black pepper, clove, and cardamom. OLWEN You, too, can have flowers blossoming under your feet! Peppermint, vanilla, sandalwood, honey, and carnation. TALARIA A dollop of our invigorating, refreshing foot scrub will leave you dancing on air like you're wearing winged sandals! Peppermint, lemon, and neroli. For a limited time, Black Phoenix Trading Post is offering a series of spooky seasonal Atmosphere and Linen sprays… ALL HALLOW'S EVE 'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world. Balsam fir needle, dry leaves, cedar, clove, and black patchouli. BONFIRE NIGHT Guy Fawkes, Guy; Stick him up on high! Hang him on a lamp post And there let him die! Guy, Guy, Guy! Poke Him in the eye! Put him on the fire, And there let him die! Burn his body from his head: Then you'll say Guy Fawkes is dead! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Beer, woodsmoke, tar, and treacle. GOOEY PILLOWCASE Lumps of pumpkin fudge, marshmallow glop, cookie crumbs, caramel smears, and bits of sticky fuzz. 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. SUGAR SKULL Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. And one spray that is part of the Black Phoenix Sleepy Hollow series: MAJOR ANDRE'S TREE All the stories of ghosts and goblins that he had heard in the afternoon, now came crowding upon his recollection. The night grew darker and darker; the stars seemed to sink deeper in the sky, and driving clouds occasionally hid them from his sight. He had never felt so lonely and dismal. He was, moreover, approaching the very place where many of the scenes of the ghost stories had been laid. In the centre of the road stood an enormous tulip-tree, which towered like a giant above all the other trees of the neighborhood, and formed a kind of landmark. Its limbs were gnarled, and fantastic, large enough to form trunks for ordinary trees, twisting down almost to the earth, and rising again into the air. It was connected with the tragical story of the unfortunate André, who had been taken prisoner hard by; and was universally known by the name of Major André's tree. The common people regarded it with a mixture of respect and superstition, partly out of sympathy for the fate of its ill-starred namesake, and partly from the tales of strange sights and doleful lamentations told concerning it. As Ichabod approached this fearful tree, he began to whistle: he thought his whistle was answered-it was but a blast sweeping sharply through the dry branches. As he approached a little nearer, he thought he saw something white, hanging in the midst of the tree-he paused and ceased whistling; but on looking more narrowly, perceived that it was a place where the tree had been scathed by lightning, and the white wood laid bare. Suddenly he heard a groan-his teeth chattered and his knees smote against the saddle: it was but the rubbing of one huge bough upon another, as they were swayed about by the breeze. He passed the tree in safety, but new perils lay before him. The gnarled boughs of a gargantuan, moss-caked, ancient tulip-tree, dangling dead leaves and dripping with browning vines. These sprays are $25 per 4oz bottle, and will be live until 15 November 2008. No goblin squirts are available for the seasonal sprays. From the 18 July 2008 update: Sturgeon Moon is live!  Coming soon to Black Phoenix Trading Post: the MVJBA Pancake Breakfast and Summoning, the next installment of sin / virtue bath oils, more atmospheric schpritzies, the Courtesans series of solid perfumes, disturbing bunnies and kittens, lockets and pendants inspired by Neil Gaiman's brilliant short stories (benefiting Alzheimer's research and Match It For Pratchett), and a whole kaboodle more! From the 17 June 2008 update:   The Hay Moon and Mead Moon Lunacy tees are live until 20 June 2008! From the Friday the 13th update:  The Four Seasons Inquest update is live! Also! -- 2ml spray samples of the Atmospheric Sprays (Goblin Squirts!) are now available for $4 a pop! Squirty squirteroo! Coming soon to the Post… new room sprays, new bath oils, new dolls, and a bunch of other gnus! From the 18 May 2008 update:  The Dyan Moon Lunacy tee is live! From the 18 April 2008 update:  The Dragon Moon Lunacy tee is live! From the 13 April 2008 update:  From the 20 March 2008 update: Lots of stuff is new at Black Phoenix Trading Post!  Also new this month:  Artwork by the phenomenal Julie Dillon. Rubbed bronze, gold, and sky blue shimmer ink on black tee. For a limited time, a preview of of next month's steampunk-inspired scent line will be available: the Phoenix Steamworks flagship oil with its accompanying tee! You will receive a tee in the size and style of your choice, plus a 5ml bottle of Phoenix Steamworks: Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage. Also new at the Post: three new locket designs -- Cheshire Cat, Clockwork, and the Queen of Hearts. Clockwork was designed by Alicia Dabney, and is 925 sterling silver that has been partially gold washed using a method popularized in the 19th century. Portions of the face of the Clockwork locket have been deliberately tarnished. An addition has been made to the House of Phoenix's yoga line: the Hemlock pant --  The Trading Post is proud to introduce the first in our home fragrance line: Atmospheric Room and Linen Sprays. Use these sprays to establish a distinctive ambiance in your living spaces. Each spray possesses a unique essence, dedicated to a specific type of location. Turn your bedroom into a bordello, your rec room into a dungeon, or your library into the Queen's Croquet Ground with a few quick schpritzes! The scents were created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab for the Trading Post. These sprays are generously scented with copious amounts of Black Phoenix perfume oil and disperse beautifully. A little goes a long way. The labels are printed on an Earth-friendly corn biopolymer, and as always, the Black Phoenix Partnership does not test on animals. We test on friends and family, and on the linens of friends and family! Please note: The sprays are not for use on the body. Do not use near an open flame. Please do not shoot these sprays into your eyes, or attempt to use them as perfume. Do not drink the sprays, or use them for any other unforeseen funnybusiness. These mists may stain pale and delicate fabrics. Don't pour the sprays onto granny's antique linens, that's fer sure! And last, but not least… Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab notepads. Handy lil' pads that are perfect for taking to a meet & sniff or Will Call, doodling, or making into very small paper airplanes! We've got a lot planned for the beginning of April, so keep yer eyes peeled! From the 19 February 2008 update: The Sugar Moon tee is live!  A design inspired by classic tattoo art, doodled by Ms. Jennifer Williamson. This tee will be live until February 22, 2008. From the 20 January 2008 update: Happy Lupercalia, everyone! At BPTP, we've got two new bath oils! LUXURIA BATH OIL Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes. -- the Marquis de Sade Red musk, patchouli, pomegranate, red currant, bourbon vanilla, nutmeg, sweet orange. CASTITAS BATH OIL Chastity - the most unnatural of all the sexual perversions. -- Aldous Huxley Rice flower, vanilla, and cream. Also, two new BPAL tees have been added to the permanent catalogue!   And, this month's Lunacies:   Moon of Ice and Cheshire Moon will be live at Black Phoenix Trading Post until January 24, 2008. From the Midwinter 2007 update:  Old Moon is live! It will be up until 26 December 2007. From the previous update: Black Phoenix Trading Post will be closed from November 27, 2007 til December 2, 2007. Shipments and emails correspondence will resume on December 3, 2007. Thank you for understanding! There's a whole heap of new stuff at the Post! Blue Moon threw us for a loop this year, so this month we are doing something a little different for Lunacy: Sea of Tranquility.  Lunacies will resume, as scheduled, next month. Two new nail polishes have been added to the Claws page: Blood Countess and Morgause. Blood Countess is a ghoulish maroon gloss, and Morgause is a regal plum metallic pearl. We have two new massage oils, created in harmony with two oils from the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Panacea collection: TKO MASSAGE OIL Many things -- such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly -- are done worst when we try hardest to do them. Soothing lavender in a blend of skin-softening almond oil, rice bran, and vitamin E. UGH MASSAGE OIL Muscle ache relief. The combination of arnica, rosehip, evening primrose, almond oil, and apricot kernel oil is high in vitamin C and gamma-linolenic acid, and coupled with analgesic eucalyputs, invigorating orange, and refreshing rosemary, this blend is said to help heal bruises, reduce swelling, and soothe strained muscles and aching tendons. Also new at Black Phoenix Trading Post: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Bath Oils. Soak in your sins, or wash away all traces of your vices. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab offers you the best of both worlds, the heavenly and the diabolical, in your bathing experience. Whatever your predilection may, our blend of softening and replenishing oils, with rosehip, shea, evening primrose, fractionated coconut, and vitamin E, will ensure that you experience the utmost in sublime (or fiendish!) pleasure. Paraben & formaldehyde free. No sodium lauryl or sodium laureth sulfate. VICES: GULA It is the just doom of laziness and gluttony to be inactive without ease and drowsy without tranquility. -- Samuel Johnson Cocoa absolute, sugar cane, honey, black currant, vanilla, and caramel. VIRTUES: FRENUM Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess. -- Oscar Wilde Wild lettuce, white tea, cucumber, and cherry blossom. For the holiday season, we present a series of limited run products: ++ WINTER BATH OILS ICE PRINCE BATH OIL As beautiful and cold as a December storm. Crystalline musk, winter lily, bergamot, plum, and frozen pine boughs. WINTER MAIDEN BATH OIL Ice-rimed innocence. The blush of youth, frozen for eternity. Snow-laden woods, iced blackberry and bergamot, white rose, and crystallized amber. ++ YULE SUDS In cahoots with Silk Road... EGG NOG SOAP Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. EL DIA DE REYES SOAP Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar. LICK IT SOAP Peppermint candy cane with a flash of vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar! (Sorry, all, but we have to state: don't lick soap. Don't eat it, drink it, cook with it, or use it in any strange and unforeseen way. Black Phoenix is not responsible for that sort of irresponsible funnybusiness.) ROSE RED SOAP The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. SLEET SOAP Eucalyptus, menthol, two mints, and sparkling white citrus blast you with a bracing, enlivening chill! SNOW WHITE SOAP A chilly, bright scent: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. ++ HANDMADE SATIN POUCHES  Lovely handmade grey satin pouches with plum fringe and a silkscreened BPAL patch. Fully lined with plum cotton fabric. Roomy enough to carry a fistful of imps, a gaggle of perfume oil bottles, a tarot deck, and a shrunken head. Alright, a shrunken head might not fit all that well, but it's the thought that counts. ++ HANDMADE SILK TOTES  A gruesomely gorgeous handmade tote: luxurious plum-brown 100% silk with a hand-silkscreened center patch framed in tea-stained and maroon striped fabric and black lace, accented by black ribbon. Fully-lined with deep plum fabric. This tote has a button closure and an interior pocket. The centerpiece of the tote is a hand-silkscreened patch featuring the BPAL brimstone symbol laid on top of an 18th century engraving of a human chest cavity. Approximately 10" tall in the center, 18" wide at its widest point, with an 11" opening. The strap measures approximately 14". Only 13 of the satin pouches have been made, and only 15 of the totes. Both of these fine bags were created by the inimitable Slipshod Sally for Black Phoenix. ++ SILVER BOTTLE TOPS Aes Ustum Symbolic of the process of cleansing, and drawing out. Each piece was hand-crafted individually, and every bottle top is unique. A glass wand dips into the oil from the inside of the bottle top, and they will fit either 5 or 10ml bottles. Twenty of these silver bottle tops have been made, and due to the time and effort expended in their construction, we regret to announce that they will never be recreated. These perfume oil bottle tops are exclusive to the Trading Post, and were created by and for Black Phoenix. They cannot be found anywhere else in all of Heaven and Earth. Each bottle top is $70.00US. More items will be going live soon. We were hoping to have them all up at once, but due to holiday insanity and the handmade nature of our products, we have to split up the updates this season. Have a safe and joyous weekend, people! From the 24 October 2007 update:  Long Night Moon is live! It will be up until 27 October 2007. From the 26 August 2007 update! + LUNACY First things first! For your pleasure, we are offering this month's Lunacy tee in three styles: chocolate brown crew neck, chocolate brown babydoll v-neck, and heather green babydoll ringer.  Hunter Moon will be available until Thursday, August 30. + HALLOWEEN: TRICK OR TREAT It may be August, but here at the Trading Post, the Halloween season is starting! This means, of course, that the Trick or Treat Inquisition is back!  What'll it be this year, kids? Will you be gorging yourself on candy or cleaning egg off of your front door? Let the Alchemy Lab Imps and Trading Post Goblins decide! + HALLOWEEN: LIMITED EDITION SOAPS Silk Road Trading Company and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab have come together to create a miniseries of gleefully creepy soaps just in time for Halloween!  Soaps have been created with two of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's most popular Halloween blends: Samhain and Sugar Skull. The scents Cauldron Gunk and Pumpkin were formulated specifically for this project. Your skin will be silky, you will smell spooky'riffic, and your conscience will be clean, too! 100 bars have been made of each scent, and once they're gone, they're gone. + HALLOWEEN: LIMITED EDITION CRYPT QUEEN PERFUME AND COFFIN SET The oil is presented in a sturdy gold-gilded resin coffin unique to Black Phoenix Trading Post. The coffin is 2 3/4" wide x 5 1/2" long x 2" deep, and can hold at least 45 imp's ears laid out in repose.  CRYPT QUEEN As sweet as death, as deep as the grave: pomegranate, raspberry, gardenia, plum, and rose with patchouli, black pepper, rose musk, and a hint of blood accord. Available while supplies last. Also new at Black Phoenix Trading Post… ++ BLACK PHOENIX MASSAGE OILS These gentle, balancing massage oils were created with the finest environmentally-responsible and body-friendly ingredients. They are vegan, and are blissfully lacking in harsh chemicals or unwholesome fillers. Our massage oils are paraben and formaldehyde free, and do not contain sodium lauryl or sodium laureth sulfate. Our labels are printed on an Earth-friendly corn biopolymer. These luxurious oils absorb well, granting you the power of the aromatherapeutic properties of the essential oils, as well as the healing and soothing aspects of the base oils' health-affirming properties. … and the smooth, even texture of the blends are easy on your masseuse's hands! Handmade by Black Phoenix. As always, no animals were harmed during the creation of this product, and all products were tested on friends and family. ++ BLACK PHOENIX NAIL POLISH Synesthesia! These are our interpretations of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfumes, expressed through color. Black Phoenix nail lacquer is quick drying and chip resistant. Our formula is free of toluene, DBP, and formaldehyde, providing you with excellent long-lasting color without sacrificing your health or the environment to do so! Happy Halloween, all! From the 24 July 2007 update: Holy hell! This is one of our favorite Lunacy tees EVER!  From the 15 July 2007 update: New schtuff! We are proud to introduce House of Phoenix: Black Phoenix Trading Post's independent line. Two HoP shirts are now live:   Also new, House of Phoenix yoga pants:  Our Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab line also features yoga pants in two designs:   We're thrilled to introduce the first in out new line of BPAL-themed glassware / barware:  The new critters are not weaned yet, and will not be available until further notice. From the 30 May 2007 update: Happy scorching summertime, people! First off, here be Red Moon - August's Lunacy tee:   AL AZIF BORDELLO CHESHIRE CAT MOXIE PERVERSION TKO Due to the cost of the components of the soaps, Moxie and TKO are $10.50 each. All other soaps are $8.50US. Within the next few weeks, several garments are being added, as well as an expansion to our bath and body line and some interesting bits of tchotch! From the 30 May 2007 update: The Blue Moon tee is making its second appearance of the month, and the crew is now also available in robin’s egg blue.  Thunder Moon is also live!  Both tees will be available until June 4, 2007. From the 30 April 2007 update: Rose Moon and Blue Moon are live at Black Phoenix Trading Post!   Please note: the standard and 3X crews are bright primary blue, and the babydolls are powder blue. The perfume, Monster Bait: biggerCritters is now available to the public! The tees will be live until May 5, 2007, and our Monster Bait will be available through the end of May. From the last update: As you can see, we’re in the process of restructuring the Trading Post web site, little by little, and as we do, we’re sneaking in new items to our catalogue. New this month:  BLACK PHOENIX LABORATORY APRON: ESTABLISHED 1350 The Official Black Phoenix laboratory apron. These are the same bib aprons that are used by BPAL lab staff every single workin’ day. White ink on a soft black 65% poly / 35% cotton apron. The print reads, "Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab / Established 1350 AD", and is accompanied by John Dee’s Hieroglyphic Monad. There are two generously sized pockets on the front (6½" by 7½"), perfect for holding smaller pieces of alchemical equipment. The adjustable neck tie ensures comfort. 21" wide at its widest point. 28½" from chest to hem. Machine washable. One size fits all. Also in the BPAL Attire section...  DISTRESSED LEATHER TRIPLE DAGGER TANK! Hand-dyed 100% combed cotton tanks built for a girly figure thanks to textured 3x1 ribbing and a top-heavy cut; they are form-fitting, stretchy and clinging in all the right places. The tanks possess 3/8” baby rib binding to help ensure that they keep their shape, they are baby blankie soft, and they have a resilient double-stitched bottom hem. The image on the tank has been placed on soft distressed leather, secured with contrasting tea-stain stitching and 14 black rhinestone studs. Each tank top is handmade, one piece at a time. Please note that the tanks run very small, though the flexibility of the fabric is accommodating. You should choose a size based on both your body shape and the way you like your tanks to fit. Small / medium will fit size 0-8, medium / large will fit size 6-12, and extra-large will fit 10-14. Fully washable. We are proud to introduce two new items to the Leather Department:  BLACK PHOENIX LEATHER CLUTCHES Hand-made clutches, created for Black Phoenix. These graceful-yet-rugged clutch bags are crafted from the finest black leather and are decorated with a hand-crafted distressed leather patch and contrasting white stitching. The clutches have a very, very durable black zip closure. The distressing process gives the clutches an aged look, and lends the pieces a rich, antique feel. This clutch is petite, and is suitable for both day and evening use. It is large enough to hold your identification, your plastic, cosmetics, an MP3 player, cell phone, and a traveling imp or two. What more does a woman need when she paints the town red? 4” x 7". This is not a vegan item. Each leather clutch is $58.00US.  BLACK PHOENIX LEATHER IMP POUCHES Hand-made imp pouches, created for Black Phoenix. These imp pouches are crafted from the finest black leather. They have been emblazoned with a hand-crafted distressed leather patch, and have contrasting white stitching and a snap closure. The distressing process gives the pouches an aged look, and lends the pieces a rich, antique feel. The imp pouches hold ten imps with ease, and also make fantastic wallets and ID / business card holders. 4” x 3". This is not a vegan item. Each leather imp pouch is $38.00US. From the 5 April 2007 update: Site revamp! Due to an increase in production costs, every soap other than Snake Oil is now $8.50 per bar. As each bar of Snake Oil contains exponentially more oil than the other soaps, the cost per bar of Snake Oil soap is now $10.00. We're doing our best to keep the price at a bare minimum to cover production and materials. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience! From the 31 March 2007 update:  FizzyBOOMs have been discontinued until further notice. As much as we love them, the little buggers are just smooshing too often in transit. They will be down for a bit while we work out the shipping kinks. Thank you for your patience and understanding! We'll keep you posted on the boom status! Do not despair, however, as new soaps, new shiny things, and new incarnations of bathtime joy are all in the works, in addition to solid perfume, ambience blends, and new garment designs. From the 1 March 2007 update: Holy moly! The cutest damn memento mori EVAH! A million thanks to the Doodlemistress, Jennifer Williamson, for this adorable piece of work! Black ink on pinker than pink tee.  From the February 19, 2007 update: At last, the new lockets are here! Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations of the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit have been cast in silver, along with Carnaval Diabolique’s Phoenix, Calico Jack Rackham’s Jolly Roger (a new shape!), and the brimstone symbol (dainty and round!). Also new this month… some damn fine environmentally-friendly, free-trade-lovin’, handmade skin-butterin’ soap created as a joint venture between the Black Phoenix Family and Silk Road Trading Company. Sud your buns in good conscience! The first seven soaps are Bliss, Carnal, Dorian, Kumiho, Miskatonic University, Shub-Niggurath, and Snake Oil. In order to really wake your ass up for your Dreamland Physics course or a droning morning lecture in Medieval Metaphysics 101, our Miskatonic University soap has an extra shot of coffee butter! From the January 31, 2007 update: Crow Moon is live! Get down with the Morrigan, 'cuz these guys are taking flight on February 5, 2007.  From the January 2, 2007 update: Happy new year! We're ringing in 2007 with the first of our fizzing and bubbling concoctions: fizzyBOOM, Black Phoenix bath bombs. The first of the bombs are brimming with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Elixirs, and contain a bevy of beautifying ingredients, and contain no synthetic dyes or funky additives. They weigh in at a massive eight ounces for maximum fizzability, and are priced at $5.50 per bomb. The Trading Post is also thrilled to present this month's Lunacy Tee, Hunger Moon.  This diabolical design will be live until January 4, 2007. And finally... we present the Agony or Ecstasy Inquisition! Keep your eyes peeled for more fizzies, more kritters, more Black Phoenix garb, a whole slew of strange and wonderful things this winter! From the December 20, 2006 update: Happy holidays, everyone! Two new metal imp cases have been added to the catalogue: Bosch’s Seven Deadly Sins (hand-poured resin) and Witches Dancing on the Sabbath (distressed leather). We are also proud to present the first in a series of Black Phoenix wrist bands, and by popular demand, we are now offering perfume pouches and magnets. Very soon, the fizzing and bubbling will commence. More kritters will be live near the first full moon of the Julian calendar, and many new scent locket designs will be ready to bling up a storm by Valentine’s Day. From the December 10, 2006 update: Wolf Moon is live!  Also new this update -- 3X is now available in the long-sleeved Demon of Vanity tee and the long-sleeved Alchemists Local 93 tee! From the November 4, 2006 update: Bitter Moon is live! The Doodle Goddess has outdone herself. Bitter Moon KICKS ASS!  Also new this month, our Mad Tea Party tee:  ... and, also new, the first of our long-sleeved tees:  
From the October 5, 2006 update:  From the September 7, 2006:       There are many more items still in the works, so this promises to be a very exciting autumn, and extremely strange winter. From the August 30, 2006 update: The Black Phoenix perfume pendants are back in stock! Two new tees have also been added for your enjoyment: the Alchemists Local 93, and A Picnic In Arkham:   There will be another update (Autumn Update 1B) very soon. We're still in the process of photographing the new stock. Please keep your eyes peeled! From the May 11th update: Black Phoenix Trading Post is proud to present the second in a series of tees that commemorate BPAL Limited Edition scents and series: 13.  From the April 11th update: When placing your Trading Post order, PLEASE keep in mind that Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post are two separate entities. Orders for Trading Post items that are sent to the Lab will be refunded and cancelled. Please make sure that you send all Trading Post PayPal payments to the appropriate address. This is of particular importance when it comes to Lunacy tees; Tedwin only orders enough to fill the requests he receives, and if he does not have your order in hand, he does not enter them into the count. Sending a Trading Post order to BPAL instead of BPTP slows the process down severely on both sides, and creates more confusion than our widdle heads can handle. Thank you for understanding! The Black Phoenix perfume pendants are live! 
From the December 22nd update: Balthazar and Seamus have busted open the new Trading Post department, Whatnot, with the first of the BPAL statuary. More confessions will be posted from the Naughty and Nice Inquisition as time permits. We will, as always, keep you posted. Come in, peep, and enjoy! From the 22 November update: MON DIEU! -- this is a big update. First and foremost, there are three new tee designs:      Because of the weight of the hoodies [these buggers are fluffy, soft and just a heap of plush, warm happiness] we had to rescale shipping. It is now by weight, and the specifics can be found on the FAQ. |
Artwork by Arthur Rackham. Sooty black ink on a natural, off-white tee.
