This month, we revisit the Metamorphosis:

METAMORPHOSIS
Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold!
With silver fringed, and freckled o'er with gold:

On the gay bosom of some fragrant flower
They, idly fluttering, live their little hour;
Their life all pleasure, and their task all play,
All spring their age, and sunshine all their day.
- " To Mrs. P--------., With Some Drawings…", Anna Laetitia Aikin

The grace, beauty, and complexity of butterflies and moths have permeated myths all over the globe. The symmetry and elegance of their form and the coquettish rhythm of their dance inspires visions of fleeting romance:

The dawn is smiling on the dew that covers
The tearful roses; lo, the little lovers
That kiss the buds, and all the flutterings
In jasmine bloom, and privet, of white wings,
That go and come, and fly, and peep and hide,
With muffled music, murmured far and wide.
Ah, the Spring time, when we think of all the lays
That dreamy lovers send to dreamy mays,
Of the fond hearts within a billet bound,
Of all the soft silk paper that pens wound,
The messages of love that mortals write
Filled with intoxication of delight,
Written in April and before the May time
Shredded and flown, playthings for the wind's playtime,
We dream that all white butterflies above,
Who seek through clouds or waters souls to love,
And leave their lady mistress in despair,
To flit to flowers, as kinder and more fair,
Are but torn love-letters, that through the skies
Flutter, and float, and change to butterflies
- " The Genesis of Butterflies", Victor Hugo

Though in some myths - notably, China's Butterfly Lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, and Japan's tale of Takahama and Akiko - butterflies are symbols of eternal love and devotion.

Most often, butterflies and moths represent change, transition, and metamorphosis. Butterflies are also seen as personifications of the soul, and symbols of mankind's desire for spiritual evolution. They are harbingers of both love and death, and some believe that errant souls manifest in this form.

Moths and butterflies are, to some, symbols of blind desire and madness, perilously drawn to the splendor of light and flame. This mad desire is also portrayed, at times, as transcendence:

Tell it none except the wise,
for the common crowd defames:
of the living I shall praise
that which longs for death in flames.

In the love night which created
you where you create, a yearning
wakes: you see, intoxicated,
far away a candle burning.
Darkness now no longer snares you,
shadows lose their ancient force,
as a new desire tears you
up to higher intercourse.

Now no distance checks your flight,
charmed you come and you draw night
till, with longing for the light,
you are burnt, O butterfly.

And until you have possessed
dying and rebirth,
you are but a sullen guest
on the gloomy earth.
- " Blissful Yearning", Goethe, translation by Walter Kaufmann

This series, though seemingly simple, is a complex narrative in scent. It was created with the intention of illustrating the beauty of transformation and transcendence, the sweetness of romance, the joy of freedom and personal liberty, and the perpetuity of true love.

Wake, butterfly -
It's late, we've miles
To go together.
- Matsuo Basho



This year's butterfly series was inspired by our many, many trips to Mexico, and is focused on the butterflies and moths of the Yucatan and Quintana Roo.




BERNARDINO DOTTED BLUE
Lily of the valley, patchouli, copal, violet leaf, ambrette seed, Cyprian bergamot, chocolate peppermint, and tobacco absolute.
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CEANOTHUS SILKMOTH
Blood orange, night-blooming jasmine, vanilla bean, bog wood, Spanish moss, benzoin, and oudh.
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JUNIPER HAIRSTREAK
Smoky brown musk, cucumber, green-tinged ozone, cypress, white mint, jungle orchid, and juniper berry.
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RUDDY DAGGERWING
Cacao, tobacco absolute, Chilean coffee bean, osage-orange, and ebony.
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PASSION BUTTERFLY
Red mandarin, mimosa, pink grapefruit, copal, petitgrain, and black amber.
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SPHAEROMACHIA GAUMERI
Iris, iced lemon peel, anise seed, red current, coriander, cilantro, and white musk.
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TWO-BARRED FLASHER
Orris root, lilac, galbanum, white tea, Italian bergamot, and blueberry.
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WHITE PEACOCK
Teak, ebony wood, osmanthus, patchouli, red sandalwood, vanilla orchid, tonka bean, tobacco, wild musk, spikenard, and sugandh kokila.
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ZEBRA HELICONIAN
Opium tar, frankincense, lemongrass, ambergris accord, Himalayan cedarwood, coffee absolute, coconut meat, clary sage, tobacco flower, vetiver, and white plum.
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The Metamorphosis series is dedicated, as always, to my daughter. Lilith, my angel, my dearest love. I love you, little butterfly. I love your laugh, I love your smile, I love your huge, compassionate heart. You are the joy of my life, you are the song of my spirit. I'm so very grateful to be your mother.

- - -



Inspired by our sojourns into the jungles of Latin America, we present two sweet, raw, prickly blends as a small tribute to our omnipresent hematophagous travel companions:



AE. ALBOPICTUS
Saffron, pimento, cardamom, beeswax, cajeput, tomato leaf, geranium, and pink pepper honey.
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AE. AEGYPTI
Five honeys with vanilla orchid, gardenia, dragon's blood resin, gingergrass, and turmeric.
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++ PON POKO PON NO PON
Sho-sho- Shojo-Ji
Shojo-Ji no niwa wa
Tsu-tsu-tsuki yo de minna dete koi koi koi!
Oira no tomodacha
Pon poko pon no pon.

Makeru na, makeru na
Oshosan ni makeru na
Koi koi koi koi koi koi
Minna dete koi koi koi!

Sho-sho-shojo-Ji
Shojo-Ji no hagi wa
Tsu-tsu-tsuki yo ni
Hanazakari.
Oira wa ukarete
Pon poko pon no pon.

Stuffed full of beans and sake, the big-bellied, big-balled, magical shapeshifting Tanuki are harbingers of joy, prosperity, and change. They are clever schemers and irrepressible tricksters that conjure illusions and play pranks on the unwary, often raising up the downtrodden and casting foolish, prideful, and despotic people low.

Bring a little more light and laughter into your life with our Pon Poko series! The garden is bright under the moonlit night! Let's thump a snazzy little beat on our golden drums together!

JIBIKI DANUKI
Casting a fishing net.

Purple sage and oakmoss with black and white musks.
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TANUKI NO AMIUCHI
Catching birds.

Sandalwood incense, patchouli, matcha, cumin, white cedar, white gardenia, ti leaf, and vetiver.
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TANUKI NO DÔKE DARUMA
A raccoon dog having his scrotum painted in imitation of a Daruma doll.

Red currant, champaca flower, apple blossom and apple pulp, goma, tomato leaf, and brown grasses.
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TANUKI NO HIKIFUNE
Towing a scrotum boat.

Honeydew, honey, and sparkling golden-green musk.
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TANUKI NO KANBAN
Tanuki shopkeepers putting out their signboards.

Golden musk, ginkgo nut, persimmon rind, and bitter almond.
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TANUKI NO ÔRAI
Comings and goings.

White peach, golden peach, mango, persimmon, lotus petal, osmanthus, and shishito.
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TANUKI NO SENKIMOCHI
Afflicted with senki.

Anise seed, furry brown musk, cypress sap, myrrh, and smoky woods.
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TANUKI NO YUDACHI
Seeking shelter from an evening rainstorm.

Lilium speciosum, rice wine, white grapefruit, lotus root, bourbon vanilla, and vanilla orchid.
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BLACK PHOENIX ALCHEMY LAB, BPAL, IMP'S EARS, A LITTLE LUNACY, CARNAVAL DIABOLIQUE and all oil names are trademarks of the Black Phoenix Partnership. All rights reserved. Don't be a schnook.