Hullo, all! The BPAL side of the full moon update is going live a wee bit early this month, as we’re taking a Sanity Reset Trip to Yosemite, and I wanted to make sure all was well before we headed north! Black Phoenix Trading Post’s update will be live at Standard Update Time (just before the full moon), but here’s an art teaser –

Honey Moon was illustrated by Tanya Bjork. There are no words to describe how much I love this!

Speaking of Trading Post… have y’all checked out the new site? We are beyond thrilled with it, and we’re so grateful to Kaitlin at Form & Function for all of her hard work, her dedication, and her kindness, and for lending us both her time and her talent. We love you, Kaitlin!

And without further ado… smelly things…

HONEY MOON 2013
From honey sprang this Plant to life; with honey now we dig thee up.
Make us as sweet as honey, for from honey hast thou been produced.
My tongue hath honey at the tip, and sweetest honey at the root:
Thou yieldest to my wish and will, and shalt be mine and only mine.
My coming in is honey-sweet and honey-sweet, my going forth:
My voice and words are sweet: I fain would be like honey in my look.
Sweeter am I than honey, yet more full of sweets than licorice:
So mayst thou love me as a branch full of all sweets, and only me.
Around thee have I girt a zone of sugar-cane to banish hate.
That thou mayst be in love with me, my darling never to depart.
– Hymns of the Atharva Veda, XXXIV

Honey Moon contains five different honeys, ranging from pale and sweet to deep and heady, with hints of jasmine, white gardenia, Hawaiian white ginger and thyme.

SINGLE NOTE: PASSION FLOWER
An elegant botanical sigil representing the crucifixion of Christ, this plant is said to grant blessings of peace and love (philía and storge) to a home, especially when grown around the door, gate, or fence.

SINGLE NOTE: SUMATRAN RED PATCHOULI
Sexy, dirty, much-maligned and much-loved patchouli… oh, how you get a bad rap. Though some associate you with head shops and Dead show parking lots, you really are so much more:

You are utilized in Chinese medicine to normalize the flow of qi.

In aromatherapy, you are used to diffuse stress, bring comfort and succor, and alleviate depression.

You inspire lust, passion, and carnality, and create a veil of sexual intrigue unmatched by any other fragrance.

You correspond with Saturn and Earth, facilitating grounding, stability, and protection, as well as the acquisition of property and money.

You form the oft-unrecognized basis of innumerable perfumes, adding a unique depth and sensuality, sometimes imperceptibly.

Your olfactory profile is incredibly fluid, ranging from mossy and gritty to wine-rich and voluptuous, and you age like a glorious silver screen goddess.

So the next time someone tells you that you smell like an unwashed hippie, Patchouli, just smile your enigmatic smile. The enlightened know how amazing you are.

SINGLE NOTE: WILD DANDELION
Simple and fresh and fair from winter’s close
emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics,
had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter’d grass –
innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,
The spring’s first dandelion shows its trustful
face.
– Walt Whitman

A scent as fresh as spring and as radiant as summer: the splendor of a crown of golden petals, the tartness of sap and pungent greens, and the gentle touch of white seed florets drifting in the breeze.

We’re going to be posting an etsy boom concurrent with this update! We are happy to combine etsy and BPAL orders – just email us with the info on the orders you’ll be combining!

Alchemy Lab and Trading Post are busy prepping some exciting new (and old!) stuff for summer, so keep your eyes peeled!