kebechet

Common sense warning: Please do NOT use Baptismal oil /on/ your baby's skin, hair, or widdle toesy-woesies. Don't put the oil on the baby's clothes, blankie or anything else that they may come into contact with. Don't feed the oil to your baby. Babies are sensitive little critters, and though Baptismal oil is very mild, any oil may be too harsh for a baby. Please use common sense and caution.

This may come out a little weird, as I seem to be feverish. Right. Like I’m any weirder when I’m sick than I am normally. The first thing I need to do is give thanks… A huge thank you to the C12 Committee for their hospitality, their support, and for putting together such an amazing event. Another huge thanks to everyone that came out to Convergence. It was an unbelievable pleasure to meet everyone, and it means so much to me that you guys took the time to come out to the vending area and chat with us! A humongous thank you to Brian and Forest for being there with me behind the circus tent at C12 and to all the guys that manned the fort back in LA while we were gone. Onto some not-so-wonderful news… Black Phoenix Trading Post is still in the middle of a small communication burr. Ted’s hard drive is completely fried, and despite the most strenuous of efforts, the data that it contained it unrecoverable. We’re in the process of rebuilding a computer for him, but that will take a little time, and in all likelihood he won’t be able to answer emails consistently or download orders for a few more days. And onto some better news… Now that we’re back, there is a small update to Twilight Alchemy Lab’s line: + LOVE, LUST & BEAUTY BLESSING OF ISIS Use this blend to reignite passion and ardor in couples whose feelings for one another have waned through time and familiarity. BLINDING GLORY OF LOVE A potent and passionately exciting love oil. Rub onto your hands before meeting a potential mate. Brings out sexual desire as well as romantic inclinations in those you encounter. Use with caution as this blend brings out amorous reactions without discretion. CALIPH’S BELOVED Stimulates your own sexual energy and incites intense feelings of passion and desire. DIXIE LOVE PERFUME A powerful old Voodoo love oil. It increases your sex appeal tenfold, inspires romance, and draws others to you. + JOY & INSPIRATION GODFIRE An oil just for men. Increases strength and virility, infusing you with the power of the Primary Masculine Principle. HAND OF HERMES Develops concentration and creativity, and amplifies communication skills. LIONHEART Grants you immense amounts of courage and drive. Useful to help you recover from intense depression and ennui. Brings on a positive outlook, renews hope, and replenishes positive energy. Fills your spirit with the courage and nobility of a lion, warmed by the life-giving joy of its solar aspects. MANTLE OF VENUS Brings immense success in love and money. + CROSSING, BINDING & CONTROLLING BLACK RAGE A fiery, passionate cursing blend. Use as a focal point for your hatred and animosity. + PROSPERITY, SUCCESS & GOOD FORUNTE BRASS BALLS Wear to increase courage, especially with regard to social situations. Calms the nerves, instills confidence, and brings your natural charisma to the surface. HAITIAN GAMBLER Use to reverse even the worst streak of bad luck. Use in ritual, or to anoint mojo bags, gaming implements, and/or your hands and feet before gambling. KING SOLOMON’S Used to bring out King Solomon's virtues in your personality. Grants wealth and power, and the benevolent wisdom necessary to utilize it to your benefit and the benefit of others. + PURIFICATION, PROTECTION & UNCROSSING AEGIS A venerable, complex formula used for protection, guidance, and peace of mind. FLYING DEVIL A traditional Voodoo recipe: a fast-acting, efficient uncrossing oil. JINX REMOVING Use on the night of the new moon to banish the baneful effects of negativity directed at us on a daily basis: e.g., dirty looks, rude gestures, smarmy remarks. Banishes the residue of everyday F*ck Yous. Use in the bath, on self, and to dress white candles. OBEAH A highly respected Afro-Caribbean blend used for blessing and banishing. PEACE Soothes frazzled nerves, brings serenity to the heart and tranquility to the home. + UTILITY BLENDS ANOINTING A purifying and empowering highly-charged neutral blend that can be used alone, or used in conjunct with other oils for personal, ritual or tool consecration and blessing. ATTUNING Makes you more sensitive to the emotional, spiritual and non-corporeal presences in an area. Attunes you to the vibratory qualities of a place or object. Particularly effective in developing psychometry. CATALYST Inspires you to begin new projects and gives you the impetus to see them to completion. Enhances creativity, drive, and determination. CRUCIBLE OF COURAGE Imbues you with enormous amounts of courage. Use this blend when you feel weak, scared, or intimidated. Helps you find the strength to confront dangerous or frightening situations. HEALING Use in rituals to help speed recovery from injury and illness and to maintain, celebrate and give thanks for good health. MEDITATION Dot gently onto your temples and third eye prior to meditation. Helps clear the mind and calm the spirit. Can also be used as a candle dressing or diffuser scent. MNEMOSYNE Enhances memory and concentration and opens up your conscious mind to the collective unconscious history of the world. Can be used to aid in remembering past lives. + RITES OF PASSAGE BAPTISMAL BILDUNGSROMAN FUNEREAL HANDFASTING INITIATION And that’s all for the moment!

Alright, friends and neighbors: the "Gone Fishin'" sign is up, and Brian, Forest and I are officially poof as of 10am PST tomorrow. I hope with all my heart that all of you guys that are attending C12 stop by the vending area to say hello. Sara and Anthony will be manning the fort along with the rest of the Lab Rats, and Teddy will still be working his butt off on Trading Post, though his internet and, specifically, email access is severely limited. And now, I'd like to interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to thank the following people: Kambriel @ Kambriel Carrie @ Dollflesh & Annette @ Gallery Serpentine These are three of the most talented designers I have ever known, and I am one hell of a lucky woman to have the pleasure of owning a few of their pieces. Be good while we're gone, and don't let anything interesting happen without me!

The BPTP Dragon Moon tee is live. All praises to Macha and Puddin! http://www.blackphoenixtradingpost.com

Fright Night Our beloved Mick [that's Ignis to y'all on the forums!] helps promote this asskicking monthly event. All Los Angeles horror fans must attend. Every 2nd Friday they screen a double feature of some of the most ghastly horror flicks that the 50's and 60's had to offer. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! -- Bands, booze and ever so much more. Its a ghoulie's wet dream. $10 CIA 11334 Burbank Blvd North Hollywood, CA 8:30 - 2am 18+ / 21 with ID for bar funtime For more info, please check the site!

In observance of the holiday season, and out of respect for the many traditions and faiths found amongst our clients, Dragon Moon, the Carnaval Noir pit stop, Neptune and Pluto will be available on the site until April 20th. The number of Carnaval Noir oils for purchase at Will Call and C12 will, unfortunately, have to be limited to 20, and we can only sell one bottle per scent per customer. Online orders are under no bottle limit. Black Phoenix Trading Post’s update will run from April 11th til April 20th. For other details, you're going to have to hit up the Shiny & New page.

I'll be honest. Every time someone orders through the site, we get charged 9% on the total, including the cost of shipping. If you order through PayPal, we're charged around 3%. It may not seem like a lot, but the truth is, we charge very little over what it costs to make the oils, so every little bit helps. =/

Psst! Hey!

I've finally got a new computer. 'Bout freakin' time, huh? It'll take me a few days to get back on top of emails and PM's, so please be patient with me!

As you guys know, we're going to be vending at Convergence 12 in New Orleans. The next Lunacy falls while we're out of town, but the Lab will still be open for will call. The Loon will go up as scheduled, and in preparation for this summers visit to a new Black Phoenix carny show, we will have a limited quantity of Carnaval Noir perfumes from last summer's run of that series. The oils will be at w/c, online during the Lunacy, and will be avail at our booth in NOLA. We are very, very happy to announce that we're sponsoring Erzulie's Tea Party @ C12. =) As always, more info will be posted as it becomes finalized.

About a week ago I got slapped by a bad case of strep-turned-tonsillitis, so I'm out of the picture for a few more days. Thanks to my nurses, Ted and Brian, for keeping me from tearing out my tonsils with pliers. This has no effect on the shipping and packing of orders at the Lab. It is just a heads up for everyone that is waiting on communication from me. I'm up and on the comp working when the fever is down, but whenever it comes back up, I head to bed, so I'm a little slow on things right now. Thanks for your patience! Once the 'cillin does its job, I'll be right as rain.

Stuff is up on eBay, and a general catalogue update is coming in March. =) Happy Lupercalia, all! May your day be as lewd and lascivious as Faunus himself!

So tired and bumblefuzzled that I can barely type. I’ll edit this tomorrow to include more info on the update. The quick and dirty: Sleepy Moon, Mars and Jupiter are in LE. The Maelstrom is live. For the moment, the Chakras are camping out with the Sephiroth under the temporary heading, “Illumination”. There is a forum exclusive at this time. Poke THIS to get there. Must sleep now, or I’m likely to pass out at the shop tomorrow.

Budding Moon / Lupercalia: Brick & Mortar Ho-down We will be open for Budding Moon / Lupercalia on Monday, February 13th, from 2pm til 10pm. [The whole thing is almost verbatim from the last Will Calls.] The address is: 5523 Satsuma Ave North Hollywood, CA 91601 It may be a little hard to find. Satsuma looks like an alley, but isn’t. The building itself is a warehouse covered in gloriously strange pale blue aluminum siding. Sexy. We’re on the right side of the building. Mr. Thrifty [our mini-skeleton] will be in the window, and there’s a very obviously half-finished budding new herb garden in the front. The neighborhood cats killed the catnip. The catnip started to come back to life for about two weeks, but then one of the damn ‘nip junkie cats in the neighborhood practically dug it up from the roots. RIP, catnip plant. While you’re in the area, you may want to hit up three other shops on our street. There are two wonderful architectural salvage places and a great stained glass shop. The primary problem that we may have this week [and forever afterwards] is parking. There are four spaces in front of BPAL. Ok, now onto the Plan: Unfortunately, our wretched credit card system is still unprepared for retail in-store sales. At the moment, the damned thing won’t even let me log in. Anyway, all in-house sales on Saturday will have to be either cash, or through PayPal. We will have a terminal set up there for people who want to use the latter. If you would like to place an order for pick-up for Holiday Moon, please do the following: Email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com with your order. Payment may be remitted by PayPal ahead of time to willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com, or you can pay at Pick Up with cash or using one of our computers as a PayPal terminal. When making your payment, please omit shipping charges. You may purchase any current catalogue oils, as long as we have them in stock. The following oils will also be in stock: Budding Moon [of course] Venus The Lupercalia series As always, this is based on availability. In addition, we are getting rid of some backstock and cleaning out the warehouse, and unfortunately, we don't have the time to inventory these before the Loon. These scents are a first-come, first-served deal, cash only. Please remit all PayPal pre-payments by 1pm PST on Sunday, February 12th, so that we can get your orders together. Some t-shirt overstock from BPTP will also be on hand, but those will have to be in-store purchases, since I'm not positive which sizes and styles will be there. We will do our best to accommodate all orders of 5mls and imps, but sales will be based on availability. Imp Packs will be available, but we would prefer that, if you are going to purchase imps, you pre-order them so we can expedite the process. In all cases, its probably best to pre-order anyway, so we can make sure we have the oils allotted, or will be able to tell you beforehand if we’re out of stock. You get the gist. At this time, we cannot accept checks, money orders, or credit card payments for WC. Sara is swamped so please direct all questions to Brian at willcall [at] blackphoenixalchemylab [dot] com. We will do our best to help you out with anything that comes up.

Ok, so as you guys know, I’ve got heaps of charities that we at BPAL try to help out. Ebay is the primary way, other than LE sales themselves, that we generate funds for our projects. Tonight we were able to send out two donations to the following two organizations: Beagles and Buddies http://www.beaglesandbuddies.com/ Pit Prints Pit Bull Rescue and Rehab http://www.pitprintsrescue.com/ Once things slow down a little on his side of the Phoenix, Ted will be helping us with the eBay sales again. Thanks, as always, to everyone here who helps us to make things like this possible.

I was *THIS CLOSE* to putting out 'Trouser Snake' in the update. 0=)

NO EXPLODING! =D

Leakage happens sometimes. =/ It can be caused by anything from wonky bottles to weird air-pressure shifts and jostling in transit. There's always human error, too. Heh. We do our best to make things right when stuff like that happens. Thanks for the kind words, guys. We do try our hardest, and nothing makes me happier than making y'all happy. Seriously. =)

You made me choke on my Red Bull.

Ah, well. My response was intended to quell your concerns. I also wished to address your comments on the fullness of the bottles, as it is something I think all of our customers should be aware of. In this, you state that we have erred in many ways. It is in contradition with your email to us, which stated your displeasure in the lack of frimps in your friend's order, your dissatisfaction with the amount of oil in each container, and that you feel that it is more cost-effective for you to purchase from people on the forums, as opposed to the Lab directly, and your worry that you would not be able to recoup what you feel are your losses when you resell our product. You also stated that your email had not been answered. I simply clarified that it was sent and responded to within 22 hours. When we are in error, we do everything we can to correct a problem. In this case, I wanted to clarify, since this was a post made to the general public, the nature of the situation and illustrate our current filling proceedures.

The Trading Post Budding Moon update is live! All praises to Empress Macha for another stunning design! - - - The Lupercalia update is live! What's new? Smut, smut, and more smut! Ok, maybe there are some things in Lupercalia that aren't quite so smutty. I'm just so damn enamoured of that word lately. Oh man, you should see the crude concepts I had lined up for this update initially. Something about Valentine’s Day really brings out the pig in me. You should see my research material. *insert raised eyebrow here* Anyway, ‘nuff babbling. Its update time! :: LIMITED EDITION: LUPERCALIA KHAJURAHO The fabled Khajuraho temples of India are shrines of love in all its myriad forms. They are a celebration of love itself – transcendental, spiritual and erotic. This is a rejection of sorrow, spiritual ennui and despair. The sexual motifs that adorn the temples, and the temples themselves, are monuments to ecstasy and to passion, and through that, they are also monuments to spiritual fulfillment. It is believed that the realization of moksha by dedicating oneself to adhyatma and dharma can be attained only by first experiencing sexual satisfaction. In the midst of the drudgery and struggle that we sometimes endure during the course of our Earthly lives, it is vitally important that we remember the joy found in kama, and that in kama we can achieve transformation of the body and soul. This is a blissful, euphoric blend based on an ancient Indian love potion: honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower. LUPERCI Piss off, Saint Valentine! Lupercalia is an ancient Roman celebration, held on February 15th, that kicked in the advent of Spring with a very, very festive purification, fertility and sexuality ritual. The ritual began near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine, an area sacred to Faunus, as well as Ruminia, Romulus and Remus. During Lupercalia, Vestal Virgins first made offerings of sacred cakes to the fig tree under which the she-wolf suckled the Sacred Twins. A dog and two goats were then offered in sacrifice to Faunus. The blood of the sacrifice was smeared onto two naked patrician youths, who were assisted by the Virgins, and the blood was wiped clean with sacred wool dipped in milk. The youths donned the skins of the sacrificial goats, wielding whips made from the goat skins, and then led the priests and the Virgins around the pomarium, and around the base hills of Rome. This was a ceremony of great happiness and merriment, and was of particular interest to young women: being touched by the goat-whips young men that led the procession ensured their fertility in the coming year. It is believed that, after the initial rite, male participants would draw the name of an available maiden, with whom he spent the rest of the night. This scent is for the Luperci, the Chosen of Faunus, the Brothers of the Wolf: raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk. NIGHT’S PAVILION I worship you like night's pavilion, O vase of sadness, o great silent one, And love you more since you escape from me, And since you seem, my night's sublimity, To mock me and increase the leagues that lie Between my arms and blue immensity. I move to attack, beseige, assail, Like eager worms after a funeral. I even love, o beast implacable, The coldness which makes you more beautiful. Not the desperation, desolation and anguish of unrequited love, but the distant, chill and pitiless scent of the object of that doomed desire. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense. PARLEMENT of FOULES For the Valentine’s Day purists. For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his mate. Medieval romance and courtly love. White rose and soft resins. THE PERFUMED GARDEN Under her neck my right hand Has served her for a cushion, And to draw her to me I have sent out my left hand, Which bore her up as a bed. The Perfumed Garden for the Soul’s Recreation. This scent is based on a venerable Tunisian perfume that was used to excite the senses, inspire sensuality and inflame passion. Myrrh and Moroccan jasmine with apple peel, Indian sandalwood, myrtle, quince, citron, and thyme poured over soft musk. RED LANTERN A tribute to the opium den cum bawdyhouses of Shanghai in the 1930’s. Golden amber, blonde tobacco, Sudanese black coconut, rich caramel, black currant, white opium and delphinium laced with a sensual blend of Asian spice. SMUT What a great freakin’ word. BPAL LOVES SMUT! Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. Venus and 13 are live, and Budding Moon is also live, both at the Lab and at the Trading Post. - - - 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!

Rho, my brain is actually full of useless trivia, cobwebs and potty jokes.

HAHAHAH! I had to backspace over a potential scent combo for that, as it was way too offensive, even for me.

Ooh. New scent: the Devil's Panties.

Hiyas Carly. =) While that is implied in her post here, in her actual email [which she will forward to anyone interested, as she stated] she received all the imps that she ordered. It was a matter of the fullness of the bottles and vials. Other than that, her main complaint was that she can get imps cheaper on the forums than she can from us, and the secondary complaint was that we didn't send free imps to her friend. Dood, Brian and I talk about government cheese ALL THE TIME!