A New Lunacy and Metamorphosis At Black Phoenix

[bpalgeekgirldiva]

The moon is rising, solemn and silent, over Black Phoenix:

LACUS SOLITUDINIS

The Lake of Solitude: a scent of introspection and introversion. Meditative white sandalwood with rosewood, Roman chamomile, white lavender, marjoram, Himalayan cedar, and oudh.

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This month, we revisit the Metamorphosis:

The Metamorphosis series is dedicated, as always, to my daughter. Lilith, you are my light, my love, my heart, and the sweetness of my soul. Sword-Wielding Storybook Princess, Valiant Superheroine, Bold Adventurer, Make-Believe Misunderstood Fairy Tale Villainess: it is a privilege to watch you grow, and it is an honor to be your mother. I love you with every drop of blood in my body, and every breath. The sweetness of your heart, the depth of your compassion, and the razor of your wit are all an inspiration to me. Your laugh is my joy. I love you, Little Lady Butterfly.

“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”

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 series is inspired by our family’s annual pilgrimage to New Orleans: the Butterflies of Louisiana -

BLACK SWALLOWTAIL
Licorice bark with freesia, jungle orchids, elemi, Bulgarian rose otto, and jasmine sambac.

EASTERN COMMA
Sweet orange with tobacco absolute and hay.

GOATWEED LEAFWING
Tonka bean, orange blossom, ambrette seed, and brown sandalwood.

LITTLE METALMARK
Nagarmotha and sweet musk.

PHAON CRESCENT
Italian bergamot and neroli with marigold, white jasmine, Himalayan cedar, lemon peel, and a drop of tobacco absolute.

QUESTION MARK
Blackened vanilla absolute with tobacco leaf, Ceylon cinnamon, orange-bark myrrh, and orange blossom.

RED-SPOTTED PURPLE
White thyme, yuzu fruit, hinoki wood, blue cedar, white carnation, plum rind, white mandarin, and lime-tinted white musk.

SOUTHERN CLOUDYWING
Cardamom tea, orange peel, mate, oakmoss, tonka bean, sweet cedar, and costus.

WILD INDIGO DUSKYWING
Black saffron, frankincense, Florentine iris, blackcurrant, white pepper, black clove, vetiver, and smoky honey.

YUCCA GIANT-SKIPPER
White patchouli, oudh, vanilla absolute, copaiba balsam, pepperwood, and champaca flower.

Butterflies have also descended onto the ‘Post:

CHORION HAIR GLOSS
A gossamer armor: seemingly delicate, but as strong as adamant. Opalescent vanilla-infused benzoin with silvered iris, white patchouli, mimosa blossom, and white musk.

CHORION ATMOSPHERE SPRAY
A gossamer armor: seemingly delicate, but as strong as adamant. Opalescent vanilla-infused benzoin with silvered iris, white patchouli, mimosa blossom, and white musk.

NECTAR HAIR GLOSS
Honeyed camellia and bergamot with sweet honeysuckle and sugared columbine.

NECTAR ATMOSPHERE SPRAY
Honeyed camellia and bergamot with sweet honeysuckle and sugared columbine.

The Earth laughs in flowers.

FLOWER CONSTANCY I BATH OIL: AN AFFINITY FOR PASSIONFLOWER

FLOWER CONSTANCY II BATH OIL: AN AFFINITY FOR PHLOX

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