Twilight Alchemy Lab oil reviews

Due to participation in several circular swaps organized by BPAL.org forumites, I have been able to sample several blends from Twilight Alchemy Lab, BPAL's magical oil section. TAL oils are usually very difficult to come by, as they are generally only sold in two stores in the US: Black Broom in L.A. and Alternate Realities in Rhode Island. They are, without a doubt, some of the most potent magical blends that I have ever tried. Blue Moon (sold for one day last year as a BPAL full-moon blend) is my blend of choice for purifying sacred space, and it is so rare that I only use it during very special occasions because I have so little of it. Helping Hand is one of my favorite blends for extraordinarily stressful times, as it usually pulls me through train-wreck days in one piece by helping me to stay focused and calm. It is also of note that Beth's versions of several traditional Voodoo blends are available on the BPAL site, and that I've found them handy as anointing oils, as well. If you're interested in finding what other TAL oils are floating out there, check out the forums.

( TAL oil impressions. )

Also, some Limited Edition and discontinued oil reviews.

( BPAL reviews. )

These reviews have been added to my BPAL review page. As a note, I’ve re-organized the page so that all reviews fit into three categories:

Category 1: Catalogue scents. These are perfume oil blends that you can order directly from the lab. You can also request samples of all of these scents, with the exception of the Panacea blends.
Category 2: Limited Edition and discontinued scents. These scents are no longer available from the lab site. Some of these scents have magical connotations (the Sabbat and Lunar blends, for instance), and may be used in ritual, but were sold primarily as perfumes.
Category 3: Oils to be used with magical intent. This category includes Celestials, Dream Formulas, Elementals, Orishas, Sepiroths, Twilight Alchemy Lab blends, Tarots, and Voodoo oils. The Sepiroths and Tarots are available from the site in bottle form. The Dream Formulas and the Voodoo blends are available from the lab in both bottles and samples. The rest are currently unavailable on the Lab's site, and may be purchased at the Black Broom in Los Angeles and Alternate Realities in Rhode Island.

And then there were three.

This is just a note to say that Ivan died today. I was on my way back from Westminster when I got the call from my mother, who feeds the fishies on Sundays. She'd gone to check on him this afternoon, and when she did, he had passed. She said that yesterday he had eaten just fine-- hungrily as usual, and that he'd even begun to build a bubble nest. That's good. That means he probably wasn't in much pain.

It's most likely that he was just old and approaching the end of his natural life. Prior to this week, he'd been the most active of all of my fish. Even while he was sick, his only symptom of sickness was heavy breathing, and believe me, I checked him thoroughly. I'm glad that his passing was relatively easy, compared to other sick fish I've seen.

This worries me because I know that my other three are getting old, too. I've had them for a year and a half now, and they are usually sold at age one because that's when male bettas start to show color. With an average life expectancy of three years, it stands to reason that they should be beginning to wind down.

I buried Ivan in the backyard because I never could stand to see a pet flushed. Tomorrow I'll re-adjust the tank to accomodate three rather than four.

Ugh.



RIP, Ivanfishie.