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Rev. Alcyone Daze

@facilitatrix.bsky.social

430 followers 380 following 2.9K posts

3 aeons in a trenchcoat. Accused of the Devil's work & praised for the LORD's work with roughly equal frequency; for legal & safety reasons it's just me on the business cards. Hedge priest, raconteur, bioethicist, part-time psychopomp. 🔞. (Ey/em/eir)

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · Nov 14

For nearly the past 30 years I've been haunted by an—as far as I can tell—specific-to-me cryptid, and I figure since I'm new to bsky I've never told this story on this platform.

I want to talk about the Pigeon Man.

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Manny Suazo @smokyburnout.bsky.social · 7h

topical

a cartoon of a man in a frog costume talking to a woman

ALT: a cartoon of a man in a frog costume talking to a woman

media.tenor.com

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Jordan Shiveley (Dread Singles) @jordanshiveley.bsky.social · 3h

The Six People You Meet In Heaven Are Part of Your Sleeper Cell and Other Stories

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 14h

It grieves my spirit to say "the closest thing off-Broadway has to an episode of South Park" is probably erasure of both "The Book of Mormon," and live productions of "Cannibal! The Musical," both of which actually *were* written by the same crew 😅

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joel hanes @joelhanes.bsky.social · 16h

It's a really simple game, actually :

Start :
Chop wood
Carry water
go to Start

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Josh Fruhlinger @jfruh.bsky.social · 16h

”im addicted to this Buddhism game” —things someone who is good at buddhism would say???

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 15h

Going to have to disagree as part of the neurodivergent contingent prone to describing popping boba as “gravid with eggs” and “I can’t drink this; it’s birthing.”

Jay Edidin @edidin.bsky.social · 15h

I don’t know if the person who invented popping boba was some degree of AuDHD, but they were definitely an Ally.

Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 15h

I have a gilding kit from doing my doorframe; we could make this work if I get some more leaf.

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Order of the Good Death @ordergooddeath.bsky.social · Aug 7

Read more about how our Good Death Fellow Finalist, Resting Reef's project to turn cremated remains into underwater memorials has attracted 46 new marine species www.fastcompany.com/91332902/res...

This artificial reef is made of pet ashes. Human ashes are next

Resting Reef turns ashes into underwater memorials. In just one year, it has already attracted 46 new marine species.

www.fastcompany.com

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Order of the Good Death @ordergooddeath.bsky.social · 8d

Tired of capitalism controlling deathcare? Same. That’s why we’re building a community that is reimagining deathcare, and we need volunteers (and volunteer wranglers) to make it happen.

Interested in volunteering? Learn more and apply here: www.orderofthegooddeath.com/volunteer/

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 16h

And part (2/2). Not to be all "like and subscribe," but if any of these have been helpful to you, or they might be helpful to someone you know, reposts are welcome because my reach here is really small.

TOUCH

Bathing the body with loving hands and adorning it—applying their makeup, styling their hair, painting their nails.

Anointing the body with diluted essential oils—this can be done on chakra points, other sacred/significant sites on the body, or as a final tribute to the person’s life—thanking their eyes for the sights they saw, thanking their feet for years of hiking, etc.

Dressing the body, usually in favorite colors or a favorite outfit.

Covering with a shroud, veil, or decorative cloths/blankets. In some cases, mourners may wish to sew up the last section of a shroud, using each stitch to share a memory of the deceased.

Yarn-winding—Invite mourners to pass a ball of yarn around in a circle, winding it on their wrist to symbolize their connection to the deceased and to each other. As each person winds the yarn, they speak words that describe the deceased. Once each person has had a chance to speak, scissors are passed around to cut the connecting yarn and each person helps their neighbor tie the loose ends around their wrist, symbolizing both release of the spirit of the deceased and taking the spoken memories home with the mourner.

Cloth tearing—Pass around a cloth that has cuts for easy tearing to signify the rip in the family and the community, then pin the cloth to your clothing. (This is adapted from the Jewish tradition of k’riah.)

A forgiveness exercise—Loosely tie knots in a sheet to represent unfinished issues from the dying/dead person’s life. In ideal circumstances, the actual dying person is able to release the knots
to symbolize the release of the unfinished business, but this can be done by family and friends during the memorial.

CREATION

Create a book so that visitors can write notes, poems, letters, and paste in photos.

Fold paper cranes to either be buried/cremated with the deceased, or suspended from the ceiling or trees at the memorial site.

Create an altar (or several) with photos, candles, flowers, and other sacred or meaningful objects.

Photo collages can center various themes—places traveled, progressive ages, hobbies. Photos can also be clipped onto a string and strung like prayer flags.

Build, assemble, paint, or decorate a pine box or cardboard casket kit.

Sew ribbons onto the edges of a shroud and invite mourners to contribute a memory of the deceased and then tie part of the shroud closed.

RETURNING TO NATURE

Flowers can be arranged around, on top of, or completely framing the body; flower petals can be scattered in a casket or into a grave, etc.

I’m pretty fond of blowing bubbles, since they evoke both the joy of childhood, the beauty and ephemerality of our own lives, and are a reminder that we’re still breathing.

The “discount Viking funeral” of launching a wreath or little boats made from biodegradable objects (like tree bark) down some type of flowing water.

Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 16h

For October 10th's #DIYandDie, I took a slightly-disorganized handout from a death doula training program and grouped end-of-life rituals under common themes. These aren't meant to be prescriptive to mourners, but they're a starting point if planning otherwise feels out-of-reach. (1/2)

[Image is a dark blue starscape, with "adapted from Final Passages level III by S. Euphemeo, 2025]

End-of-Life & Home Funeral Ceremony Ideas

[Background throughout is starscapes in varying shades of dusky blue, lavender, and black.]

Note:
This is hardly a comprehensive list, but it should provide a solid foundation for shaping memorial activities. Many of the following suggestions have their roots in existing spiritual traditions, and certain rituals can be done with the dying person as an active participant, if they’re feeling up to it.

SOUND

Singing and/or live music—look up the Threshold Choir online; they’re volunteer groups who sing at the bedsides of the dying. (https://thresholdchoir.org/)

Recorded music—Favorite CDs can be great here.

Speaking words that describe the deceased as part of a group ceremony, as described elsewhere in this presentation.

Offering quotations that evoke the deceased, reciting their favorite poems, or reading to the deceased from their favorite books.

Chanting and prayers that honor the deceased’s spiritual philosophy.

LIGHT

For home funerals, hanging strings of lights around the room of the deceased—invite visitors to write messages to the deceased, and suspend them from the lights.

Lighting candles individually or as a group participatory event—place tea candles outside of the room and containers with salt or sand around the room so that each person who enters can light a candle and place it in one of the containers.

Releasing floating lanterns (but please be careful if you live in an area with a wildfire risk, and make sure the lanterns are biodegradable!)

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 16h

Saw Death flagging orange at a dyke bar in Oakland and when I asked Her why She said “everything goes.”

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cow tools daily @cowtoolsdaily.bsky.social · 19h

it's not FOR us

edited comic panel. Batman is breaking a lump-with-handle cow tool over his knee and saying "this is the tool of the cow. we do not understand it. we will not use it."

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a wicked and unusual boy @myrrlyn.net · 1d

there’s no such thing as a cisgender utopia and never will be. everyone knows you can’t make an omelas without cracking a few eggs

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Talia Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 1d

fleabag from the show fleabag looking horrified and offended (because she shags a hot priest)

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

(And task 4)

[Black marble background, with a stylized sunburst in the corners]

Task 4: Emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life

We must find some way to invest emotionally in someone or something else. Holding onto the lost loved one hinders this task. Some people find the loss so painful that they decide not to love again. In some cases, it is as if life stops with the death and we are never able to move forward.

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

For October 9th's #DIYandDie, a very abbreviated version of psychologist J. William Worden's "Four Tasks of Mourning."

Black marble texture background with the title "THE FOUR TASKS OF MOURNING" is flanked by a border of suns, keys, and hands steepling their fingers. This is a summary of longer work by psychologist William Worden.

[Black background, bordered with pale hands holding daggers]

Task 1: Accept the reality of the loss
The first task is to face the reality that the person is gone. Even if the death is expected, there's a sense that it didn't happen. We must accept intellectually and emotionally that the loss is irreversible. Rituals, such as funerals, help us accept that death is real.

[Black marble background, bordered with brass keys]

Task 2: Work through the pain of grief

Not everyone experiences the pain of loss the same. It is important to work through the pain, or it will make itself known through physical problems. Family and friends may be uncomfortable and try to rush this task or deny it. Mourners may use drugs or alcohol, idealize the deceased, move away, or jump into a new relationship in an effort to skip this task. No matter what we do to avoid the pain, it will return if not worked through.

[Black marble background, dark-skinned hands with bold yellow nails point wands in opposite directions]

Task 3: Adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing

It takes time to get used to living without a spouse or loved one. It is common to resent having to take on new roles or perform new tasks that a partner did. Trying to take on the deceased's role may fail and lower self-esteem. We search for meaning in the loss. It is during this task that we try to regain some sense of control over life.

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

I’m willing to activate my Etsy Witch powers for $120 (read: I’ll do it anyway but could someone please get me a year of Canva?)

Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 1d

Alex Jones has asked the Supreme Court to immediately put his almost $1.5 billion defamation judgment on hold, citing the imminent threat of InfoWars being handed over to The Onion.

If there isn't a stay, "InfoWars will have been acquired by its ideological nemesis and destroyed," the filing says.

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Brooke @brooklynmarie.bsky.social · 1d

Okay witches and warlocks, psychics and demon summoners, it's time

Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 1d

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

(And task 4)

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

For October 9th's #DIYandDie, a very abbreviated version of psychologist J. William Worden's "Four Tasks of Mourning."

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

I’ll be honest I am laughably bad at picking locks and need a ton more practice; the tattoo is more aspiration than advertisement

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

Look, sometimes Lucifer appears to you and is like “if earthly tyrants deny your beloveds the keys to heaven, be their lockpicks at 3:00 AM.”

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

ENRICHMENT FOR THE ENCLOSURE.

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Rev. Alcyone Daze @facilitatrix.bsky.social · 1d

Ace switch 4 ace switch when you’re both into heavy bondage and share a libido-agnostic chastity kink mean that your scenes are debatably “sex” but unquestionably a red team/blue team pen testing exercise.