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2013 Foam Winter Solstice Ceremony
Friday 20 December 2013, 7.00 PM
Master of Ceremonies: Armoracio Bud Minuez
High Priestess of Proceedings: Alchemilla Lily Umiliata
Quality Control: Angelica Pansy Demeziz
Tragicomic Control: Eleuz Ashton Querlano
Guests and/or Assistants: Permitted (terms and conditions apply)
While the Master of Ceremonies has been responsible for codifying tradition in the architecture of this Ceremony, it is the High Priestess who directs the flow of Proceedings. Quality and Tragicomic Control serve important regulatory functions, but should not impede the flow set going by the High Priestess.
Dress Code: Vapourpunk
Code of Conduct: Non-Normal1)
The Dress Code shall be strictly adhered to. The Butler will assess each visitor at the door, and inappropriately dressed individuals will be requested to change on the spot.
(Vapourpunk may be likened to the aesthetic of The Unseen, though with less emphasis on feathers. It may share a number of general similarities in style with Steampunk or Neodandyism, though it is also perhaps merely a state of mind. It might be imagined in the feeling one has when engulfed in steam or walking through mist, when dancing through dry ice or losing one's way in darkening, mistfilled woods; when one discerns letters forming in the condensations of a mirror in a steamy bathroom…)
The Code of Conduct shall also be strictly enforced. As the Ceremony is a liminal event taking place outside the everyday world of customary roles, mores, and social conventions, Non-Normal conduct shall be adhered to throughout. The Butler will continuously monitor and assess the behaviour of each visitor for the duration of the evening. Any person found evincing “normal” behaviour at any time will be requested immediately to bring their conduct in line with the Ceremony. A second infringement will incur penalties, such as exclusion from the Frivolities. Those found infringing a third time will be summarily locked in the storeroom for the remainder of the evening. (As a gesture of exceptional benevolence, Armoracio Bud Minuez has decreed that persons locked in the storeroom may be permitted to redeem their misconduct by washing up after the event, upon suitable and sufficient demonstration of contrition.)
Soundtrack:
- Silence
- Pärt: Sarah Was Ninety Years Old [25m 30s]
- Transition (disclosed on the evening) [03m 18s]
- Carte blanche (silent/noisy, etc.) [~]
The Accoutrements of the Ceremony:
- Several white candles
- Two crimson candles
- Incense of cedar and thyme
- Copious dry ice
- Censers
- Diadem
- Pedestal
- Brazier of Consumption
The Modes of Observance of the Proceedings: Solemnities. Frivolities
- Fumigation
- Burning the Demons
- Consuming and Embracing the Demons. Deliverance and Transmutation of the Bonds of the Demons. Embracing the Depths. Renunciation and Inner Purification
- Renewal and Metempsychosis. Sudden Transmogrification. Wild Rumpus Starts2)
Fumigation
Silent, ~15–20 m
Chymical Indication: Tincture of Tartar
The Space is dimly illuminated with multitudinous waxen candles, flickering in the corners and upon certain protuberances; draped white and red fairy lights swaddle the air, while a hanging garden of silvery green has been arranged.
The Brazier of Consumption has been set in Luciferic disequilibrium, the Celebrants have assembled in the Singular Circle, from where they proceed to kindle incense of cedar and thyme from the Brazier.
Disseminating from the Singular Circle with burning incenses, Celebrants silently fumigate the Space's multitudinous corners, in grave manner and with solemn intent. As this Observance proceeds, it may happen that certain more excitable Celebrants begin to vociferously wheeze, or yelp, or emit startling shrieks and whines. They should not be castigated, but gently brought back to the Singular Circle for the next Observance.