Stardust Meadow

Tom Gilbert owner of Black Dirt Farm in Stannard, Vermont gives a quick overview of what composting humans in Vermont might look like. Human Composting has recently been made legal in Washington State and it won't be long before other States follow suit. There are many considerations and by no means is this interview the extent of Gilbert's knowledge or thoughts regarding human composting. This is however, a good start to the conversation. Human Composting Interview with Black Dirt Farm By Anne-Marie Keppel of Corpus Compost, Stardust Meadow & Village Deathcare Do you feel like most people in Vermont are familiar with composting enough to not completely flinch at the idea of human composting? Or, do you think this prospect would confuse or scare them?  Gilbert:  I think vermonters have a high degree of composting literacy, however human composting is more of a cultural stretch and less of an intellectual issue.  I do think its a very doable sell b...

Will there come a time that I long for death? Or will I wish desperately not to have to leave? Could this not be one of the most unsettling human thoughts? One of us will go first I am healthy You are old Dark deathly clad Or Angel winged Long after I’d like an elephant to caress my dried bones And my great-grandchildren to desperately seek Which path I took out of my body And chart my exact location Just in case I want to make a quick come back And jump into a half-built body Midstream For a moment To feel gloriously unsettled

GET THE PSYCHOPOMP! Short Skit By Anne-Marie Keppel Delia’s Story:   I am 96 years old and I am dying. I have lived an incredibly wonderful life caring for those who are dying and I am not afraid.   My body is doing strange things… Cold then hot, great thirst, then not. I am in and out of deep, deep, peaceful sleep, with periodic sensations of a great lightness of being and pure bliss.   Then, I am back to my dry lips and aching bones. Fortunately, the meditation practice I have been doing for the past 90 years is helping significantly. This is fortunate as I am now unable to speak or communicate with those around me. And, as it turns out, dying is the most challenging episode in all my years that I have ever encountered. As I can gather, my daughter is flying in from wherever she has been, I can’t remember, and my son is on his way too. In the mean time, they’ve hired this unbelievably attentive young woman who is called ...

In a recent and wild maternal ancestral search, Irish roots grabbed me heart and ankles and pulled me across the Atlantic. I was so excited to venture on my own away from my treasured family and thrilled to finally fulfill my childhood dreams of haunted castles, abandoned buildings, faerie magic and banshees. And, because I am a Death Doula and Funeral Celebrant by profession and have watched way too many people holding their breath during funeral services, I was, and am, intrigued by the “show” mourning of keening . I Googled for months and planned visits to the most haunted buildings in Ireland, where the most wicked witches once lived and “must see” cemeteries. I wanted to get creeped out a bit and come home with some really good stories of all of the haunted places I had visited. I had my map highlighted, GPS programmed and, because I am practical, I watched multiple YouTube videos on tips for driving on the left side of the road. But, here’s what actually happened. The pl...

There is this call… Echoing through the astral plane, rumbling through the bones of our ancestors and tearing through hospitals. It’s a beckoning for those privileged with life to look at their own mortality… To peer into the cavern of questions that we were told as children would swallow us up whole if we looked too deep. It may be that our collective unconscious is sensing an impending doom… our earth has reached 7.7 billion and perhaps the next massive plague is not far away. It may be that we are desperately trying to find something real in a society that is severed from its root and is increasing shallow (swipe left). Or, perhaps after we get sucked into ancestral research like millions of us currently are, we have a personal desire  not to be forgotten  like they were. Less than 100 years ago our babies were born at home, our sick and elderly died at home and the family witnessed it all. Now since life cycles are no longer home-schooled and the only deaths we se...