diff --git a/engine/app.py b/engine/app.py
index 10eea6d..8ba2803 100644
--- a/engine/app.py
+++ b/engine/app.py
@@ -413,6 +413,14 @@ def main():
     if config.FIREHOSE:
         boot_ln("Firehose", "ENGAGED", True)
 
+    if config.FIGMENT:
+        try:
+            from effects_plugins.figment import FigmentEffect  # noqa: F401
+
+            boot_ln("Figment", f"ARMED [{config.FIGMENT_INTERVAL}s interval]", True)
+        except (ImportError, OSError):
+            boot_ln("Figment", "UNAVAILABLE — run: brew install cairo", False)
+
     time.sleep(0.4)
     slow_print("  > STREAMING...\n")
     time.sleep(0.2)
diff --git a/engine/config.py b/engine/config.py
index c5ce46c..8ca8191 100644
--- a/engine/config.py
+++ b/engine/config.py
@@ -196,6 +196,8 @@ MODE = (
     else "news"
 )
 FIREHOSE = "--firehose" in sys.argv
+FIGMENT = "--figment" in sys.argv
+FIGMENT_INTERVAL = _arg_int("--figment-interval", 60)  # seconds between appearances
 
 # ─── NTFY MESSAGE QUEUE ──────────────────────────────────
 NTFY_TOPIC = "https://ntfy.sh/klubhaus_terminal_mainline/json"
diff --git a/engine/figment_render.py b/engine/figment_render.py
index 4b8b696..0b9e0ea 100644
--- a/engine/figment_render.py
+++ b/engine/figment_render.py
@@ -7,8 +7,20 @@ Follows the same pixel-pair approach as engine/render.py for OTF fonts.
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
+import sys
 from io import BytesIO
 
+# cairocffi (used by cairosvg) calls dlopen() to find the Cairo C library.
+# On macOS with Homebrew, Cairo lives in /opt/homebrew/lib (Apple Silicon) or
+# /usr/local/lib (Intel), which are not in dyld's default search path.
+# Setting DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH before the import directs dlopen() to those paths.
+if sys.platform == "darwin" and not os.environ.get("DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH"):
+    for _brew_lib in ("/opt/homebrew/lib", "/usr/local/lib"):
+        if os.path.exists(os.path.join(_brew_lib, "libcairo.2.dylib")):
+            os.environ["DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH"] = _brew_lib
+            break
+
 import cairosvg
 from PIL import Image
 
diff --git a/engine/scroll.py b/engine/scroll.py
index d297b3d..1bb90a2 100644
--- a/engine/scroll.py
+++ b/engine/scroll.py
@@ -55,14 +55,16 @@ def stream(items, ntfy_poller, mic_monitor, display: Display | None = None):
     frame_number = 0
 
     # Figment overlay (optional — requires cairosvg)
-    try:
-        from effects_plugins.figment import FigmentEffect
-        from engine.effects.registry import get_registry
+    figment = None
+    if config.FIGMENT:
+        try:
+            from effects_plugins.figment import FigmentEffect
 
-        _fg_plugin = get_registry().get("figment")
-        figment = _fg_plugin if isinstance(_fg_plugin, FigmentEffect) else None
-    except ImportError:
-        figment = None
+            figment = FigmentEffect()
+            figment.config.enabled = True
+            figment.config.params["interval_secs"] = config.FIGMENT_INTERVAL
+        except (ImportError, OSError):
+            pass
 
     while True:
         if queued >= config.HEADLINE_LIMIT and not active: