Dawnism has a flat structure with no formal hierarchy. Every
person is completely equal. Some consideration is given to
age,with the oldest people generally being more respected and
being first in some rituals. This is more for the sake of
convenience than any other reason; someone must go first and
usually the older people will have more experience with the
customs so they can be an example to the less experienced. It is
recommended that each group have a Medicine Mother to lead the
rituals and provide guidance for the group. The Medicine Mother
has no real power or authority; her role is further described
below. As there is no formal hierarchy, there are also no specific
rules. Any person who wishes can participate in the rituals and
events. There are no requirements for membership and no person can
be prohibited from participating.
We call our local groups "Manifestations" when they choose to
make their presence known. Because of our long history of being
burned at the stake, it has been only the last 100 years or less
that we have advertised our existence.
The role of the Medicine Mother is to lead the rituals, teach
others the customs and traditions, provide spiritual guidance, and
care for the physical and emotional well being of the group.
Consequently she must have a great deal of knowledge on a broad
range of subjects. Formal education in medicine, science,
engineering, or education is preferred. There is no gender
requirement to be a medicine mother; anyone who meets the
technical requirements may become one. However, female pronouns
are always used for a Medicine Mother. And during celebrations and
rituals a dress must always be worn. The dress has a special
significance because it is considered to be a perfect garment, a
single consistent piece which covers the whole body. Training to
become a Medicine Mother usually starts with announcing oneself to
be a Root Girl. This announcement comes during the Celebration of
Trees when each person tells of their plans for the new year.
After announcing that she commits herself to becoming a Root
Girl, she should specify a particular talisman which has
significance to herself which she will wear to indicate her new
status. This may be something like a ring, bracelet, hair tie,
tattoo, belt or sash, or brooch. The most important feature is
that it has some significance to her, will serve as a daily
reminder that she is in study, and will be a visual indication to
the group that she is fulfilling her commitment. Root Girl
training has no specific program,it must be adapted for each
person depending on the knowledge and education she already has
and the new information she must learn. The first task of the Root
Girl will be to identify her current education and training,
compare it to the recommendations for a Medicine Mother,and then
to set out her plan for learning the new material. During the
Celebration of Pigs she will present her plan to the group for
their comments and suggestions. She may take as much time as
necessary to complete her training, but at each Celebration of
Trees and Celebration of Pigs she should give an update on the
progress she is making. When she believes that she has completed
her training, she will make that announcement during the
Celebration of Pigs. If the group agrees, then she will be
progressed to a Medicine Mother in a Dawning ritual at the
following Long Dark Teatime of the Soul one 4um later. After
progressing from Root Girl to Medicine Mother, she may remove her
talisman and replace it with a new one to indicate her
achievement. This may also be a modification to or an elaboration
of her Root Girl talisman. As Medicine Mother she will wear this
at all times when in public. Lately there has been a trend also to
formally change ones name to Dawn, either upon beginning Root Girl
training or at progression to Medicine Mother. If a person already
has the requisite training and qualifications for a Medicine
Mother, she need not go through the training of a Root Girl. This
may be the situation for someone who is a medical professional and
newly joining Dawnism. If the group agrees, she may be instituted
at the next LDTS. The Medicine Mother's primary responsibility is
for the well being of the group. She should be able to identify
illnesses which afflict her people such as depression, alcoholism,
laziness, addiction, and anxiety and help them to find treatment.
She may use herbal treatments when appropriate. If she has medical
training then she may also treat other illnesses, within the
limitations of her training and qualifications. Much of her time
may be spent in training, counseling, and guiding the group in
their quest for continuous improvement. The best techniques known
to science should always be used, and so necessarily these will
change as we learn more. The Medicine Mother has an enhanced
requirement for continuous improvement since she is viewed as
something of a leader for the group.
The role of Wise and Wonderful One is an honorary position with
no real authority. Often zie will be selected from the ranks of
Medicine Mothers, though this is not a requirement. The gender
non-specific pronouns (zie, zier, ziers) are used for the WAWO to
indicate that zie is now progressed beyond gender roles and into a
more universal position. Zie should be chosen based on zier
knowledge of the customs and traditions of Dawnism, and on zier
wisdom and judgment. There can be only one WAWO at any time in all
of Dawnism, and zie is elected by an approval voting process in
which zie must receive unanimous support from all Medicine
Mothers. If no person can achieve unanimous support then there
will be no WAWO until a suitable person can be found. After being
approved, zie will be installed in a special ceremony at the next
Beltane. Once installed, the WAWO is “in the tree” for life, and
zie will legally change zier name to Dawn. If the WAWO commits
egregious errors then zie is “removed from the tree” by shooting
zier in the head and throwing zier into the Great Fire at Samhain.
This was the fate of the first WAWO, who made the mistake of
forbidding the consumption of alcoholic beverages during
festivals.
Some of our members are witches and we would like to have more
join. Witches are very highly esteemed by Dawns and we prefer
them to be our leaders when possible. Our current leader is Witch
Amanda.