We, The Vestal Order of the Glacial Dawn (「氷河の夜明けウェスタの巫女団」), are a guild of female independent job owners and a professional group of priestesses associated with Esoteric Shinto (秘教神道) and Shinto Mysticism (Spiritualism) (神道霊学). We are a kind of secret society. Operated with a high degree of secrecy, we have inherited the secret rituals of Esoteric Shinto (秘教神道) and Shinto Mysticism (Spiritualism) (神道霊学), and have practiced the blending of Eastern and Western mystical religions. We also make donations and other charitable activities anonymously or under individual names to help improve recent international issues (war, environmental issues) and domestic issues (suicide due to overwork, suicide due to bullying, labor issues, work style reform, social security issues, education issues).
私たち「氷河の夜明けウェスタの巫女団」（The Vestal Order of the Glacial Dawn）は、秘教神道・神道霊学系女性個人事業主ギルド・巫女職能集団であり、秘匿性の高い運営のもと、秘教神道・神道霊学の秘儀を継承し、東西神秘主義宗教の混融を実践しつつ、昨今の国際問題（戦争、環境問題）や国内問題（過労自殺、いじめ自殺、労働問題、働き方改革、社会保障問題、教育問題）などの改善の一助となるため、寄附などの慈善活動を匿名または個人名で行う、ある種の秘密結社です。
The name of the group comes from the original members. First of all, most of us are shrine maidens from ancient shrines and families in Okayama Prefecture (岡山県) (Kibi (吉備)), and are mainly from the family of Kibitsuhiko Shrine (吉備津彦神社) which is located at the northeastern foot of Mount Kibi-no-Nakayama (吉備の中山) that we presume to be the famous “Ama-no-Kaguyama (天香具山)” itself of “Mannyoshu (万葉集)” (Kurozumi-ryu clan (黒住流), especially the Kuroake/Kuromyo (黒明) or Mushiake/Mushimyo (虫明) clans which are specialized shrine maidens of the ancient Kibi primitive sun (dawn) faith (太陽(夜明け)信仰)). For this reason, we have the word “dawn” in our name.
団体名は、初期構成メンバーに由来します。まずは、岡山県（吉備）の古来の神社・社家の巫女が多くを占め、吉備の中山（私たちはこの山を、万葉集で有名な「天香具山」そのものと見ています）の北東麓にある吉備津彦神社の社家（黒住流一門、その中でも古代吉備の原始太陽（夜明け）信仰の専門巫女集団であった黒明（くろあけ・くろみょう）・虫明（むしあけ・むしみょう）一門）の出自が主であることから、「夜明け」を冠しています。
We also named our organization with respect and homage to the secret society, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (「黄金の夜明け団」). It was a place of refuge (receptor) for our ancestors (great-grandmothers’ generation) of Kibi shrine maidens who were persecuted, suppressed and raped when the national policy of male lineage of Shinto was implemented by State Shinto (国家神道) after the Meiji era (明治時代) (from First to Fourth Shrine Maiden Prohibition Edicts (第一次～第四次巫女禁断令)), therefore it was our lifesaver.
また、明治時代以降において国家神道による神道の男系男子化の国策が行われた際（第一次～第四次巫女禁断令）に、迫害・弾圧・強姦を受けた私たち吉備の巫女の祖先に当たる世代（高祖母世代）の逃避先（受け入れ先）の一つであり、命の恩人であった秘密結社「黄金の夜明け団」（The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn）への敬意とオマージュを込めて名づけています。
Furthermore, as most of the founding members were ones of the “employment ice age generation (就職氷河期世代)” (born between 1979 and 1982) that caused many socially shocking incidents, the word “glacial” of our organization has high hopes for a peaceful future for the “employment ice age generation.”
かつ同時に、主に（社会を震撼させた事件を多く引き起こした世代である）「就職氷河期世代」に当たるメンバー（1979～1982年生まれ）が創立メンバーの多くを占めたことから、「就職氷河期世代」の平穏な未来に自ら期待を込めています。
And furthermore, the name was chosen to show loyalty to the many many Japanese eight million gods of ancient Shinto and to the ancient Greek and Roman priestess of Vesta and Hestia (“Vestal Virgins”). The group operates on the model of the original communities of shrine maidens in both the east and west, such as the shrine maidens of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, shrine maidens up until the dawn of Japan (communities of shrine maidens such as the Mononobe (物部) and Kusakabe (日下部) clans during the transition to the Benotami system (部民制)), and later Saio (斎王) (Ise Saigu (伊勢斎宮) and Kamo Saiin (賀茂斎院)).
更には、古神道の八百万の神々および古代ギリシャ・ローマの巫女神ウェスタ・ヘスティアーへの忠誠心を込めて（「ウェスタの巫女」）、名づけたものです。古代地中海文明の巫女や、日本黎明期までの巫女（部民（べのたみ）制に移行した時代の物部・日下部などの巫女共同体）、その後の斎王（伊勢斎宮、賀茂斎院）など、東西の元来の巫女共同体のあり方をモデルとして活動しています。