medicine-wheel

Medicine Wheel — System RISE Specification

A comprehensive TypeScript framework for relational healing, ceremonial inquiry, and Indigenous-aligned software development. Fifteen packages that together enable developers to create relationally accountable systems grounded in the Four Directions, Wilson’s three R’s, and OCAP® principles.

Version: 0.2.0
Document ID: rispec-medicine-wheel-system-v1
Last Updated: 2026-03-15

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Desired Outcome

Users create complete Medicine Wheel software systems — from ontological data models through ceremony-aware workflows to interactive visualizations — where every component honors Indigenous relational principles.

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Package Architecture

medicine-wheel-ontology-core              ← Foundation (types, schemas, vocabulary)
    ├── medicine-wheel-ceremony-protocol      ← Ceremony state & governance
    ├── medicine-wheel-narrative-engine        ← Beat sequencing & arc validation
    ├── medicine-wheel-graph-viz              ← Circular layout & visualization
    ├── medicine-wheel-relational-query        ← Query, traversal & audit
    ├── medicine-wheel-prompt-decomposition    ← Intent extraction & PDE
    ├── medicine-wheel-ui-components          ← React components
    ├── medicine-wheel-data-store             ← Redis persistence (+ redis ^4.6.0)
    ├── medicine-wheel-importance-unit         ← Relational knowledge with epistemic weight
    ├── medicine-wheel-fire-keeper            ← Ceremony coordination agent
    ├── medicine-wheel-transformation-tracker  ← Research impact & growth tracking
    ├── medicine-wheel-relational-index        ← Four-source dimensional indexing
    ├── medicine-wheel-consent-lifecycle       ← Consent as ongoing relationship
    └── medicine-wheel-community-review        ← Ceremonial review with Elder validation

medicine-wheel-session-reader                 ← JSONL session parsing (standalone)

All packages depend on ontology-core for shared types except session-reader which is standalone. The six new Wilson-alignment packages have these additional dependencies:

• importance-unit → ontology-core
• fire-keeper → ontology-core, ceremony-protocol
• transformation-tracker → ontology-core, ceremony-protocol
• relational-index → ontology-core, importance-unit
• consent-lifecycle → ontology-core, ceremony-protocol
• community-review → ontology-core, ceremony-protocol

No circular dependencies.

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How to Use These Specifications

Each rispec describes one package. To implement the full system:

1. Start with ontology-core.spec.md — implement all types, schemas, vocabulary, constants, and query helpers
2. Then build any of the five core packages — they only depend on ontology-core
3. Finally build ui-components — composable React components using ontology-core types

Specification Files

Rispec	Package	Role
ontology-core.spec.md	Foundation	Types, Zod schemas, RDF vocabulary, constants, semantic queries
ceremony-protocol.spec.md	Governance	Ceremony state, phase transitions, governance enforcement
narrative-engine.spec.md	Narrative	Beat sequencing, cadence, arc validation, timeline, cycle
graph-viz.spec.md	Visualization	Circular layout, SVG paths, data converters, Mermaid export
relational-query.spec.md	Query	Filtering, traversal, accountability audit, Cypher generation
prompt-decomposition.spec.md	PDE	Intent extraction, Four Directions classification, narrative beats
ui-components.spec.md	UI	DirectionCard, BeatTimeline, NodeInspector, OcapBadge, WilsonMeter
data-store.spec.md	Persistence	Redis CRUD for nodes, edges, ceremonies; session linking
session-reader.spec.md	Sessions	JSONL session parsing, listing, analytics, search
importance-unit.spec.md	Epistemology	Relational knowledge units with epistemic weight, circle depth
fire-keeper.spec.md	Coordination	Ceremony coordination agent, gating, trajectory, stop-work
transformation-tracker.spec.md	Validity	Research impact tracking, Wilson’s validity criterion
relational-index.spec.md	Indexing	Four-source dimensional indexing (Land/Dream/Code/Vision)
consent-lifecycle.spec.md	Consent	Consent as ongoing relationship, lifecycle, cascade
community-review.spec.md	Review	Community review circles, Elder validation, consensus

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Core Concepts

Four Directions

Direction	Ojibwe	Season	Life Stage	Focus
East	Waabinong	Spring	Good Life	Vision, intention, emergence
South	Zhaawanong	Summer	Fast Life	Growth, learning, analysis
West	Epangishmok	Fall	Truth & Planning	Reflection, validation, ceremony
North	Kiiwedinong	Winter	Elder	Wisdom, action, integration

Wilson’s Three R’s

Relational accountability measured as three scores (0–1):

• Respect — Honoring the dignity and sovereignty of all relations
• Reciprocity — Ensuring mutual benefit flows through relationships
• Responsibility — Maintaining obligations and commitments

OCAP® Principles

Indigenous data sovereignty governance:

• Ownership — Who owns this data/relation
• Control — Who controls access and use
• Access — Who may access (community/researchers/public/restricted)
• Possession — Where data is physically held

Structural Tension

Three phases of creative advancement:

1. Germination — Vision + honest current reality assessment
2. Assimilation — Building momentum through ritualized action
3. Completion — Integration and transformation

ImportanceUnit (Epistemic Weight)

A relationally-accountable piece of meaning that carries:

• Epistemic weight (0–1) — dream-state knowledge starts at 0.85+
• Source dimension — Land, Dream, Code, or Vision
• Circle depth — increments with each revisitation
• Accountability links — connections to relations this knowledge is accountable to

Fire Keeper (Ceremony Coordination)

The living keeper of ceremony — an active coordination agent that:

• Gates work behind relational conditions
• Monitors Wilson alignment trajectory continuously
• Escalates value conflicts to humans
• Issues stop-work orders when relational accountability is violated

Transformation Tracking (Wilson Validity)

Wilson’s validity criterion — research success measured by transformation:

• Researcher growth — periodic understanding snapshots
• Community benefit — impact voiced by community, not self-reported
• Relational shifts — before/after strength changes
• Reciprocity balance — giving and receiving across categories
• Seven-generation assessment — impact on future generations

Consent Lifecycle

Consent as ongoing relational obligation, not boolean:

• State machine — pending → granted → active → renewal-needed → expired/withdrawn
• Ceremony-witnessed — consent moments formalized with witnesses
• Cascading withdrawal — withdrawal ripples through dependent relations
• Community consent — distinct from individual consent, includes Elder and youth voice

Community Review

Community-based ceremonial review replacing Western peer review:

• Review circles — community body with directional perspectives
• Talking circle — each voice heard in turn
• Elder validation — authoritative blessing grounded in relational accountability
• Wilson’s three R’s check — Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility assessed

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Creative Advancement Scenarios

Scenario: Research Cycle

User Intent: Create a ceremony-guided research cycle
Current Reality: Raw research question, no structure
Natural Progression:

1. createCycle(id, question) → Initializes at East/opening
2. decompose(prompt) → Extracts intents with Four Directions classification
3. insertBeat(beats, beat) → Records work in directional sequence
4. validateCadence(beats, ceremonies) → Ensures ceremony at transitions
5. computeProgress(cycle, beats, ceremonies, relations) → Suggests next steps
6. validateArc(beats, ceremonies, relations) → Checks completeness Achieved Outcome: Complete four-direction arc with Wilson alignment and OCAP® compliance

Scenario: Governance-Aware Development

User Intent: Modify ceremony protocols with proper governance
Current Reality: Code changes needed in protected paths
Natural Progression:

1. checkGovernance(filePath, config) → Detects protected path
2. formatGovernanceWarning(rule) → Surfaces governance requirements
3. checkCeremonyRequired(filePath, config) → Confirms ceremony needed
4. getPhaseFraming(phase) → Frames the change in ceremony context Achieved Outcome: Changes made with relational accountability and proper authority

Scenario: Relational Accountability Audit

User Intent: Assess relational health of the knowledge graph
Current Reality: Relations exist but accountability unknown
Natural Progression:

1. auditAccountability(nodes, edges, relations) → Full report
2. relationsNeedingAttention(relations) → Priority list
3. traverse(rootId, nodes, edges, relations, { ocapOnly: true }) → Compliant traversal
4. generateReciprocityObservation(stewards, flows) → Invitational narrative Achieved Outcome: Clear picture of where relational attention is needed

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Technology Stack

• Language: TypeScript (ES2022, strict mode)
• Runtime: Node.js (ESM modules)
• Validation: Zod ^3.23.0

• UI Framework: React ^18.0.0

  ^19.0.0

• Graph DB (optional): KuzuDB (via Cypher query builders)
• Build: tsc with source maps and declaration files

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Build & Publish

All packages share a consistent build and publish configuration:

• Compiler: tsc (TypeScript compiler) with declaration files and source maps
• Scripts: prepublishOnly: "tsc" ensures builds run before every npm publish
• Module format: "type": "module" — pure ESM across the monorepo
• Side effects: "sideEffects": false — enables tree-shaking in bundlers
• Published files: "files": ["dist", "README.md"] — only compiled output and docs ship to npm

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Quality Criteria

• ✅ Black Box Test: Another LLM can re-implement the full system from these specs
• ✅ Creative Orientation: Every package enables creation, not just data storage
• ✅ Structural Dynamics: Four Directions provide natural progression structure
• ✅ Relational Accountability: Wilson alignment and OCAP® woven through all layers
• ✅ Cultural Grounding: Ojibwe names, ceremonial teachings, and directional medicines embedded

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