Vertical Span ($D \leftrightarrow H$)

The Vertical Span is the “Axis Mundi” of the Virtuome. Unlike the three horizontal axes which navigate choices within a plane of existence, the Vertical Span navigates the levels of existence itself.

Dimensions

Depth ($D$)

The dimension of roots, shadow, ancestors, and the unconscious.

  • $D=0$: Surface consciousness.
  • $D=1$ (Personal Shadow): Repressed biography, recent wounds.
  • $D=2$ (Somatic/Ancestral): Pre-verbal trauma, lineage patterns, body memory.
  • $D=3$ (Archetypal): Universal patterns, collective unconscious, “The Monster/The God.”

Height ($H$)

The dimension of spirit, vision, meaning, and the superconscious.

  • $H=0$: Surface consciousness.
  • $H=1$ (Personal Integration): Coherent ego, ethical consistency.
  • $H=2$ (Trans-personal Opening): Universal compassion, selfless action.
  • $H=3$ (Numinous Union): Mystical experience, dissolution of subject-object.

The Root-Canopy Law

The central law of vertical physics is that height is limited by depth.

$$H_{max} = f(D_{integrated})$$

  • Principle: You cannot rise higher than your roots go deep. Attempting to access Height without corresponding Depth results in Bypass.
  • Principle: Depth without Height results in Capture (drowning in the underworld without a lifeline).

The Three Realms

The Vertical Span divides the Manifold into three distinct zones:

  1. REALM:UP (Upper World): The domain of vision, guidance, and archetypal order. Accessed via Mysterium ($Ω:UP$).
  2. REALM:MID (Middle World): The domain of daily life, relationships, and ego. The integration point.
  3. REALM:LOW (Lower World): The domain of the shadow, the wound, and the gold. Accessed via Sacred Descent.