# CASCADE — Ring System ## 2026-05-19 --- ## Ring Architecture Summary | Ring | Size | Root | Name | Nature | Assignment | Tempo | |------|------|------|------|--------|------------|-------| | R0 | 1 | — | YOU | The center | Fixed | — | | R1 | 6 | 6 | Inner Circle | People who anchor your world | Manual claim (bidirectional) | Yearly | | R2 | 12 | 3 | Archetypes | Roles, not people | Manual curation | Quarterly | | R3 | 18 | 9 | The Longing | What you're reaching for | Auto-fill from circulation | Monthly | | R4 | 24 | 6 | The Echo | People who reflect your creative output | Auto from creative output | Weekly | | R5 | 30 | 3 | The Wave | People moving in your direction | Auto from Echo convergence | Daily | | R6 | 36 | 9 | The Current | Ambient social atmosphere | Auto from Wave alignment | Hourly | --- ## Ring 0 — YOU The center hex. Cannot be changed. Holds your identity, your cart, your full resonance profile. **Permanent.** No action needed. --- ## Ring 1 — Inner Circle (6 nodes) **Size:** 6 **Root:** 6 (stability, balance, grace) **Tempo:** Yearly (locked for minimum 1 year) ### Nature Your Inner Circle are the 6 people who anchor your world. They are not necessarily your closest friends by some objective measure — they are the 6 you actively claim and tend. ### Assignment You claim your R1 manually, one time. They are placed in the 6 hexes directly adjacent to your center hex. **Claiming is bidirectional.** They must claim you back for the bond to register. If you claim someone who doesn't claim you, the hex remains dim until mutual. ### Permanence **R1 assignment is nearly permanent.** - You cannot remove someone from R1 - They cannot remove you - The bond can only dissolve if both parties mutually agree to release - If a bond dissolves permanently, that hex goes **dim** (dormant, not deleted) - **A dim hex cannot be refilled.** The empty hex stands as a marker of what was. ### Why This Matters This is the foundation of Cascade. You plant 6 anchors. Everything else grows from there. The permanence of R1 creates: - **Accountability** — claiming someone is a real act, not a swipe - **Stability** — your Inner Circle doesn't churn with app engagement - **Trust** — R1 neighbors know your deep resonance because they've seen it over time ### Cart Signal in R1 R1 neighbors see your **full cart resonance.** This is the deepest signal layer. --- ## Ring 2 — Archetypes (12 nodes) **Size:** 12 **Root:** 3 (creation, expression, beginning) **Tempo:** Quarterly (refreshed seasonally) ### Nature Ring 2 holds **12 archetypal roles** — the kinds of relational energy that show up in your life. A single person can fill multiple archetypes. The archetype is the slot; you assign people (or groups, or even pets) to fill it. Ring 2 is manually curated. You choose who goes in which archetype. Archetypes are NOT necessarily people in your life — they represent the *role energy* you want present. ### The 12 Archetypes | # | Archetype | Role Energy | |---|-----------|-------------| | 1 | **The Hero** | Challenges you to grow, compete, prove yourself | | 2 | **The Nurturer** | Provides care, support, a safe landing | | 3 | **The Sage** | Teaches, questions, brings perspective | | 4 | **The Rebel** | Disrupts the status quo, pushes back | | 5 | **The Lover** | Deep connection, intimacy, passion | | 6 | **The Jester** | Play, lightness, joy, not taking yourself too seriously | | 7 | **The Everyman** | Relatability, groundedness, belonging | | 8 | **The Ruler** | Structure, leadership, clarity | | 9 | **The Innocent** | Wonder, possibility, not yet cynical | | 10 | **The Explorer** | Freedom, discovery, boundaries | | 11 | **The Magician** | Vision, transformation, making things happen | | 12 | **The Caretaker** | Service, generosity, showing up | ### Assignment You manually assign anyone (in your Cascade or not yet) to an archetype slot. A person can fill multiple archetypes. You can leave archetypes empty. Archetypes refresh quarterly — you get a prompt at each season change asking if you want to adjust. ### Cart Signal in R2 R2 neighbors see **category-level resonance** — not individual items, but what TYPE of thing you're filling your cart with. ("You both have outdoor adventure items" vs. "You both have the same ramen place") --- ## Ring 3 — The Longing (18 nodes) **Size:** 18 **Root:** 9 (completion, humanitarian, service) **Tempo:** Monthly ### Nature The Longing is what you're reaching for. It shifts with seasons, life chapters, pivots, and transitions. What you long for in January may differ from what you long for in July. Ring 3 auto-fills from circulation — users who pass through your R2 network and whose cart resonates with your stated or inferred longings. ### Auto-Fill Logic The system looks at: - Your R1-R2 cart patterns - What you're actively adding to your cart - What people in your extended network are also reaching for - Seasonal context ### The Longing Window Each R3 node has a **monthly confirmation window.** At the end of each month, the system asks: - "Is this still your longing?" - "Is this person still resonant?" If neither is confirmed, the hex goes to circulation. ### Cart Signal in R3 R3 neighbors see **longing-level resonance** — monthly patterns, seasonal alignment, what you're both reaching for in this chapter of your life. --- ## Ring 4 — The Echo (24 nodes) **Size:** 24 **Root:** 6 (balance, grace, harmony) **Tempo:** Weekly ### Nature The Echo holds people who reflect your creative output. Not just compatibility — resonance. Two people who echo each other are making similar things, thinking similar thoughts, creating in the same direction. ### Auto-Fill Mechanism Ring 4 auto-fills from users who: 1. Share creative output (posts, shared items, cart additions, collaborative events) 2. Whose creative output resonates with your R2-R3 network 3. Who have been confirmed in R5 (The Wave) with other Echoes ### The Weekly Confirmation Window Each R4 node has a **7-day confirmation window.** At the end of each week: - The system checks: is this resonance still active? - Are both parties still showing up? - Has creative output been shared? If not, the hex goes to circulation (R3 → R6 pathway). ### Cart Signal in R4 R4 neighbors see **double signal** — both cart resonance AND creative output resonance. This is the first ring where your cart is combined with what you MAKE, not just what you consume. --- ## Ring 5 — The Wave (30 nodes) **Size:** 30 **Root:** 3 (creation, momentum, beginning) **Tempo:** Daily ### Nature The Wave is the pulse. Two people confirmed in R5 are building something together — not necessarily a project, but a shared direction. The Wave is sustained resonance over time. ### Auto-Fill Mechanism Ring 5 auto-fills from R4 convergence: - Two people who have been in each other's R4 for 2+ weeks - Whose Echos are moving in the same direction - Who have confirmed presence daily for 30 days ### The Daily Pulse Each R5 node has a **daily confirmation.** The system checks: - Is the other person still active today? - Are we still moving in the same direction? - Has the cart resonance been sustained? If not, the hex drops back to circulation. ### Cart Signal in R5 R5 neighbors see **sustained cart complementarity** — daily pulse, what's being built, whether your carts are filling each other's gaps consistently over time. --- ## Ring 6 — The Current (36 nodes) **Size:** 36 **Root:** 9 (completion, circulation, return) **Tempo:** Hourly ### Nature The Current is your ambient social atmosphere. It changes every hour. This is the discovery layer — where new people appear in your social field based on fresh resonance. The Current is where most users spend most of their time. It is the living, breathing surface of Cascade. ### Auto-Fill Mechanism Ring 6 auto-fills from R5 alignment: - People who have been in your R5 - Whose Resonance Score with you has been rising - Who are now entering the ambient field New people enter The Current every hour as: - Old resonances fade - Fresh resonances emerge - Network dynamics shift ### The Current as Discovery Layer R6 is where Cascade feels most alive. You open the app and see who has entered your atmosphere in the last hour. You can: - See their cart at a glance - Feel the resonance warmth - Choose to investigate or let them pass ### Cart Signal in R6 R6 neighbors show only **ambient warmth** — a single resonance indicator (hot/warm/cool), updated hourly. No cart details visible unless you investigate. --- ## Dim Hexes Any ring can have **dim hexes** — slots that were filled but are now empty. **Rules for dim hexes:** - A dim hex cannot be refilled. It stands as a marker. - You cannot delete a dim hex. It remains as history. - A dim R1 hex is especially significant — the bond dissolved permanently. **Why dim hexes matter:** - They create accountability for claiming - They prevent churn-solutioning (you can't just replace someone) - They tell the truth about your social life — not everything lasts --- ## Circulation Hexes that leave rings (through demotion, release, or confirmation window expiry) go to **circulation** — the pool of available resonance that auto-fills rings 3-6. ``` Circulation Sources: - R3 monthly rejection - R4 weekly rejection - R5 daily demotion - R6 hourly shift Circulation Destinations: - R3 (The Longing) ← primary - R4 (The Echo) ← from R5 convergence - R5 (The Wave) ← from R4 convergence - R6 (The Current) ← ambient layer ``` Circulation is not a failure state. It is the natural movement of resonance through the lattice. Nothing in circulation is lost — it is available for the right resonance to find it. --- ## Ring Summary — What Each Ring Sees | Ring | Distance from YOU | Sees Your | You See Their | |------|------------------|-----------|---------------| | R1 | Immediate | Full cart + creative output | Full cart + creative output | | R2 | Second | Category-level cart | Category-level cart | | R3 | Third | Monthly longing patterns | Monthly longing patterns | | R4 | Fourth | Cart + weekly creative output | Cart + weekly creative output | | R5 | Fifth | Daily sustained resonance | Daily sustained resonance | | R6 | Sixth | Ambient warmth | Ambient warmth |