Phenomenology, epigenetics, and the intergenerational transmission of trauma
The knowing field is one of the key concepts in Bert Hellinger’s systemic constellation method. It is a phenomenon that enables representatives to experience authentic emotions, tensions, and thoughts of the people they represent, even when they do not know their stories.
The knowing field is an invisible informational network that connects all members of a family system, both the living and the deceased.
Contemporary science is beginning to describe similar phenomena through the language of epigenetics – the inheritance of traces of trauma and ancestral experiences through chemical markers on DNA.
This text brings together two languages: a phenomenological description of the knowing field in systemic constellations and a biological description of the epigenetic inheritance of trauma. Phenomenology is an approach that focuses on describing direct experiences and phenomena as they appear, without assuming their causes or mechanisms in advance.
What is the knowing field?
The knowing field is a phenomenon which, during a constellation, allows representatives to receive information that does not come from their own personal history, but from the client’s family system.
This may include:
- Sudden emotions, such as sadness, anger, or fear
- Physical sensations, such as heaviness, pain, or trembling
- Movement impulses, such as the desire to move closer, step back, or bow
- Thoughts or images that do not seem to belong to the representative
Hellinger did not attempt to explain this phenomenon in mechanistic terms. He spoke of it as something that simply exists and can be observed in constellation work.
Where does the concept come from?
The term knowing field was first used by the German physician Albrecht Mahr, who worked with Hellinger.
The concept also refers to Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of morphogenetic fields from the 1980s, which describes informational not energetic or material fields that influence the self-organisation of systems.
In Hellinger’s view, the knowing field is not something one must simply believe in “on someone’s word.” Its manifestations are repeatable and observable in therapeutic practice.
How does it work in a session?
During a constellation, the client chooses representatives for themselves and members of their family, then intuitively places them in the space. Once the representatives take their places, they may begin to feel what belongs to the people they represent.
The facilitator observes these reactions and based on them, introduces changes to the constellation for example, suggesting a different position, body posture, or simple healing sentences, called “words of power.”
The whole process aims to restore what is known in this approach as the Orders of Love: a state in which everyone occupies their rightful place and energy can flow freely again within the family system.
The knowing field in individual sessions
The knowing field is not limited to group constellations involving representatives. In individual sessions, where the client and practitioner work with figurines, information from the field may also emerge.
As the client moves the figurines, they may experience changes in the body, emotions, or inner images. The practitioner observes these responses and supports the process of moving towards a resolution.
What is epigenetics?
Epigenetics is a field of science that examines how life experiences especially difficult or traumatic ones can influence gene expression without changing the DNA code itself.
Chemical markers can be added to our genes, including:
- DNA methylation
- Histone modifications
- Small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA
These markers act like genetic “switches,” influencing which genes are more or less active. They can affect how the body responds to stress, regulates hormones, and potentially its vulnerability to mental and physical health difficulties.
Intergenerational trauma in research
Research suggests that the effects of trauma may be transmitted across several generations.
Examples from the scientific literature include:
- Descendants of Holocaust survivors have shown differences in methylation in genes associated with stress regulation.
- Children and grandchildren of people who experienced hunger, such as the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944–1945, may face an increased risk of metabolic and mental health difficulties.
- Animal studies indicate that the effects of stress and trauma may be inherited for up to six generations.
Knowing field and epigenetics
The knowing field, as understood in Hellinger’s work, can be seen as a phenomenological description of what science is beginning to call the epigenetic inheritance of trauma.
| Knowing field (systemic constellations) An invisible informational network connecting members of a family system | Epigenetics (science) Chemical markers on DNA and histones that regulate gene expression |
| Representatives experience emotions and tensions that may belong to ancestors | Changes in stress-related and emotion-regulation gene expression in descendants of traumatised people |
| Entanglements are released through healing sentences and a new order in the system | Epigenetic changes may potentially be influenced by therapy, environmental changes, and lifestyle |
| The field “knows” what remains unspoken in the system | The organism “remembers” ancestral experiences at a cellular level |
These are not necessarily contradictory descriptions. They are two languages: one phenomenological, describing what reveals itself in experience, and the other biological, describing possible mechanisms at the cellular level.
What does this mean in practice?
If ancestral trauma can be carried within us at an epigenetic level, systemic constellations may be seen as a way of working with this imprint, not by changing DNA, but by changing our relationship with the system, with fate, and with our ancestors.
The knowing field can help us:
- See what remains unspoken in the system
- Sense what may belong to our ancestors and what belongs to us
- Restore an order in which everyone has their rightful place
Epigenetics suggests that some of these patterns may be modifiable through safe relationships, nervous-system regulation, therapy, and new experiences.
An invitation to deeper understanding
Together, the knowing field and epigenetics remind us of something important:
We are not isolated individuals. We are part of something larger: a system, a lineage, and a history.
What our ancestors experienced may live on in us as patterns, tension in the body, or fears whose origins we do not fully understand. Yet the same field that carries trauma may also carry the possibility of healing.
