Great Chain of Being

I always thought that the Great Chain of Being just referred to a sort of chain reaction, but never really thought of it to have specific order. In doing research for my project,  I learned that the Great Chain of Being is structured and has many divisions and subdivisions. The Chain starts with God and progresses its way through angels, the moon and stars, humans (separated in social classes), animals, all the way down to minerals. In reading Macbeth last year and Hamlet this year I have seen references to the Great Chain of Being but never understood or appreciated it fully for what it was. I initially thought the Great Chain of Being was a sort of omen or response where nature reacted to some sort of bad event. I now know the chain is broken down and each division effects the other.