Workshops
Workshops
Workshops
Workshops
The Five Pillars
Of Medicine
The Five Pillars Of Medicine
The Five Pillars of Medicine describes the five governing principles that move through all of nature. They articulate the sequential and universal stages of life’s unfolding, and how these can be applied as medicinal and therapeutic approaches.
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These teachings came to me after a day of working with powerful Zulu sangoma - a traditional healer - with whom I had worked for many years. Just as I was falling asleep that evening I heard a strong instruction: "Get up and write this down!"
I jumped up and began to notate what was coming through. It said that,
“There are only five pillars of medicine. And all medicine, across all time, fits into these pillars”.
The teaching proceeded to stream through, showing me the five modes of medicine, the ancient and current systems that use them, and how we instinctively draw on them in our daily lives. This body of knowledge serves as a profound medicinal tool, applicable in contexts ranging from personal to universal.
It was shown that there are five domains of being, five essential sequences to evolution. All life is built on this blueprint, the design code behind creation. This knowledge holds both a map of life's terrain, and a navigation tool to travel it with grace.
A brief overview is provided below. To fully immerse yourself in and apply this information, visit the online course.
The First Pillar of Medicine:
The First Pillar of Medicine involves the use of a 'substance' - be it plant, animal, mineral, time or space - that mirrors our current state. It reflects the exact frequency of our experience, and by holding that frequency it allows us to be freed from holding it ourselves. As a result our energy can be redistributed through our system.
Homeopathy is an excellent example. The term ‘homeo' means "same", and ‘pathy’ means "to suffer with". Meeting the symptom with a resonance that mirrors it is the foundational principle. As Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, famously explained, "Similia similibus cura"—like cures like, or similar heals similar.
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Much like the root, where 'connectivity' resides, this pillar is about resonance, acceptance, rootedness — our anchor, our ground zero. Any form of medicine that uses resonance as its core modality—whether through practice, treatment, nutrition, or sound— can be considered a First Pillar medicine.This lays the foundation for the healthy emergence of Second Pillar Medicine…
Earth Element
Level of the Body
Skeletal System
Cedar Teaching: Root | Connectivity
Qualities of Resonance | Reflection | Acceptance
Archetypes: Like-minded folk | Friends | Mirroring
Places of 'Home': Anchor | Ground | Sameness
Kabbalistic World of Assiyah – World of Action
Chinese element: Earth | Organs: Spleen and Stomach | Taste: Sweet
Tibetan Buddhist Skandha - Aggregate of Consciousness: Form – our physical beings
The Second Pillar of Medicine:
The Second Pillar of Medicine is where we utilise a 'substance' - whether plant, animal, mineral, time or space - that represents what we aspire to. It represents the direction in which we wish to expand, the place we are reaching toward. This expansion occurs through learning, and stepping beyond our comfort zone. In moving towards this direction, we give our being orientation and set up a trajectory for growth.
Examples of this are found in any form of entrainment, learning, or evolution that promotes our expansion—embodying our potential. Whether through gaining new knowledge, acquiring new skills, absorbing new energy, or nourishing ourselves in novel ways, all of these are reflective of Second Pillar Medicine.
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Like the leaf, where 'power' lives, and energy is collected for broader growth, this pillar is about expansion, courage, energy, entrainment, and learning. Any medicine that facilitates the movement from our current state to a new and expanded condition, through skill and purpose, is a Second Pillar medicine. This lays the ground for the emergence of Third Pillar Medicine....
Water Element
Level of the Heart
Nervous System
Cedar Teaching: Leaf | Power
Qualities of Expansion | Potential | Energy
Archetypes: Teacher | Guide | Mentor | Guru
Places of 'Learning': Entrainment | Knowledge | Emulating
​Kabbalistic World of Yetzirah – World of Formation
Chinese element: Wood | Organs: Liver and Gall bladder | Taste: Sour
Tibetan Buddhist Skandha - Aggregate of Consciousness: Feeling - sensory realm
The Third Pillar of Medicine:
The Third Pillar of Medicine involves working with a 'substance'— whether plant, animal, mineral, time, or space—that symbolises where we do not wish to be. This is 'venom' or 'poison' medicine. It serves to exercise the immune system and stimulate protection. At its core, it is about inoculation, maintaining boundaries, and navigating wellness with discernment. A small dose of danger is enough to awaken vigilance.
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For instance, a small dose of a poison, such as a purgative, triggers an immune response. Exposing the body to reasonable amounts of stress or 'toxicity' in this way strengthens its defences. The concept of 'hormesis' explains how stress—when applied in controlled doses—promotes a strengthening response, benefiting overall health.
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Like the bark that protect a tree—where the 'medicine' lives—this pillar represents a concentrated function designed to contain and protect. It is where our inner world intersects with our outer environment—much like the 'skin' of our being. It is astute in its porosity, allowing for discernment. Medicines that focus on boundaries, protection, inoculation, and containment fall under the Third Pillar. This foundation creates a healthy platform for the Fourth Pillar of Medicine to unfold...
Fire Element
Level of the Mind
Immune System
Cedar Teaching: Bark | Medicine
Qualities of Containment | Intelligence | Discernment
Archetypes: Warrior | Shaman | Heyoka | Trickster
Places of 'Protection': Immunity | Boundary | Defence
Kabbalistic World of Beriah – World of Creation
Chinese element: Metal | Organs: Lung and Large Intestine | Taste: Astringent
Tibetan Buddhist Skandha - Aggregate of Consciousness: Cognition
The Fourth Pillar of Medicine:
The Fourth Pillar of Medicine is more subtle than the previous ones, as it transcends the level of dense substance and moves beyond the 'boundary'. It enters the energetic realms, functioning within the non-physical attributes of our being. This is the realm of thought, language, symbol and imagination. It is where dreaming occurs and where beauty emanates. This is the magnetic realm of our being, where we draw towards us that which we focus on.
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A powerful example is the practice of mantra. The physiology of the language activates specific points in the mouth that are connected to meridians in the body. By chanting mantras correctly, we stimulate these meridians, causing the energy lines to vibrate in harmony with a certain qualities, thereby drawing those qualities into our lives.
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Like the flower and the fruit where 'love' resides, this is the realm of "calling medicine"—invocation, enchantment, enticement, and attraction. It is through this pillar that we offer of ourselves and receive the gifts of the world around us. It is where cross pollination happens, where we exchange with other beings, sharing love and energy. It is what we call towards ourselves. This is the realm of what we call toward ourselves, setting the stage for receptivity to the Fifth Pillar of Medicine...
Air Element
Level of the Soul
Respiratory System
Cedar Teaching: Flower, Fruit | Love
Qualities of Magnetism | Invocation | Attraction
Archetypes: Priest | Magician | Messenger | Wizard
Places of 'Offering': Devotion | Calling | Incantation | Offering | Ceremony
Kabbalistic World of Atzilut – World of Emanation
Chinese element: Fire | Organs: Heart and Small Intestine | Taste: Bitter
Tibetan Skandha - Aggregate of Consciousness: Volition – Intentional activity
The Fifth Pillar of Medicine:
The Fifth Pillar of Medicine represents the most refined level of being, the realm of the quantum. This is the extraordinary field that sustains and encompasses all the others. Without it, none of the others could exist. It is the aether that hosts the elements, the non-form that contains all form. In Sanskrit this is known as the Akash, the subtle element that pervades the universe, luminous with consciousness.
With an understanding of the quantum nature of reality—the holographic design of our universe—we can influence the macrocosm by focusing on the microcosm. A clear example of this in a therapeutic context is kinesiology, family constellations, or any form of oracle work. In these practices, a whole system is represented within a focused, compact treatment, and this influence ripples out to affect the field as a whole.
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Like sap, the waters of life, the Fifth Pillar is where the 'spirit' lives. In its clarity it holds profound guidance. It is the essence of being. The quality of this part of ourselves infuses the rest of our experience. This is quantum medicine—vibrational medicine. It is the domain of the Akashic field, from which all frequency emanates. From here vibration is emanated, forming a resonance, which once again lays the foundation for First Pillar Medicine...
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And so, the vortical cycle of nature continues.
Ether Element
Level of Spirit
Reproductive System
Cedar Teaching: Sap | Spirit
Qualities of Wisdom | Essence | Grace | Clarity
Archetypes: Prophet | Seer | Oracle | Diviner
Places of 'Guidance': Nature | Cosmos | Wholeness
Kabbalistic World of Adam Kadmon – Primordial Space
Chinese element: Water | Organs: Kidney and Bladder | Taste: Salty
Tibetan Skandha - Aggregate of Consciousness: Consciousness –physical and non-physical