Jan Scholten’s Stages — How We Start, Build, Wobble, and Complete Things
I was reminded of this today when my PT put me on his stupid cycle bike - eww…
He said - ‘you have 10 min’ and I was carrying on for about 3 of them, whinging and whining and trying to squirm out of it… And then the 3 minute mark went and I simply rolled my sleeves up and went for it. It didn't even hurt like the first 3 minutes did…’I have been here before’, I thought to myself, I have found that I kick up a stink to begin and commence the first little bit of whatever I am doing then I am like magic, I just nail all projects and complete them…
It is the anticipation of them, the overwhelm they need to be done, the not knowing how to do them freaking me out and so on and so on that keeps them on ‘the to do list’ in an effort to procrastinate my way out of feeling the feels that are felt when I start the project and the mere overwhelm at how much I have ahead of me to complete it…
So it got me thinking about talking about Jan Scholten’s way of identifying our capacity to start something, follow it through, and complete it.
Many homeopaths use the Periodic Table as a way of describing something very human. We have developed homeopathy since Hahnemann into lots of different case taking ideas in an effort to find the accurate remedies for treatment…
Jan Scholten’s ideas are that every project, relationship, healing process, identity shift — all of it — moves through recognisable phases.
Scholten calls these phases Stages, and I thought I would take the time to lay them out because they are so interesting and so relatable.
There are ten of them, and each one has its own strengths, challenges, and “stuck points.”
Here’s the simple version.
Stage 1 — The Spark
This is the idea.
The impulse.
The “maybe I could…”
There’s excitement, but nothing is anchored yet.
People here often start a lot in their mind but don’t move.
Stage 2 — The First Step
This is dipping a toe in.
Trying something.
Testing the waters.
It’s tentative.
Confidence is low.
Doubt is high.
Stage 3 — Beginning to Commit
There’s a sense of “I think I’m doing this.”
Still fragile.
Still easily derailed.
But there’s movement.
Stage 4 — The Push
This is where effort begins.
The person realises it actually takes work.
They push, but they wobble.
Overwhelm and self‑doubt show up here.
Stage 5 — Building Momentum
Things start to take shape.
There’s rhythm.
There’s more confidence.
But the person still needs reassurance.
Not stable yet, but moving.
Stage 6 — The Middle
This is the long stretch.
The grind.
Too far in to quit, not close enough to finishing.
People often feel tired, bored, or stuck here.
Stage 7 — Consolidation
Competence is here.
Skill is here.
But so is the weight of responsibility.
This is where burnout can creep in.
Stage 8 — Mastery Emerging
Things feel easier.
There’s flow.
There’s confidence.
But there’s also the risk of over‑identifying with the role or task.
Stage 9 — Completion in Sight
You’re nearly there.
This is where perfectionism, fear of failure, or fear of success can sabotage the final steps.
It’s the “so close, but suddenly everything feels hard” stage.
Stage 10 — Completion + Letting Go
The task is done.
Integrated.
Embodied.
You can release it and move on.
This is maturity, closure, and readiness for the next cycle.
The Rows
Scholten doesn’t use the Stages on their own.
He pairs them with the Rows of the periodic table — which describe the life themes we’re moving through:
Row 1 → existence, belonging
Row 2 → separation, identity, childhood
Row 3 → relationships, dependency, independence
Row 4 → work, skill, stability
Row 5 → creativity, expression, individuality
Row 6 → power, responsibility, leadership
Row 7 → transformation, letting go
The Stage shows how someone moves.
The Row shows what area of life they’re moving through.
Together, they create a map of:
what someone is trying to do
where they get stuck
and why
This is what makes Scholten’s system so elegant and so clinically useful.
It’s Not Pathology — It’s Capacity
One of the most important parts of Scholten’s teaching is this:
A person isn’t “broken.”
They’re simply operating from the stage they’re currently capable of.
This reframes everything:
A Stage 1 person isn’t flaky — they’re still in the spark phase.
A Stage 4 person isn’t dramatic — they’re overwhelmed by the push.
A Stage 7 person isn’t burnt out because they’re weak — they’re carrying too much responsibility.
A Stage 9 person isn’t sabotaging — they’re scared of the finish line.
It removes shame.
It removes judgement.
It gives people a way to understand themselves with compassion.
How This Shows Up in Homeopathic Remedies
Each element in the periodic table expresses a different relationship to these stages.
For example:
Natrum → struggles with early stages (starting, trusting, opening)
Magnesium → stuck in dependency vs independence
Silica → can’t complete, collapses at the end
Ferrum → pushes too hard, over‑efforts
Aurum → carries the weight of responsibility, perfection, pressure
Side note: the Lacs often sit in the early developmental stages — the stages where the person is still learning:
“Am I safe?”
“Can I trust?”
“Do I belong?”
“Is someone coming?”
“Can I do this alone?”
Remedies Don’t “Fix” a Stage — They Support the Next Step
This is another key point.
A remedy doesn’t magically turn a Stage 2 person into a Stage 10 person.
It simply helps them move to the next appropriate stage.
Natrum helps someone start
Magnesium helps someone separate
Silica helps someone finish
Ferrum helps someone stop over‑pushing
Aurum helps someone release pressure
It’s developmental, not corrective.
The Heart of Scholten’s Teaching
Scholten isn’t really talking about chemistry.
He’s talking about human development.
He’s saying that every remedy expresses a relationship to:
effort
growth
responsibility
completion
And when you understand someone’s “stage,” you understand:
why they start things
why they avoid things
why they collapse
why they over‑push
why they can’t finish
why they burn out
why they freeze
why they can’t rest
It’s a map of capacity, not pathology.
A map of how humans grow.
How to Use the Stages and Rows to Find the Accurate Element
Now that you understand the Stages, the next piece of Scholten’s system is learning how to actually use them.
This is where the Rows come in.
The Stages tell you how someone moves through a process; the Rows tell you what area of life that process belongs to.
When you put them together, you can locate the exact element on the periodic table.
The simplest way to think about it is this:
the Row gives you the life theme
the Stage gives you the capacity
the intersection gives you the element
You always start with the Row, because if you misread the life theme, the Stage won’t make sense.
For example, if someone is struggling with identity or separation, you’re in Row 2.
If they’re struggling with work, skill, or responsibility, you’re in Row 4.
If they’re struggling with power, pressure, or leadership, you’re in Row 6.
Once the Row is clear, you look at the Stage.
This tells you where the person gets stuck:
Do they never start? → Stage 1
Do they start but wobble? → Stage 3–4
Do they burn out in the middle? → Stage 6–7
Do they collapse right before finishing? → Stage 9
Do they finish but can’t let go? → Stage 10
The Stage is the person’s capacity inside that life theme.
When you combine the two, the remedy becomes very clear.
Here’s a simple example.
Someone says:
“I have so many ideas but I never follow through.”
You ask:
What area of life is this happening in?
If the answer is work or business → Row 4.
Where do they get stuck?
Right at the beginning → Stage 1–2.
Row 4 + Stage 1–2 points you toward the early Row 4 elements, such as Natrum or Kali.
Another example:
“I work so hard, I carry everything, and then I burn out.”
Theme → responsibility → Row 6
Stuck point → burnout → Stage 7
Row 6 + Stage 7 leads you straight to Aurum.
This is the beauty of Scholten’s system:
you’re not guessing, you’re mapping.
You’re looking at:
the life theme
the developmental capacity
the repeating stuck point
And the remedy is simply the element that sits at that intersection.
It’s not about symptoms.
It’s not about personality types.
It’s about understanding where someone is in their development and what they need to move to the next step.
Cool huh!
Warmest,
Martine
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