Finding your protocol
The compound is the same across every protocol on this page. What changes is the rhythm. Some people land on their cadence within a week. Others try two or three. The point is to find a pattern your body and your week can hold.
Give any protocol a couple of weeks before you decide.
The first dose is the loudest. Day one, you are paying attention to everything. By the end of the second week the data settles down and you can see whether the cadence is doing what you want it to do.
If you are starting from zero, the simplest move is to begin with the 3-on, 2-off pattern. It is what we recommend at Mosaic. If after two weeks something feels off, try a different rhythm and give that one two weeks too. Switching is not a failure. The first protocol is the one that taught you what you wanted to feel.
Pick one and stay with it. Two weeks is the minimum useful trial. Anything shorter and you are reading day-to-day noise.
Note what you notice. A single line at the end of the day in your notes app. Sleep, mood, focus, social energy. You do not need a spreadsheet.
Off-days are part of the work. They are not waiting around. They are the reset that lets the on-days keep meaning something.
Mosaic 3 on, 2 off
Three days on, two days off, repeating. A five-day cycle that drifts through the week, so the pattern shows up on a calendar rather than landing on the same weekday each time.
This is the rhythm we recommend to start. Enough on-days to build a baseline, two-day breaks to keep the 5-HT2A serotonin receptors from desensitizing. A Weekender Pack runs about two and a half weeks at this cadence, which is roughly the window where the picture starts to clarify.
- Who it fits. People new to microdosing, or anyone who wants a steady rhythm without it feeling like daily medication.
- The thinking. The two-day reset is the load-bearing piece. Receptors recover, on-days keep pulling their weight, tolerance stays in check.
- The trade-off. Because it is a five-day cycle inside a seven-day week, the on-days shift. A calendar or phone reminder makes it easier.
Fadiman every fourth day
Dose on day one. Days two and three are observation. Dose again on day four. Designed by Dr. James Fadiman, the researcher whose 2011 work shaped the modern conversation around microdosing.
Fadiman built the protocol around studying yourself. Day one is the dose. Day two you watch for carryover, the way the compound lingers after the active window closes. Day three is a clean baseline. Then day four you have something to compare against.
- Who it fits. Anyone who wants to study their own response. Sensitive systems. People returning to microdosing after a break.
- The thinking. Each dose is intentional and noticed. Fewer dosing days lowers tolerance build, so each on-day stays sharp.
- The trade-off. The cumulative arc builds more slowly. If you are after a steady week-over-week shift, this can feel gentle.
Stamets 4 on, 3 off
Mycologist Paul Stamets paired psilocybin with Lion's Mane mushroom and a flush dose of niacin (vitamin B3). He framed the combination as a tool aimed at neurogenesis, the building of new neural pathways.
Four dosing days in a row is the most active stretch of any scheduled protocol on this page. The three-day break is meant to let the system reset before the next cycle begins. The Lion's Mane and niacin "stack" is a feature people associate with the protocol, but the stack is optional. The cadence stands on its own.
- Who it fits. People pursuing a more aggressive neurological window. Usually a second or third protocol, not a first.
- The thinking. The longer on-stretch is a bet that consecutive days do something the spaced patterns cannot. The three-day break is what keeps it sustainable.
- The trade-off. The highest tolerance risk of the four scheduled protocols. The niacin flush is a real physical sensation (heat, redness, tingling), and not everyone wants that in the morning.
Microdosing Institute every other day
One day on, one day off, alternating. Codified by the Microdosing Institute, a Dutch organization that took a clinical-leaning approach to building a more frequent cadence.
The reasoning is consistency. By dosing every other day, you keep the carryover from the previous on-day always in reach. People who feel the off-days too sharply on a 3-on, 2-off pattern tend to land here. It is usually paired with a periodic full break (a week off every four to six weeks) to keep tolerance in check.
- Who it fits. People targeting mood or anxiety regulation, who want a more continuous baseline.
- The thinking. Frequency. A shorter gap between doses means the carryover never really resets, which can feel like a more even floor.
- The trade-off. Builds tolerance faster than the Mosaic cadence. Planning a clean week off every month or so is part of the protocol.
Intuitive when called for
No cycle. No calendar. You dose when there is a reason to. A long walk. A dinner you have been looking forward to. A creative session. A conversation that matters.
The intuitive approach is the closest thing to how some members use Mosaic socially. It is also where many people land after months of a scheduled protocol, once the baseline is already there and the question becomes when to draw on it. Not a starting point for someone new, because there is no rhythm to learn from. A useful destination.
- Who it fits. People in a maintenance phase after building a baseline. People drawn to the social, occasion-based path. An alternative to a glass of wine before something that matters.
- The thinking. Treat the capsule as a tool you reach for, not a schedule you keep. The compound is the same. The intent is different.
- The trade-off. No cumulative arc. The week-over-week shifts that scheduled cadences build do not show up here. Better as the second protocol than the first.
The five at a glance
If you want a single view to compare what each protocol asks of you.
Start with three on, two off. Adjust from there.
The cadence you finish on is rarely the cadence you start on. The first protocol teaches you what you want to feel. The second one gets you closer to it. If you are an existing member and want to talk through which to try next, book a 30-minute call with your guide.