I guess you could play around with the verticality of the effect's 2nd stage. Maybe not the pillar of light, but the leaves could very well be thrown up as if by the wind. You've got a good start for it with the whirling effect, but I'd make make the particles take more space, especially in the z-axis. That would differentiate it from the 1st stage, but it will look less like an aura-buff as well (however the effect's 1st stage itself can make up for it).