Glossary
The vocabulary of the field, across systems. Where schools use one word to mean different things, the entry says so instead of picking a side.
- Attunement
- The act by which a teacher is said to open a student to Reiki. Also called initiation or empowerment. Its form differs by system: some are given in person, some at a distance.
- Chakra
- A centre of energy in yogic and related traditions, used by many Reiki systems to describe where work is directed. Not an anatomical structure.
- Distant healing
- Practice directed at a person or situation not physically present, usually with the distance symbol.
- Evidence
- On these pages, the scientific picture. Clinical research has not shown Reiki to be effective for any medical condition, and it is not a substitute for evidence-based care.
- Grade
- A level of training within a system, often numbered. The number and meaning of grades varies by system and is not comparable across them.
- Hands-on healing
- Practice with the hands placed on or near the recipient. One of the oldest descriptions of the technique.
- Initiation
- Another word for an attunement, more common in Japanese-line schools.
- Ki
- The Japanese word for vital energy, cognate with the Chinese qi. Reiki's conceptual basis rests on it.
- Lineage
- The chain of teachers from a system's founder to a given practitioner. Many Western systems trace lineage to Hawayo Takata; Japanese schools trace to Mikao Usui's students instead.
- Master
- In most systems, someone trained to the highest grade and able to attune others. The requirements differ, and no authority regulates the title.
- Practitioner
- Someone who gives Reiki sessions. It does not imply a clinical qualification.
- Proprietary system
- A system whose symbols and manuals are taught only in paid classes. This encyclopedia documents such systems and does not publish their drawings.
- Reiki
- From the Japanese 霊気, 'mysterious atmosphere' or 'spiritual energy'. Both the name of the practice and the name of the energy it is said to work with. There is no evidence that this energy exists.
- Symbol
- A drawn or visual form used in a system, said to focus or direct the practice. Symbols are taught in grades, and some systems teach very large sets.
- Trademark
- Several Reiki systems are taught under registered marks (Karuna Reiki®, Holy Fire®, Rainbow Reiki®, Lightarian®). The mark restricts teaching and materials, not the practice.