Note: The following article regards the use of Reiki with the Tarot. Though the advice is good advice, before using reiki in your practice, double check the laws in your state regarding hands on healing and Reiki. In Arkansas, for instance, You are not allowed to practice Reiki in any fashion where you will be paid for your services, unless you are a licensed massage or physical therapist. This law includes distance healing.
By K. Matthew Bearden.
First, I will give you a general overview of Reiki, then I will discuss how it can be used in tarot reading. This article is aimed at both the experienced Reiki practitioner as well as those who have never heard of Reiki. For those that are unfamiliar with the discipline, I will describe ways that it can be used to care for and used with tarot cards. For those of you who already have a background in Reiki, I will suggest new ways to use the symbols you are already familiar with. I will use the names of the symbols, but they will not be able to be used unless you have received attunement by a Master. I happen to be a Master. For the purpose of using Reiki with tarot, I would suggest that the reader go through the first 2 levels (The third level--Master level--is only necessary if the practitioner wants to perform attunements.).
Reiki is generally thought of as a treatment technique. It has been used on nearly every illness known. It has also been used to relieve stress and support general health. One translation of the word "Rei" means "universal" and "ki" means "life energy." Therefore "Reiki" is "universal life energy." In other sources, "Rei" is translated as "God's Wisdom or Higher Power." Thus Reiki would be "spiritually guided life force." So what is the Rei? Is it God? Or is it some energetic consciousness put in place specifically to oversee Reiki? I honestly don't know, but I have felt its presence and it is very powerful and completely benevolent. By invoking it before a reading, I am aware that I am putting that reading under the guidance of a benign higher power. The reading is taken out of my hands altogether. It doesn't matter how I shuffle or anything else. The Rei is in control. I am an empty vessel for the information. All I am there to do is interpret it. Just as there is a flow of universal life force, so there is a flow of universal information. You are also very likely to get information when not using the cards. For instance, I was once working on a woman and I could tell she had had a traumatic experience with organized religion. The sensation was exactly like the sensation of tarot reading when you are really "on." She went on to describe a terrible scene where the pastor and an elder engaged each other in a fist fight. Having access to this kind of intuition will also improve your tarot reading.
In terms of treatment, Reiki is a gentle, energetic modality that targets the client's energy field. All living things are surrounded by an energy field. When there is a problem with the energy field, it filters down into the physical body and becomes disease. Reiki is similar to laying on of hands, however, actual contact with the client is not necessary. Once again, we are working with the client's energy field that surrounds and extends from their body. Reiki is not a religion and any sincere person may practice it for treatment or to enhance the reading of tarot. The only requirement is that attunements are received by the practitioner. The attunements increase the amount of life energy (and information) that can flow through the practitioner as well as giving them the ability to effectively use the symbols. You can't do these things without being attuned. As I said, for purposes of tarot, only the second level attunement is necessary.
To use the symbols, one places one's tongue on the roof of the mouth directly behind the teeth while contracting the Hui Yin (perineum). This keeps the energy from escaping the body. There are essentially 5 (some sources say 7) Reiki symbols, only 3 of which the tarot reader needs to be familiar with. The first, and possibly most important is the Cho-Ku-Rei. This is the Reiki "light switch." It turns on the power. It is often traced or visualized on the palm of the hand before giving a treatment. It's translation is "I put the power of the universe HERE, NOW." It directs and increases energy, breaks through stagnant or blocked energy and converts negative energy to positive. It can draw energy from the Heavens into the chakra system (The chakras are energy vortices that can help us tune into a client while reading.). It empowers and cleanses.
The second symbol is the Se-He-Kei. It provides protection It is also used for emotional healing, purification, cleansing, balance, and harmony. It is usually empowered by tracing or visualizing the Cho-Ku-Rei over it. It can be used to ground oneself--an important skill for a reader. Drawn on the solar plexus, it protects one from psychic vampires--also important for readers, who will occasionally get a vampire as a client. Most readers have encountered a situation in which a client become troubled, upset, or emotional. This is a good time to pause in the reading and use the Sei-He-Ki.
The final symbol we will be concerned with is the Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen. This deals with the soul of the client. It goes beyond time and space. It means, "No past, no present, no future." It enables the Reiki worker to send energy over long distances.
First we must take time to prepare the cards. We do this by tracing or visualizing all 3 symbols on each individual card. The Cho-Ku-Rei empowers them. The Sei-He-Ki purifies them. And the Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen gives them the ability to both read at a distance (by phone or internet) and also tap into the past and future. Next, send Reiki energy through the entire deck as a whole. This will awaken the consciousness of the cards and bring them to life. And yes, I am suggesting that the cards are conscious and alive. All true oracles are. That is why the "I Ching" works and a fortune cookie doesn't.
In doing a reading, trace or visualize the Sei-He-Ki over the deck and then the Cho-Ku-Rei. This will purify and empower the deck. Next use the Cho-Ku-Rei to call universal energy into the crown chakra and allow it to flow down through the other chakras to the base of the spine and letting it spiral out through the other chakras. Trace or visualize the Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen over your third eye, while chanting the name to yourself 3 times. Either project the symbol from your third eye to that of the client or trace or visualize it on their third eye while silently repeating the name 3 times. Chant "Sei-He-Ki" 3 times to yourself while tracing or visualizing it on your third eye. Then project, trace, or visualize it onto the client's third eye while repeating the name 3 times silently. Visualize the energy spiralling through the Cho-Ku-Rei into the Se-He-Ki and flowing through the Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen into the client's third eye.
Receiving the Level II attunement and thus gaining the power to use these 3 symbols will take readings to a higher level. It will also provide ways to help a client who is having an emotional reaction to a reading (such as sending the Sei Hei Ki). It can improve access to clients over long distances. At level 2 another thing we attempt to do is awaken clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience. I can't promise to make you a gifted psychic, but this level should help you with your readings. It is my hope that this article inspires at least some tarot readers to get level II training in Reiki.