Reiki

Usui vs. Holy Fire Reiki: What’s the Difference?

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Usui Reiki is the system traced to Mikao Usui in early 20th-century Japan. Holy Fire Reiki is a recent addition taught by the International Center for Reiki Training, whose founder, William Lee Rand, writes that he first experienced its energy in January 2014. The two differ in origin story, in how students are initiated, and in the symbols used.

What is Usui Reiki?

The root system. According to the Wikipedia article on Mikao Usui, Usui set up a society in Tokyo in April 1922 to teach Reiki Ryoho and give treatments. As the ICRT teaches it, students are initiated through attunements given by a teacher and learn symbols from the second level onward.

Where does Holy Fire come from?

From Rand’s own account. In his introduction to Holy Fire III Reiki, he writes that he first experienced Holy Fire energy on January 23, 2014, during sessions with the late Janice Jones, a spiritual adviser, and presented it to his Reiki master class a few days later. He describes the energy in terms that include Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and says that in the practice those words are considered spiritual in nature rather than religious.

The system has changed since then. Rand writes that in December 2015 the energy was added to the first two levels, at which point the ICRT began calling the system Holy Fire II, and that a further level, Holy Fire III, appeared on September 21, 2018, while he was teaching at Mount Kurama in Japan. The ICRT teaches it within its Usui/Holy Fire classes, and Holy Fire is a registered service mark of Rand.

How is initiation different?

This is the clearest practical difference. In the ICRT’s Holy Fire classes, the attunement was renamed:

  • Ignition is the term used at master level, chosen because, in Rand’s words, the flame of the energy appeared to be ignited within the student.
  • Placement is the term used at the first two levels since December 2015, because the energy appeared to be placed within each student.

The format differs too. Rand describes an Ignition as a short guided meditation of five to seven minutes, after which the teacher stops talking while gentle music plays, for about 26 minutes in all. In his account, the energy interacts directly with the student rather than being channeled through the teacher.

Do the symbols change?

In the ICRT’s system, yes. In The Birth of Holy Fire, Rand writes that connecting the Holy Fire energy to his system required releasing the Tibetan symbols and the energy of the violet breath that he had used before, though he adds that those energies remain appropriate for people who have them and have not taken Holy Fire training.

Is the energy different?

The ICRT says so. Its page What is Holy Fire Reiki? describes the energy as “noticeably more refined” and as coming from a higher level of consciousness, and Rand reports that his first students said it felt stronger than any healing energy they had experienced before.

Those are descriptions from the teaching organization and its students. Neither style is outside the NCCIH’s finding that there is no scientific evidence for the energy field thought to play a role in Reiki.

Which one should you choose?

Decide by what you want from the training. If you want a system close to its Japanese roots, ask a teacher how their lineage traces back to Usui. If you are drawn to the ICRT’s approach and its newer methods, Holy Fire classes are taught by Rand and by the ICRT’s Licensed Reiki Master Teachers. If you only want a session, ask the practitioner which style they use and what happens during it.

This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.

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