The Level 2 attunement is the energetic threshold through which you enter formal Level 2 Reiki practice.
In Level 1, attunement opened and strengthened your conscious relationship with Reiki. It prepared you to begin self-Reiki and to offer Reiki to animals through presence, hands-off practice, and welcomed touch.
The Level 2 attunement deepens this relationship. It connects you with the three Level 2 Reiki symbols and opens the way for working with Reiki beyond immediate physical proximity. Through this attunement, your practice expands to include distance, time, emotional support, and a more focused use of Reiki energy.
The attunement is not a test of worthiness, a reward for being spiritually advanced, or proof that one practitioner is more powerful than another. It is an initiation into the next stage of practice.
You receive the attunement. You then learn, practise, integrate, and gradually embody what has been opened.
What Is a Reiki Attunement?
A Reiki attunement is a sacred energetic ceremony performed by a qualified Reiki Master Teacher within a Reiki lineage.
During the attunement, the teacher carries out a traditional sequence intended to open, strengthen, and refine the student’s connection with Reiki. At Level 2, the attunement also establishes the student’s energetic connection with the three symbols taught at this level:
- Cho Ku Rei
- Sei He Ki
- Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen
The teacher performs the ritual, but the teacher is not the source of Reiki. The teacher serves as a conduit and holder of the ceremonial space, just as a practitioner serves as a conduit during a Reiki session.
The attunement does not create universal life energy or place something artificial inside you. Reiki is already present throughout life. The ceremony helps awaken and strengthen your conscious capacity to connect with, receive, and transmit Reiki through the practices of this level.
An attunement may be understood as both an energetic transmission and a spiritual initiation. It connects personal practice with the lineage through which the teachings have been passed from teacher to student.
The Importance of Reiki Lineage
A Reiki lineage records the line of teaching and attunement through which a practitioner is connected to Mikao Usui and the system of Reiki that developed from his work.
Different Reiki lineages may use somewhat different ceremonies, terminology, symbol forms, or teaching sequences. These variations do not necessarily mean that one lineage is authentic and another is not. Reiki has travelled across cultures, countries, teachers, and generations, and some variation has naturally developed along the way.
What matters is that the attunement is offered with integrity by a properly trained Reiki Master Teacher who has received the appropriate attunements and authority to teach within their lineage.
Your lineage does not make you more spiritually important than another practitioner. It provides a living thread of transmission, responsibility, and relationship.
When you receive an attunement, you become part of that continuing stream of practice. You also accept the responsibility to work with Reiki respectfully, maintain appropriate boundaries, and continue developing through experience rather than relying on a title alone.
How the Level 2 Attunement Differs from Level 1
The Level 1 and Level 2 attunements belong to the same Reiki path, but they support different stages of practice.
The Level 1 attunement establishes the foundation. It opens and strengthens your connection with Reiki so that you can begin a consistent self-Reiki practice and offer Reiki to animals and people in your physical presence.
The Level 2 attunement deepens this foundation and connects you with the Level 2 symbols. It supports more focused energetic practice and opens the way to offering Reiki beyond ordinary limitations of physical distance and linear time.
Level 2 may therefore bring a sense of expansion. Some students experience a stronger flow of Reiki, a deeper meditative state, clearer intuitive awareness, or a more immediate connection when beginning a session. Others notice gradual changes that become apparent only through continued practice.
These possibilities do not mean that Level 2 makes you inherently more powerful.
Reiki is not a personal power that belongs to the practitioner. Your role remains that of a conduit. As your practice develops, you may become more grounded, receptive, and clear, allowing Reiki to flow with less interference from personal expectations or the desire to control.
Level 2 builds upon Level 1; it does not make Level 1 unnecessary. Self-Reiki, Gassho, the Five Reiki Principles, consent, animal choice, humility, and responsible practice remain active throughout this level.
Why Attunement Comes Before Formal Symbol Practice
The three Level 2 symbols are sacred components of Usui Reiki practice. They are not simply drawings, affirmations, or visual concentration exercises.
Learning the appearance and traditional meaning of a symbol can prepare the mind, but attunement establishes the energetic connection through which the student formally begins working with that symbol within Reiki practice.
For this reason, the Level 2 attunement comes before formal symbol practice in this manual.
You may study the introductory chapters and learn about the role of the attunement before booking it. However, you should receive your Level 2 attunement before beginning the practical use of Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen.
After your attunement, you will learn the symbols one at a time and begin working with them first through self-Reiki. As your familiarity grows, you will gradually include them in Animal Reiki and distance practice.
There is no need to rush ahead or attempt to master all three symbols immediately. The attunement opens the relationship. Practice allows that relationship to deepen.
Receiving the Attunement at a Distance
A Level 2 attunement may be received in person or at a distance.
In an in-person attunement, the student and Reiki Master Teacher share the same physical space. In a distance attunement, the teacher and student are in different locations and connect at an agreed-upon time.
Distance does not make the attunement less complete.
One of the central teachings of Level 2 is that Reiki is not confined by physical proximity. A Reiki Master Teacher trained in distance attunement can perform the ceremony while the student receives it from their own home or another quiet location.
The student does not need to understand the distance symbol or know how the connection is established. The Reiki Master Teacher holds that part of the process. Your role as the recipient is simply to prepare, become present, and receive with openness.
The attunement does not depend upon a video call. Some teachers may arrange a brief conversation before or after the ceremony, but the energetic connection does not require continuous visual or technological contact.
What matters is that:
- The attunement has been intentionally arranged
- The teacher and student have agreed upon the time
- The student understands what is being received
- The student has freely consented to the attunement
- The teacher is properly prepared to offer it
- Both teacher and student approach the ceremony with respect
You may receive the attunement while sitting or lying comfortably. You do not need to travel, enter an unfamiliar environment, or remain in a particular posture for the ceremony to be effective.
For many students, receiving the attunement at home creates a quiet and personal atmosphere in which the experience can unfold naturally.
When to Receive Your Level 2 Attunement
You may arrange your attunement after completing Chapter 1 and studying this chapter. You do not need to finish the entire Level 2 manual first.
The sequence is:
- Understand the purpose of Level 2.
- Learn what the attunement involves.
- Receive the Level 2 attunement.
- Study the three Level 2 symbols.
- Begin formal symbol practice through self-Reiki.
- Continue into Animal Reiki and distance practice.
- Complete the integration and certification requirements.
This order allows you to learn the symbols after the energetic connection has been established.
You do not need to feel perfectly prepared. Readiness does not require complete confidence or the absence of questions. A sincere intention, a Level 1 foundation, and a willingness to practise consistently are enough places from which to begin.
At the same time, there is no reason to receive the attunement before you genuinely feel ready. Reiki is not a race, and moving quickly through the levels does not make the practice deeper.
Preparing for a Distance Attunement
Attunement preparation can be simple.
You do not need elaborate decorations, special clothing, fasting, or a perfectly silent environment. The purpose of preparation is to help you become comfortable, attentive, and receptive.
Before the Attunement
Choose a place where you can sit or lie down without needing to attend to other responsibilities. Allow some extra time before and after the scheduled ceremony so that you do not feel rushed.
You may wish to:
- Silence unnecessary phone notifications
- Use the washroom beforehand
- Have water nearby
- Wear comfortable clothing
- Adjust the room temperature
- Dim the lights
- Place a cushion or blanket nearby
- Keep a journal available for afterward
- Let other people in the home know that you would like some quiet time
You may create a simple sacred space with a candle, flowers, meaningful objects, or gentle music, but these are optional. Reiki does not depend upon the appearance of the room.
Avoid creating so many preparations that you become anxious about doing everything correctly. Your sincere presence matters more than perfect surroundings.
Forming an Intention
Before the attunement begins, you may hold a simple intention such as:
I receive this Level 2 attunement with openness, gratitude, and discernment. May my connection with Reiki deepen in a way that supports my own healing and allows me to serve animals with compassion, humility, and respect.
An intention does not control what must happen. It helps orient your mind and heart toward the purpose of the ceremony.
Entering Gassho
If it is comfortable, bring your hands together in Gassho at the centre of your chest.
Allow your breathing to become natural. Notice the contact between your body and the chair, bed, floor, or cushion beneath you. Let yourself arrive in the present moment.
You do not need to empty your mind. Thoughts may continue to arise. Acknowledge them and gently return your attention to your breath, your hands, or the intention to receive.
What Happens During the Attunement?
The exact ceremonial steps are performed by the Reiki Master Teacher and may vary somewhat according to lineage. The student does not need to memorize or direct those steps.
From your perspective as the recipient, the process is quiet and simple.
At the agreed-upon time:
- Settle into your chosen position.
- Bring your hands into Gassho if comfortable.
- State your intention to receive the Level 2 attunement.
- Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
- Allow the teacher to conduct the ceremony.
- Remain receptive without trying to produce a particular experience.
- Rest quietly until the agreed-upon receiving period is complete.
- Close with gratitude when you feel ready.
You do not need to visualize the teacher, imagine the symbols, or consciously guide the energy. You do not need to concentrate without interruption.
If your attention wanders, gently return to your breath or the feeling of your body resting where you are. If you become emotional, allow the emotion to move without needing to explain it immediately. If you feel peaceful, remain with the peace. If you feel very little, continue receiving without judgment.
The attunement is performed through the teacher’s established connection with Reiki and the lineage. It does not depend upon your ability to create a dramatic inner experience.
May My Animals Be Present?
Your animals may remain in the room if that is comfortable and natural for everyone involved.
Some animals may choose to rest nearby, move closer, leave the room, or continue with their usual activities. There is no need to call them over, hold them beside you, or encourage them to remain still.
Their presence does not interfere with your attunement.
At the same time, the ceremony is your attunement. An animal who happens to be nearby is not being formally attuned to Reiki and does not need an attunement in order to receive Reiki.
If an animal requires active supervision or is likely to need your immediate attention, arrange the space so that both you and the animal remain safe and comfortable. The goal is not perfect isolation, but enough ease that you can receive without feeling responsible for controlling everything around you.
Allow your animals the same freedom you offer during any Reiki practice: they may come, go, observe, sleep, or show no apparent interest.
What Might You Experience?
Each person experiences attunement differently.
During or after the ceremony, you may notice:
- Warmth or coolness
- Tingling, pulsing, or gentle movement
- Heaviness or lightness
- A sense of expansion
- Colours, shapes, or inner imagery
- Memories or emotions
- Deep stillness
- A meditative or dreamlike state
- A sense of connection or presence
- Physical relaxation
- Heightened awareness
- Very little that feels unusual
You may also fall asleep or drift between sleep and wakefulness. This does not prevent you from receiving the attunement.
A vivid experience is not a better attunement. Feeling nothing unusual does not mean that the attunement failed.
Some students notice the effects gradually through their self-Reiki practice. They may find that Reiki begins more readily, the symbols feel increasingly familiar, meditation deepens, or their relationship with energy becomes clearer over time.
Other students have a strong experience during the ceremony and then enter a quieter period afterward.
Neither pattern is superior.
Do not compare your attunement with another person’s description. Your experience belongs to your own relationship with Reiki.
After the Attunement
When the receiving period is complete, take your time returning to ordinary activity.
You may wish to:
- Remain seated or lying down for a few more minutes
- Take several slow breaths
- Place your hands over your heart or lower abdomen
- Drink some water
- Eat something nourishing if you are hungry
- Spend a little time outdoors
- Rest
- Write down what you remember
- Notice how you feel without immediately interpreting it
You may feel peaceful, energized, emotional, tired, clear, or entirely ordinary. Your experience may also change over the following hours or days.
Allow yourself some spaciousness without treating every mood, dream, physical sensation, or coincidence as proof of an energetic event. Attunement can deepen awareness, but discernment remains important.
If you experience a physical or emotional concern that is persistent, severe, or troubling, seek the appropriate professional support rather than assuming that it is simply part of energetic integration.
The 21-Day Integration Period
After receiving your Level 2 attunement, you will begin a 21-day integration period.
This practice honours the importance of consistency following initiation. It gives you a grounded structure through which to become familiar with the Level 2 energy and develop a personal relationship with the symbols.
The 21 days are not presented as a medically established detoxification period, nor do they require you to experience a dramatic cleansing or “healing crisis.” Their value lies in intentional daily practice.
During the integration period, you will:
- Practise self-Reiki every day
- Study and practise the Level 2 symbols
- Observe your experiences without forcing conclusions
- Record reflections in a practice journal
- Continue working with the Five Reiki Principles
- Notice your expectations, emotions, and responses
- Allow rest and ordinary daily life to remain part of the process
After learning the symbols in the next chapter, you can begin incorporating them into self-Reiki. As you continue through the manual, you will gradually extend your practice to animals and distance sessions.
Your daily practice does not need to be identical every day. Some days may allow for a longer self-Reiki session. On other days, you may practise more briefly while remaining sincere and present.
What matters is that you return intentionally each day.
The 21-day period establishes a rhythm, but it is not the end of integration. Your understanding of Level 2 will continue to unfold through months and years of practice.
Lifelong daily self-Reiki is highly recommended. It supports your own holistic healing, deepens your direct understanding of Reiki, and helps you become a clearer conduit for the animals and people with whom you practise.
Attunement and Certification Are Not the Same
Receiving the Level 2 attunement is an essential part of Level 2 training, but attunement alone does not complete the certification process.
Attunement opens the energetic relationship. Certification recognizes that you have also studied the teachings, completed the required practice, reflected upon your experience, and demonstrated an understanding of the ethical responsibilities of Level 2 Animal Reiki.
To complete Animal Reiki Level 2 certification, you will need to fulfil the study, integration, practice-log, and reflection requirements described later in this manual.
A certificate recognizes an important milestone. It does not declare mastery, guarantee particular abilities, or remove the need for continued learning.
Your most meaningful qualification will always be the quality of presence, humility, responsibility, and care that you bring to the practice.
A Receiving Meditation
Before your scheduled attunement, you may use the following meditation.
Sit or lie comfortably. Let your eyes close if that feels natural.
Notice the movement of your breath without trying to change it.
Feel the support beneath your body. Allow your shoulders to soften. Let your hands rest in Gassho or in another comfortable position.
Bring your awareness to the quiet life within and around you.
You may say inwardly:
I open myself to receive the Animal Reiki Level 2 attunement.
I honour the lineage through which these teachings have travelled.
I welcome a deeper relationship with Reiki and the sacred symbols of this level.
May this attunement support my own healing, understanding, and spiritual growth.
May I become a clearer conduit for Reiki while remaining humble before its mystery.
May my practice honour the choices, boundaries, and highest good of every animal.
May this connection deepen my awareness of the oneness that moves through all life.
Release the words and rest in silence.
You do not need to reach toward Reiki. Allow yourself to receive.
Reflection
After your attunement, consider the following questions:
- How did I feel as I prepared to receive the attunement?
- What intentions or expectations did I bring into the experience?
- What did I notice during the ceremony?
- Was there anything I expected to feel but did not?
- Can I allow my experience to be meaningful without comparing it with someone else’s?
- What does receiving the Level 2 attunement mean to me?
- How will I create space for daily self-Reiki during the next 21 days?
- What qualities do I hope to cultivate as my practice deepens?
- How can I remain open to Reiki without trying to control its expression?
- What responsibility accompanies my new ability to practise across distance and time?
Write honestly. There is no preferred type of attunement experience and no correct emotional response.
Looking Ahead
With the Level 2 attunement received, you are ready to begin learning the three Level 2 Reiki symbols.
In the next chapter, you will explore Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen: their traditional meanings, energetic qualities, forms, and roles within Reiki practice.
Approach them slowly and respectfully. They are not merely techniques to memorize, but sacred gateways through which your relationship with Reiki can continue to unfold.