Some people ask, “Is Reiki something evil?” Often, such opinions arise from misunderstandings, bad experiences, or unrealistic expectations. Reiki itself is not “evil” — its effect depends on the intention, experience, and application. In this article, I will explain common misconceptions, when Reiki might feel negative, and what true Reiki healing looks like.
Why Reiki is Considered “Evil”? Misunderstandings, Criticism, and Clarity
Not long ago, I received a call from a lady who had been recommended to me by another client. The first thing she asked was, “You do Reiki, right?”
I replied, “Yes, I also work with Reiki. But in your case, I would probably work with English spiritual healing.”
She responded with relief, “That’s good. I had very bad experiences with Reiki.”
I asked, “What exactly did you experience?”
She said, “I felt really bad afterward — and Reiki was to blame. Reiki is evil…”
“I see,” I said. “Hmm, maybe you had a Reiki practitioner who wasn’t sufficiently knowledgeable. Did they inform you that sometimes there can be an initial worsening?”
“Yes, they did,” she said. “But the intensity really surprised me. It felt as if all the traumas from my childhood were coming back.”
“Okay,” I responded. “Did you discuss your reaction with your Reiki practitioner afterward?”
“No,” she said. “But I knew for sure I would never go back there.”
“So, they don’t even know about your reaction?”
“No.”
“I understand… Unfortunately, it happens repeatedly that people have bad experiences with Reiki and then believe that Reiki is something bad.”
She countered, “But isn’t it? I felt awful right afterward.”
“That’s true,” I said. “But Reiki didn’t want to harm you. It simply brought a suppressed issue to the surface so that it could be seen and healed. We can often only recognize subconscious processes when they become visible. In your case, your subconscious brought old pain from your past to the surface after the session so that you could perceive it and work with it.”
I added, “I assume — since I don’t know your Reiki practitioner — that they weren’t aware of these dynamics. Many Reiki practitioners don’t understand these mechanisms or were never taught about them by their own teachers.”
To the reader:
Usually, most Reiki teachers teach that a session should be stopped immediately if a person feels bad during it. I also learned this at the beginning of my work with Reiki. Whenever one of my clients felt unwell during a session, I would conscientiously end it.
When my clients then asked why this might happen, I couldn’t give them a truly satisfying answer. I explained it to myself as a so-called initial worsening symptom, just as I had learned in my Reiki training.
But I was never fully convinced by this explanation. For a long time, I searched for a deeper answer to this question.
I only received answers when I met the English spiritual healer Malcolm Southwood and completed his training as a spiritual healer. He gave me concrete answers to many questions that had remained open from my previous Reiki training.
For the first time, I could really understand what happens in the subconscious and how to guide people through these processes mindfully and lovingly.
It always makes me somewhat sad when I hear cases where people become convinced afterward that Reiki is evil or even “from the devil.” It’s astonishing how such speculation has grown over time. In some cases, people even talk about alien implants or possession by spirits.
All of this is nonsense and spreads only because many Reiki practitioners cannot clearly explain certain phenomena that can occur during or after a Reiki session.
I am a perfect example. Trauma energies from my own childhood surfaced, which I had buried deep in my subconscious. However, this did not happen after receiving a Reiki session but after I was initiated into the Reiki Master level.
My Reiki teacher had warned me beforehand that some changes could occur afterward — but I had not expected such intensity. I felt really bad. I asked my teacher for help, but he could not support me in this situation because he wasn’t trained for it. Instead, he advised me to seek professional help.
So I turned to psychologists — but even there, I found no real support.
Only when I met Malcolm Southwood was I able to resolve my childhood traumas with his help. His work impressed me so much that I decided to train with him and work as a healer myself.
Today, my Reiki students learn how to handle it if one of their clients experiences a psychological crisis during a session.
What Causes Psychological Crises After a Reiki Initiation or Session?
During the energetic activation of the chakras and vibrations through a Reiki initiation, old wounds and suppressed traumas can surface in the consciousness. The same applies to a Reiki session. This is not a problem in itself — provided it happens in a safe and protected environment under the guidance of an experienced Reiki practitioner/teacher.
Reiki sets a lot in motion, both consciously and unconsciously. This “movement” serves solely for healing and personal development and is therefore natural and wonderful. It only becomes problematic if someone experiences a psychological crisis after a Reiki initiation without an experienced teacher or other trained support by their side.
Some time ago, I heard the following story: A young woman received her Reiki Master level from a teacher who had conducted her entire Reiki training online through distant initiations. The young woman had not completed a single Reiki level beforehand, yet her “online Reiki teacher” advised her to complete all three levels on the same day — 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Reiki levels consecutively.
Shortly afterward, the newly minted master fell into a deep psychological hole. When she asked her teacher for help, the response was: “That’s your problem. You’re a Reiki master now…”
Every responsible Reiki teacher would be horrified by such an approach. It is absolutely negligent. The individual Reiki levels are deliberately spaced over a longer period so that the human chakra system can gradually adjust to the new energy.
Additionally, a responsible teacher would inform students about the possibility of emotional overwhelm — meaning that feelings could arise that might surprise a Reiki beginner with their intensity, even long after the initiation. If problems occur, the teacher should support the student with advice and action. If the teacher cannot help, due to lack of training or being overwhelmed, they should have a network of psychologists, therapists, counselors, or other professionals to refer the student to in case of emergency.
Of course, it is not as if every Reiki beginner immediately experiences a psychological crisis after initiation. Such crises mostly occur in people with a certain pre-existing vulnerability. With the right guidance from the teacher, such a crisis is not a problem. It can be recognized, accompanied, and overcome. Learning Reiki remains a safe and wonderful experience, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
It is only when Reiki teachers or practitioners, out of ignorance of these mechanisms, fail to warn about potential risks and do not offer support after the seminar that situations arise in which a Reiki experience is mistakenly interpreted as “evil” or “negative.”
It is therefore up to us as teachers to be aware of this responsibility and provide proper guidance — to spare our students bad experiences and to prevent misunderstandings or misinterpretations of such personal crises in the future.
