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    • Magick and Reiki: When Two Paths Become One

      by Mickie Mueller

      (Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

      The first time I ever heard of Reiki, I was at a local pagan festival. I was helping out a friend with his shop's booth for the weekend. Before we packed up to go home, I did some quick shopping for thank you gifts I wanted to give the family members who had cared for my kids for the weekend. I found some lovely, inexpensive citrine crystal pendants at one of the booths and decided to purchase one for my mother-in-law. The woman who sold it to me asked if she could Reiki it for me. I had seen the sign and books on the subject around her booth all weekend. I didn't really know what Reiki was, but it seemed right, so I said, "Sure, why not."

      She held the crystal in both hands silently and after a moment she exclaimed softly, "Oh, this crystal is drawing a lot of energy." The she pointed out that the hair on her arms was standing on end. I was very interested. After handing the stone back to me and I made my purchase, she asked me if I did any energy work. I told her, "Yes, I do. I practice Wicca." She replied, "No, dear, I mean energy work. Wicca is not the same thing." I left feeling a bit confused. I worked with energy all the time, as most Wiccans do. My curiosity was peaked about this Reiki.

      Later that evening, the gift of the crystal cinched it. As my mother-in-law put the crystal on, the hair on her arms stood up. Hmm, what exactly is Reiki? She wore it to a job interview that day, and secured a new job. Ok, now I needed to learn about Reiki. I picked up a book on the subject, Reiki for Beginners by David Vennells. I discovered that in addition to learning techniques from books, a Reiki attunement must be passed through by initiation from teacher to student and next thing you know, I was taking classes at my local new age store. As I was quite broke at the time, my mother covered the fee with the promise that someday I would teach her, which I eventually did! I have learned a lot about Reiki since then, becoming a Reiki master/teacher myself, and one thing I have learned is that while, yes, Reiki is not exactly the same as the energy we normally use in magickal ritual, the energies are very compatible and work very well with an Earth Based Faith such as Wicca.

      Reiki and Magick Complement Each Other
      Reiki is a healing modality, and it is deceptively simple and simply powerful. The first thing you learn to do with Reiki is healing. The hands are placed in positions that correspond with the chakra positions around the body and energy is transferred from the Universal source through the hands of the practitioner to the recipient. The wonderful thing about using Reiki for healing versus other methods that we as Wiccans and Pagans might otherwise use, is that we do not "take on" anything from the person we are doing work for. It allows us to do more healing and deal with severe illnesses that we couldn't do otherwise because Reiki flows from the hands into the body, and never the other way around. I have talked with many Wiccans who do healing work but report that it knocks them down for awhile afterwords. This doesn't happen with Reiki. In fact, giving a Reiki treatment can be good for the practitioner as well as the client. Distance healings can also be done with a Reiki II degree, and can be incorporated into a Wiccan healing ritual with great success! I charge my teas, healing candles, even herbal remedies and medications my family takes with Reiki.

      I have learned on my own to use Reiki in most of my magic, I have found that Reiki turbo-charges my magick! I use it to help me cleanse my circle, as the energy has a purifying quality. It is also very beneficial when consecrating ritual tools. It can cleanse an item of any nasty vibes that might have built up and fills it with life force energy. Reiki can fill herbs with life force energy as well, allowing the herbs to reach their full potential. In addition to charging my candles with my magickal purpose, I also charge them with Reiki to add extra oomph to my spell work. I even carve them with both magickal and Reiki symbols. When I am at work or somewhere where I can't just do magick easily and a situation pops up that I know requires some kind of spiritual intervention, I use Reiki. Quite simply, I write the situation or problem on a slip of paper and excuse myself for a few minutes to the restroom or other quiet place and using the distance symbol, I send Reiki to the situation. You see, Reiki can only be used for the higher good, so it easily fits right in with The Rede, in harming none. I continue to send Reiki until I get a chance to do some magick. Sometimes Reiki has already ironed everything out by then! Reiki and magick are used together to cleanse and charge my stones, protect and bless my home, I have used them together for so long now, they seamlessly integrate with each other for me.

      Following the Path
      I have wished in the beginning of my Reiki studies that someone had been able to tell me how to use Reiki with magick. My Reiki master wasn't Wiccan, and nor was anyone from my class. I had read in many books that Reiki was complimentary to any form of spirituality but no specific ideas about my chosen path were given. After many dead ends, I just started to experiment and found success. I felt that the woman at the festival didn't give the use of energy in Wicca enough credit. The fact is, I don't think that she knew, being of a more New-Age background. Her comment did, however send me on a journey to learn Reiki and to discover the similarities and differences between the energies I use. For that, I thank her. Along the way, I have discovered that there are a lot of magick users that incorporate Reiki. And I even recently discovered a book on the subject, Magick of Reiki by Christopher Penczak! Through his book, I have learned even more theories about Reiki. His book included so many new ideas for integrating Reiki with magick and some new Reiki symbols I have been experimenting with. I'm sure I will always be learning with both Reiki and magick. After all, if we are wise, we never stop learning and trying new things.

      Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2005. All rights reserved.

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    • Double Vision: Should She Reconnect With Her Father?

      timeforyourself

      Is NOT reconnecting with father a harmful decision?

      I recently decided to meet my estranged father. I’ve had no relationship with him throughout my childhood and adolescence. I need desperately to find him so I can release and heal the anger, rejection and abandonment issues that have been blocking me from creating healthy relationships. Now that I have opened that door, fear and uncertainty are preventing me from having a relationship with this man. We are both Aquarians (I was born January 30, and he was born February 12). Will this decision to not have a relationship with him have a negative effect on my romantic relationships with men and my ability to create happiness in life? Please help me – I would love to hear your insights.

      Dreamchaser:

      Honey Bee, I want to thank you SO much for this question. In doing my own soul work and healing, I came across a concept that just blew me away. Here it is: When we are growing up, we are taught how to have a relationship with the opposite sex by the parent of that gender. For example, my father always held open doors, pulled out chairs, etc. I grew up believing that all men should treat all women in that manner. To this day, I will not open a door as long as a man is around.

      On the flip side, my father was a workaholic and would often break promises because of work. From this I unconsciously began to believe that if I couldn’t trust my father, I couldn’t trust any man. As soon as I became conscious of that belief, I started to look back over my love life. I saw that I expected a man to let me down or hurt me because my father did. I did not have any example of “good” behavior from a man, and as a result, I did not expect it. If you can see the same thing and realize that your father should not be your model for all male behavior, then you can get past the baggage and issues that go along with that. (By the way, this works for ALL relationships, not just father/ daughter dynamics)

      As for connecting with your father, I do not want you to romanticize some meeting where everything becomes instantly wonderful. I think you two can forge a new relationship, and you will have to start from scratch if there is to be any chance of you having any type of relationship with him.

      Any negative feelings you are carrying are not going to be instantly erased. Forgiveness starts in our own souls. You do not have to meet this man to be able to forgive him. You just need to start looking back over experiences from your childhood. Take each experience and relive it, so to speak. Stop seeing it from small child eyes and start seeing it from a grown-up perspective. You will see that NONE of it was your fault, and you truly were powerless. Once you start to see your father and his behavior as human, then you can slowly start to forgive.

      For example, my dad did not mean to hurt my feelings so badly by missing my events. He simply felt he was doing the right thing by working and providing for us. I can forgive his non-attendance NOW, because I see he felt he was doing what was right. When I was small, however, I felt that I was not important enough for Dad to make time. See? You do the same, and you will be able to forgive.

      I wish you and your father a love-filled relationship from here on out.

      +++++

      Astrea:

      You are not your father. Your life was shaped without his influence. If you can meet him and take him for the person he has BECOME since you were conceived, you’ll learn a few things. If nothing else, you’ll learn about your own capacity for TOLERANCE. It’ll be worth it to at least mmet him without fear.

      As an Aquarius and a Dual Sign, I’m sure you’ve weighed all the pros and cons of meeting your estranged father. I don’t think that avoiding him is going to affect your relationships with men throughout your life anymore than it already has. Meeting him and dealing with all the hurt and resentment you’ve felt all your life should actually FREE YOU from that. It’s important to remember that everyone has issues and baggage. The men you might be involved with will have their share of that stuff too. Everyone is an INDIVIDUAL. Keep that in mind throughout this reconnection with Dad.

      You seem like an open person who is able to take people for who they are. That open, accepting Aquarian attitude is something lots of us would love to master. Meeting Dad doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll develop a deep, meaningful relationship with him, but you have to know some things, kiddo. You say you “desperately need to find him” to resolve some of the issues you have been carrying around with you since you were a little kid. Do that! Find him, meet him, THEN decide. Reconnecting with him carefully might not HELP, but it surely won’t HURT you spiritually!

      Remember that he too has a lot of guilt and fear coming into this. He doesn’t have a clue who you are, either! It’s going to take some courage on his part to hear some of the things you feel you need to say. You have to give him some credit for his willingness to even try, but since he’s also an Aquarius, it shouldn’t surprise you. Just remember, fear is useless. You can’t eat it, wear it, or spend it. By talking to your Dad, however, you may develop a new relationship, and it could be GREAT!

      Go ahead, open the door. Find out what he’s like. NOT knowing is worse.

      The idea of developing a relationship with someone like him is strange indeed, but it’s the right thing to get to know him, hear his side of the story (there are always two!) and then make an EDUCATED decision about the place he can or can’t have in your life. Your Spirit is STRONG, and you have Guides and Angels who will counsel you when that time comes. Remember, it takes about two years to really get to know a person, even a relative if you’ve had little or no involvement growing up.

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