Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a form of healing through manipulation of ki, the Japanese version of chi. Rei means spirit in Japanese, so reiki literally means spirit life force and may be understood as "spirit led by the life force."

Like their counterparts in traditional Chinese medicine who use acupuncture, as well as their counterparts in the West who use therapeutic touch (TT), the practitioners of reiki believe that health and disease are a matter of the life force being disrupted. Each believes that the universe is full of energy which cannot be detected by any scientific instruments but which can be felt and manipulated by special people who learn the tricks of the trade. Reiki healers differ from acupuncturists in that they do not try to unblock a person's ki but to channel the ki of the universe so that the person heals. The reiki master claims to be able to draw upon the energy of the universe and actually increase his or her own energy while performing a healing. Reiki healers claim to channel reiki into "diseased" individuals for "rebalancing." If the healing fails it is because the patient is resisting the healing energy.

Reiki is very popular among New Age spiritualists. It comes complete with "attunements," "harmonies," and "balances,"  plus it uses Sanskrit symbols. Reiki healers pay up to $10,000 to their masters to become masters themselves. The process involves going through several levels of attunement and learning which symbols to use, when to call up the universal life force, how to heal an emotional or spiritual illness, and how to heal someone who isn't present.

Reiki was popularized by Mikao Usui (1802-1883) who founded a religious movement in Japan in the late 19th century after hallucinating and hearing voices giving him "the keys to healing." He had fasted and meditated for several weeks before his revelations.

Larry Arnold and Sandra Nevins claim in The Reiki Handbook (1992) that reiki is useful for treating brain damage, cancer, diabetes and venereal diseases.

Places which teach reiki, such as Loving Touch Centers, are also likely to offer courses in aromatherapy, numerology, palmistry, reflexology, tarot, astrology, aura analysis, the cabala, crystal therapy, graphology, etc.