Traditional vs Advanced Reiki

When I first learned Reiki in 2019, I trained in what I now call Traditional Reiki — specifically, the Usui Holy Fire III lineage. Like most traditional systems (Usui, Karuna, Violet Flame, etc.) this structure includes three levels:
Reiki Level 1, Reiki Level 2, and Reiki Master Teacher (Level 3).

Usui/Holy Fire III is an evolved branch of the original Usui Reiki, which traces back to Mikao Usui — the man widely recognized for bringing Reiki into the world in early 1900’s Japan. Holy Fire adds an additional spiritual refinement into this foundation.

In 2023, I began a much deeper initiation into what I call Advanced Reiki — formally known as
5 Element Dragon Fire Reiki (5EDFR).
This lineage was birthed by my Reiki Master Teacher and spiritual mentor, Erin Ryan, in 2022.

This system weaves together Dragon Medicine, Reiki, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Meridian system of the body. It allows the practitioner to work with greater potency and precision — targeting not just general energy flow, but specific emotions, organs, and pathways where dense energy lives.

Structure of 5 Element Dragon Fire Reiki:

• Prerequisite: Completion of Reiki Levels 1-3 from any traditional Reiki lineage.

• Five Elemental Levels (Water, Wood, Fire, Metal, Earth)

• Master Teacher Level
  
  

Each Elemental Level corresponds to one of the five elements of Chinese Medicine and their associated season:

• Water — Winter

• Wood/Air — Spring

• Fire — Early to Mid Summer

• Metal — Mid to Late Summer

• Earth — Fall
  

Each element also connects to specific organ systems, emotions, and 12 of the body's elemental meridians:

Fire (Heart, Pericardium, San Jiao, Small Intestine): Anxiety, mania, hyper-arousal, distorted joy
Metal (Lung, Large Intestine): Grief, sadness, letting go
Earth (Spleen, Stomach): Worry, overthinking
Water (Kidney, Bladder): Fear, isolation, overwhelm
Wood (Liver, Gallbladder): Anger, frustration, resentment

When you receive the Earth Dragon Level, you receive access to a specific frequency of Reiki that works directly with the Spleen and Stomach meridians — allowing you to address imbalances in worry, obsessive thinking, and digestive energetics.

While each class is taught seasonally, you do not need to take them in a specific order. This system of Reiki also initiates you into Dragon Medicine, if you haven’t been already.