Where Did the Reiki Symbols Come From? A Third Conversation with Wakatake Mamoru
October 11, 2026
Yes. It is not an ethical dilemma. You are not charging for Reiki, for energy; nobody can pay for that. You are charging for your time, and if you are a professional your time has to be paid for. Know your base price and work from it. Otherwise how will you keep offering your time?
The ethical dilemma? Well, is it? I don’t think so. My time needs to be paid for if I am a professional, and I am a professional. I have a set amount that I request for any of my Reiki work. I know my base price and I work from that. You need to know what you are worth.
You are not paying for Reiki, for energy. You certainly cannot pay for that. So there is no ethical dilemma there at all. But you should definitely be charging for your time. Otherwise, how on earth are you going to keep offering your time? You have to pay the bills.
The short version. Charge for the hour, the room and the training, never for the energy. That distinction is what makes the fee clean.
What to look for. Set a base price in line with other therapies in your area, decide in advance how you handle people who cannot pay (a set number of reduced-fee places, say), and put both in writing so you are not deciding case by case.
A common misunderstanding. That Mikao Usui gave the practice away. The association charged fees, Chujiro Hayashi ran a paying clinic, and Hawayo Takata was famous for insisting on payment. Free treatments were the exception, not the tradition.
Ask your teacher this. “How did you decide your prices, and how do you handle people who cannot afford them?” A good answer is specific.
You might also ask: Why do some Reiki masters charge $10,000 for a course? · Can you make a living teaching Reiki? · Should a Reiki practitioner have insurance?
Setting up as a practitioner, prices included, is one of the practical threads inside Shinpiden+.
More questions answered: Reiki Questions Answered.
