Reiki Handfasting as a Commitment Ritual

One size fits all is a lie. 

There are a lot of difficult truths to swallow about humanity, and about being incarnated as a human.

But one absolutely glorious thing about humanity is that we're each unique, the product of thousands of generations of intertwined energy and all the chance and inevitability therein. 

To my mind, there is no one way to be human any more than there is any one way to dress, or eat, or raise a child.  And that extends to every human endeavor, very much including spirituality.

My understanding of how this whole thing works is that we each have a path that's meant (to paraphrase the Grateful Dead)  for our steps alone. Our one and only job in this life is to find that path and walk it to the best of our ability. 

I'm fortunate to have at last found my path. Its steps are made of empowering my own magic and helping others empower their magical selves. As part of that overarching project, I've become a Reiki healer. 

People become Reiki healers by being instructed (and most importantly, attuned) by a Reiki Master. The experience of becoming a Reiki healer has been one of the most significant of my life, and has opened me to things I never knew existed. 

I searched for my path to joy, but in very wrong places, for decades.

What matters is that I'm here now, and that a major part of my path consists of sharing what I've learned, both in the long era before I found my path, and in the years since. 

And that brings me back to "one size fits all is a lie."

The Reiki Handfasting Ceremony (as created and conducted by me, Leah, the Mystic Autistic). 

Love is love is love is love. 

There are a lot of ways for people to demonstrate their commitment to one another and the world. Weddings are one way, handfastings are another - and the two are in no way mutually exclusive. 

Handfasting is a traditional practice that binds people together, either for life partnership or for a specified period (often a year and a day). The phrase refers to the making fast of a pledge by joining or shaking hands. 

Rituals are powerful, and they can seal partnerships and commitments of all kinds - not just romantic ones. As the old paradigms are breaking down, as we come to follow our hearts and our knowing more than what we've been told, more of us are creating and embracing rituals and ceremonies that are meaningful and true for us. 

In that spirit, I've created a Reiki-infused handfasting ceremony based on the principles and universal healing energy that is Reiki itself. 

Reiki is a healing practice that utilizes energy to help the body and spirit heal itself. It works on the principle that everything is energy, and that by focusing Reiki (universal healing) energy on the energy held within the body (whether human or otherwise), great strides can be made toward harmony and health. 

The Handfasting Cord

In the Reiki handfasting ceremony, as in most any handfasting ceremony, the participants' hands are bound together as words and oaths regarding the nature of the commitment being undertaken are spoken. 

Before conducting the Reiki-infused handfasting ritual, I create the cord used to bind the couple's hands by braiding 7 strands of ribbon together, each symbolizing one of the primary chakras in the body.

A Reiki handfasting cord, braided from 7 ribbons representing the primary chakras.

As I braid the handfasting cord, I meditate and make the hand signs that have been passed down through my Reiki lineage over the ribbons, praying that the union will be sound and strong. 

The seven primary chakras, or energy centers, in the body,are related to different levels of vibrational energy and thus different colors (exactly like the colors of the rainbow appear in a specific order according to their vibrational frequency). Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. ROYGBIV. 

The three lower chakras, red located at the base of the spine, orange in the lower abdomen, and yellow at the navel, govern the physical, "lower" levels of human life - survival, safety, sense of self, and the like. That's the ROY of it all. 

Then there's the heart chakra, which is green. This is the level of love, and it's what brings together the lower three chakras with the upper three (the throat chakra (blue), the third eye (indigo), and the crown chakra (violet)), those that deal with the "higher functions of human life. The BIV of it all. 

ROYGBIV.

The braided cord thus indicates the braiding together of the couple on an energetic level, a reminder of the multiple levels of engagement necessary to have a happy bond with healthy communication. It represents the couple's common goals as to the energetic frequency of the bond. 

The 5 Principles of Reiki: The Handfasting Oath

There are a set of five basic principles associated with Reiki, and if everyone were to take them into consideration, we'd be better off as a species. If everyone (including me) followed them closely, we'd be living in a sort of utopia, if you ask me. 

Here are the five principles of Reiki. 

Just for today, I will not engage in anger. 

Just for today, I will not worry. 

Just for today, I will be grateful. 

Just for today, I will do my life's work honestly. 

Just for today, I will show kindness to every living thing. 

As part of the handfasting ceremony, the couple vows to uphold these principles, especially within the context of their bond. 

At the completion of their Reiki handfasting ceremony, each couple will receive their handfasting cord, along with a card featuring the 5 principles of Reiki and documenting their names and the date of the ceremony, all in a wooden box (featuring a lock with two keys) as a reminder of their bond. 

The Reiki Handfasting Ceremony box from Empower Your Magical Self

I'm available for Reiki handfasting ceremonies in the Denver/Aurora Colorado area beginning in Fall of 2024, please see leahwelborn.net for details.

Couples who book Reiki handfasting ceremonies with me for fall of 2024 are eligible to purchase 2 for the price of one Reiki session in my studio in Aurora, Colorado (80014). 

Because I'm an ordained minister and can legally perform weddings in Colorado, a Reiki handfasting ceremony can be performed as part of an official wedding, or can be complete outside the jurisdiction of the state of Colorado. 

Like I said, one size fits all is a lie. 

But love and authentic commitment is the truth.