As was previously mentioned, many people feel that Reiki is one energy and was not originally meant to be divided into separate levels. It is likely people are of this opinion because of what occurs at the third degree level. With the first and second degree attunements come a tremendously powerful ability to heal on the physical, etheric, mental, and emotional levels. Third degree energy not only adds very high spiritual levels to that list, but also integrates all levels of one's being.
Attunement to the third degree is a very powerful and profoundly moving experience. With this attunement comes a great deal of contact with your own higher self, and other levels of your being.
In addition you will most likely also find yourself in communication with many new levels of those you work on, including their higher self. The attunement greatly opens up one's third eye and crown chakras. I and many others feel that once a person attains this level and becomes comfortable using it, there is little that they will not have access to or be able to accomplish. It is, simply put, that powerful.
The master symbol is very similar in use to the power symbol. It is traced out before the other three symbols and greatly increases their effectiveness. The master level of the energy also causes healing to more powerfully manifest on all levels. Depending on the consciousness of the person being attuned, adjustment to this level can far exceed the 21 day cleansing process common to other levels. Energy can be thought of as manifesting on the physical level, commonly, in the following manner:
from the Etheric: 3 days
Mental/Emotional: 9-21 days, depending on the level being healed
Spiritual: 21+ days, while some parts of the process only take a short while, others can take months
Until now, when we have spoken about protection, we have discussed it in terms of the healer, client and current. Absent from that was how the healing itself was protected. This is usually seen as part of the job of third degree energy. It has definite protective properties, though of a much higher vibration than those offered by the power and mental/emotional symbols. Because the nature of the energy is holographic, third degree energy is used at all levels, most commonly to seal in and protect the healing which has been done in a session. It is able to do so because, as has already been mentioned, it works on all levels of one's being. The ability to protect the healing itself is one of the most unique things about the Usui System of Natural Healing. Very few other energies are able to accomplish this kind of protection. Such protection is a very powerful way of holding the space for someone and giving them the opportunity to change the patterns which have manifested their present situation. This is one of the many reasons that Reiki has proven so effective in the healing of unwanted habits such as smoking.
Some have divided the master level into two parts, master/practitioner and master/teacher. The attunement process for these two levels varies by teacher but in most cases the master/practitioner level contains the full Usui master attunement, as well as knowledge of the master symbol and how it is used. The master/teacher level is where the students are taught the attunement process, and with it how to initiate others.
The master symbol can also be used in distant healing work. To use it in this manner, I typically trace it before I begin, and again after all the power symbols have been traced. This is simply what I have found works best for me. With experimentation you may find that something else works better for you. It is a powerful symbol who's energy brings many benefits when used in one's life.
