Angelic Reiki Vs. Usui Reiki

In the years since Covid, so many people find themselves drawn to wanting to learn more about various healing modalities. There is something in us that says this is something we are meant to explore. That you're meant for this, that you have the ability to be a "healer". That this work belongs to you somehow. Or at least a deep curiosity to find out if it does.

When that nudge arrives, most people, naturally, start to dabble. They find themselves reaching for oracle decks, or learning about the chakras, angels, or how to work with crystals. And eventually, many discover that they can take a Reiki class over the course of a weekend and come out the other side as a certified practitioner. And honestly? That feels perfect. A few days. Minimal investment. A certificate that says you can do this. In a world that asks for proof before it lets you step into your gifts, that certificate becomes something sacred. It becomes your permission slip.

Reiki is one of the most accessible entry points into energy healing for exactly this reason. I think of it as a gateway drug into the world of energy healing, and I will be honest in saying that it was mine!

In North America, when most people go looking for Reiki, what they find is Usui Reiki. Many don't realize at first that there are other stops on the Reiki train. There is Angelic Reiki, Shamanic Reiki, crystal reiki, and on and on it goes.

For myself, I always knew I was empathic. I always knew I was intuitive. From my early twenties onward, I had psychics, mediums, and healers tell me versions of the same thing: you should be doing what I do. You are a healer. And of course, once I got past dismissing them (hanging on to old identities is hard to break free from) I had to try that on for myself.

So I found meditation teacher training with the incredible Davidji, and then that led to finding Usui Reiki. I took the workshop and became a practitioner. Found it fascinating, but didn't fully resonate. I suspected it had as much to do with the teacher as with the modality itself, so when I went on to Levels 3 and 4 (which I only did at the assistance of my Spirit Team as I, myself, was still unconvinced), I studied with someone different. I resonated a little more there. But in both cases, something kept happening that was outside the system I had been taught. Every single time I placed my hands on another person, I would be surrounded by Angels. Transmissions would pour through. Messages would come, but they were almost always from angels or ascended masters. I wasn't quite following what my training had taught me. I couldn't remember all the hand positions. I wasn't keeping to the prescribed sequence. All I knew was that I felt drawn to the angels, and that once I started offering "Usui Reiki" sessions, people kept coming back.

For a while, I felt like a fraud. I was offering something real, something people were genuinely receiving, but I couldn't quite call it what my certificate said it was.

That's when I discovered that Angelic Reiki was its own complete, recognized system. I flew to the UK, trained with a teacher I felt deeply drawn to, received my certifications, and have never looked back. It is the only modality I teach and practice within the Reiki system. I often include crystal healing, channeling, and dozens of other techniques from all the modalities I've gathered over the years. In fact, as many tend to do, I have quite the smorgasbord of tools in my healer's toolbox.

As a Usui Reiki Master, Angelic Reiki Master, professional channel, and spiritual retreat guide, I often get asked what the difference is between Usui Reiki and Angelic Reiki. So let's talk about it.

What Is Usui Reiki?

Usui Reiki is the original system and the most widely practiced form of Reiki in the world. It was founded by Mikao Usui, a Japanese Buddhist scholar, who had spent decades studying medicine, theology, and metaphysics before answering the call to climb Mount Kurama, a sacred mountain near Kyoto, and spend 21 days of fasting and meditation. This was back in 1922. He figured that at the end of the 21 days, he would either die or become enlightened. On the final day, after weeks of prayer, chanting, and meditation, he described a vibrant light entering through the top of his head, filling his entire vessel and attuning him to an energy he would call Reiki. He also received the ability to access healing energy and teach others to use it. As he descended the mountain, the legendary "four miracles" are said to have occurred: he stubbed his toe and it healed instantly as he placed his hand on it; he sat down and ate a full meal comfortably after weeks of fasting; he healed a woman's toothache; and he freed the Abbot of a Zen monastery from arthritis. From that transmission on the mountain, he developed a clear and accessible system for channeling what he called ki, the universal life force that flows through all living things. And from that mountain, his discovery began to move through the world.

The Usui system is built on a lineage model. A Reiki Master Teacher passes attunements to each student through a direct, human-to-human initiation. That lineage stretches from Usui through a chain of teachers all the way down to the practitioner sitting across from you today. The system moves through structured levels: Level I opens the practitioner's channels and focuses on hands-on healing; Level II brings in specific symbols and distance healing; and the Master level prepares you to teach and pass attunements to others.

In a session, the practitioner places their hands gently on or just above the body, using specific positions to guide energy where it is needed. It usually feels very grounding, and deeply nurturing to the receiver. The energy flows to areas in or around the body that are out of balance. It supports relaxation, physical restoration, and emotional calm. A lot of people describe it as a warm river of light moving through them, gently washing away what has been stagnant or held in the body for too long.

What Is Angelic Reiki?

Angelic Reiki came in differently. It was channeled through Kevin Core by Archangel Metatron, beginning in October 2002 in Yorkshire, England, and the transmissions continued through early 2003. Together, Kevin and his partner Christine Core dedicated their lives to teaching this system, eventually reaching practitioners across more than 23 countries. Kevin passed in June 2009, and the system has continued to grow and reach people around the world ever since.

I want to offer a little transparency here, because if you go looking for Angelic Reiki training, you may find more than one lineage. The system I practice and teach is through the Angelic Reiki Association, which is dedicated to preserving Kevin's original channeled teachings exactly as he received and taught them. Christine went on to write a beautiful book on Angelic Reiki, which I recommend as a wonderful resource, and she continued teaching in her own right. But the branch I am part of holds the original transmissions as their foundation, unchanged. It is important to me, as a teacher, to be clear about that lineage.

As noted in the book Angelic Reiki: The Healing for Our Time, Kevin was the mouthpiece for both Archangel Metatron and the Ascended Master Djwhal Khul. What came through wasn't Kevin's own knowledge. It was received, woven together from ancient wisdom and divine transmission, and given specifically as a healing tool for the consciousness shifts of our time.

The system draws on elements of Usui Reiki, Shamballa Reiki, sacred geometry, and Ascended Master teachings, but it is its own complete thing. It works across multiple dimensions of the human energy field in ways that set it apart entirely.

The Key Difference: Who Gives the Attunement

This is the part that surprises most people.

In Usui Reiki, attunements are passed from teacher to student through a human lineage. The teacher opens their own connection to the energy and imprints that onto the student's system. It is a sacred act, and the integrity of the lineage matters. In other words, the consciousness and spiritual development of the teacher inevitably colors what comes through, so you need to pick your teacher wisely.

In Angelic Reiki, the teacher does not give the attunements. The Angelic Kingdom of Light does, through each student's own personal Healing Angel or Angels. The teacher is simply holding space for this to occur. The energy arrives pure, exactly as it was given, untouched by the teacher's own personality, ego, or limitations. This doesn't mean you shouldn't be discerning about who you choose to study with. It simply means the teacher's role is different here, less of a conduit and more of a guardian of the space.

This means every single person who receives an Angelic Reiki attunement receives the same pristine quality of energy, regardless of who facilitated the workshop. And what you are attuned to is breathtaking in its scope. Students are attuned to the 30 Archangels known as the Mighty Sarim, the ten Archangels of the Tree of Life, the 13 Rays of Creation, and their own Galactic Healing Team. Before each attunement, you first receive a karma cutting by Archangel Michael. A soul reconnection process then prepares you to receive the activation in its fullness.

Where the Two Systems Diverge

Both systems work with life force energy. Both bring healing, peace, and restoration. The difference is in how deep that healing goes.

Usui Reiki works primarily at the level of the body's energy field. Blockages, tension, flow, restoration. It is beautiful, effective, and genuinely transformative. For a lot of people, it is exactly what they need.

In my experience, Angelic Reiki goes deeper. It is designed to work at the soul level, reaching not just the surface expression of imbalance but the root beneath it. The karmic imprints. The energetic patterns that keep showing up as recurring struggles, illness, or spiritual stagnation. The subtle thought-forms that conflict with your divine blueprint. The angels work across time on all of this, because they are not bound by it the way we are.

The role of the practitioner is different too. In Usui Reiki, you actively direct the energy. In Angelic Reiki, you hold space as a clear channel and step aside. The Healing Angels guide the session. What moves through goes beyond what any practitioner could call forth on their own.

These Two Systems Are Not in Competition

I want to be clear about this, as someone who has trained in both modalities. These are not rival systems. They are both beautiful modalities and both have a place in this world. I think of them as different instruments in the same orchestra.

Usui Reiki gave me a real foundation. It taught me to sense energy, to trust my hands, to be present with another person's field without projecting my own agenda onto it. That grounding matters, and I am grateful for it.

But some of us have gifts that were always reaching toward something more specific. If you have found yourself spontaneously calling on angels in sessions, or if your healing work carries a multidimensional quality you haven't quite found a container for yet, Angelic Reiki might be exactly what you have been looking for.

It is not just a modality. It is a path of spiritual service and soul remembrance.

So Which Path Is Right for You?

Honestly? Only you know. And if you're reading this, your soul probably already has a sense of the answer.

If you are brand new to energy healing and looking for a gentle, grounded entry point, Usui Reiki is a beautiful place to begin. It is structured, widely practiced, and deeply effective. There is a reason it has spread across the world the way it has. Honor that calling if it's what you feel.

If something in you lit up while reading about the angels, the soul-level work, the Galactic Healing Team, and the idea that the healing comes through you rather than from you, that is worth paying attention to. That recognition is not random. In my experience, people don't stumble across Angelic Reiki by accident. They are led here.

I have been practicing and teaching Angelic Reiki for years, and I have never once watched someone move through a certification without witnessing something profound shift in them. Not because of anything I did, but because of what the angels did. That is the whole point.

If you feel called to experience Angelic Reiki as a recipient, or to train and carry this work yourself, I would love to be part of that journey with you. You can explore upcoming certification trainings or book a personal session at danielleartigo.com. And if you are simply here to learn and feel into what resonates, I am glad you found your way to this page. Trust what you felt while reading.

An Invitation

If you feel the call to Angelic Reiki, I would be honored to walk that path with you. I offer Level 1 & 2 and Level 3 & 4 Certification Trainings in the United States, Canada, and Taiwan, as well as private healing sessions for those seeking deep soul-level support.

You can learn more at danielleartigo.com.

The angels are already with you. Sometimes all that is needed is a door.

Danielle Artigo is an Angelic Reiki Master Teacher, channel, and sacred site pilgrimage leader based in Southwest Florida. She has been channeling Ascended Masters, angels, and the Egyptian Neteru for more than 20 years, and teaches Angelic Reiki certification programs across the US, Canada, and Taiwan.