Are you or a client experiencing visions during Reiki energy work sessions, or are you a practitioner learning to interpret them? Seeing pictures behind closed eyes is an important and beautiful phenomenon, and nothing to be worried about! Read on to learn, firsthand, what these Reiki images mean, and how to work with them for greater clarity and wellbeing.
First, some background about the credentials that lead me to write this article. My name is Lillie, and I’m a Reiki practitioner in Boston who is certified in three kinds of Reiki, and has worked with over 100 clients since 2018. My analysis in this article is from hands-on experience, plus my training and research.
Seeing Visions During Energy Work
During my years as a Reiki professional (and a receiver of energy work from other practitioners), both my clients and I have seen visions behind closed eyes during the session. Here is the big thing I want you to understand about these visions: Even if they seem random or irrelevant, THESE IMAGES ARE IMPORTANT. Pay attention to what pops up! They provide clarity and insights.
Images Behind Closed Eyes
Let me give you a few examples of how to understand seeing visions that really happened during my Reiki sessions. Notice that sometimes the images appear for the practitioner, and sometimes for the client — but both are worth sharing with each other for analysis, either during the Reiki session or after Reiki, because they bring messages and guidance.
1. Images to Clarify the Present.
I was doing a Reiki session with a female client, when I kept getting an image in my head of a terrible date I’d been on, myself, in the past. The vision seemed random and off-topic (much like visions during meditation I’ve had), but I took the chance and said, “I could be off-base here, but have you been experiencing frustration with romance and dating?”
The woman began crying, and affirmed that, yes, her great sadness was she could not seem to find someone kind to date. This vision, and the discussion it spurred, provided a clarifying point for understanding the principal challenge at stake, and gathering our intention to manifest a brighter future of love. (See my article about how a headache after Reiki may be caused by confronting these realities, and how to make it better.)
2. Images to Process the Past.
I was doing couples Reiki with a pair of best friends, when I got an extremely strong vision of the two men walking near a rhododendron bush. I shared the image with them and they laughed, explaining with happiness that they first met many years ago at an outdoor summer camp.
This image affirmed their friendship because it celebrated their years of connection, and the role that nature played in creating and sustaining it. When they left, they vowed to head out to a nearby park for a stroll, since it had been many months since they enjoyed the outdoors. (This is the same pair that spurred my article about making requests.)
3. Visions as Suggestions for Future Healing.
One evening while doing energy work with a woman, I got a strong vision of the client dressed in a beautiful outfit, going out to a restaurant with an adoring partner. I shared this image with her, and tears welled up; it had been too long since she had had that kind of loving attention from her spouse. This vision was giving help for a path forward. Getting this type of attention again WAS possible to achieve: it just needed support of the intention, plus effective communication. Voila: Reiki as life coach!
Visions During Reiki
The focus in my examples was on images I saw behind closed eyes, myself, during Reiki sessions on behalf of clients, but I shared them because they’re still instructive in thinking through how to interpret the visions that YOU experience. The key is to not discount anything that pops into your mind; it’s all important, and has helpful messages.
The nice thing about Reiki is that the practitioner is right there next to you for discussion. What about seeing colors instead of visions? See my full analysis of aura colors.
Something to keep in mind: People sometimes get freaked out by the idea of visions suggesting something creepy for the future, but I really see them as overall illuminating and beneficial. Just as dreams help us process our past experiences, present situations, and future dreams, visions and memories during Reiki can assist our subconscious in guiding us towards happiness.
So what have your experiences been with seeing visions during Reiki sessions? Do share!
Want to read more? Browse my articles on shaking during Reiki, “Is Reiki real?” and Reiki session cost guidance.
The creator of this site, Lillie Marshall, is a Reiki practitioner who is certified in three different kind of energy work, including Usui and Kundalini Reiki. She began her formal training in 2018, and now runs Healing Touch “L” Reiki in Boston, where she has become one of the top-rated practitioners in Massachusetts, conducting hundreds of sessions with clients. Having been a public school teacher for many years, Lillie is passionate about writing articles to educate people far and wide about the wonderful, natural benefits of Reiki for wellbeing and balance. Find her on social media at @HealingTouchL.
piedsnu
Wednesday 29th of May 2024
i am a reiki practitioner and was giving healing to someone with a large tumour. my visions throughout were like coloured traces, a very trippy, yellow submarine kind of vision, nothing clear just wooshes of coloured movements across them. when grounding them I was seeing abstract, primary coloured art. this person is trying a whole range of alternative medicines and therapies before going for conventional treatment. if they can treat the tumour. My thought after the session was that their body was very mixed up, i felt there was a lot going on. To me there were too many different thing happening, nothing was clear, could this be possible if the person is trying so many different medicines and therapies that the energy is confused ? she was sweating after the session. really sweating. as for the abstract art, i told them what i'd seen and they said their mothers best friend is an abstract artist that only paints in primary colours. that session blew my little mind. any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. most of my sessions with others have quite clear visions and colours. another person i gave healing to on the same day, all down the left side was like we were being dusted with beautiful yellow flower pollen. whilst i was on her feet i could see her as the statue of liberty but her body was gold
piedsnu
Wednesday 5th of June 2024
@Lillie Marshall, HI Lillie, I'm sorry to comment again. I just wanted to share what happened this week with the same lady that unfortunately has a tumour. She said she'd had a a good week. I on the other hand had a raging toothache for 4 days. The session went well and at the end just before grounding, I was on her feet. I looked up to start my grounding process, I usually see a tree and follow it down the body and see the roots going into the ground from their feet. This time as I looked up I saw a turquoise blue spine, I followed it up and saw it building into a full spinal column. when i got to the the top there was my lady in lotus position with a band of turquoise or electric blue light radiating from her. I felt a huge wave of emotion. She started to come down and as she did her colours went through waves of all the colours. It really was a beautiful session. I also saw Saturn pulsing when i was over her Solar Plexus. And the part that blew me away was that my toothache was gone at the end of the session. I leant Reiki 20 years ago and became a practitioner 11 years ago, but I only started healing in December last year. It really is a beautiful thing to share, I feel so lucky to be able to be a part of this.
Lillie Marshall
Thursday 30th of May 2024
Very interesting -- thank you for sharing your experiences, and for your work in helping people! Regarding your first session: for the most part, visions and colors tend to be positive (even if there are a lot of them), demonstrating the integration and productive movement of energy, and helpful paths forward. Because we are not medical doctors, do use caution with suggesting courses of treatment for something like she is dealing with; I usually guide clients to discuss with experts in that particular field instead.
Regarding the sweating, I just finished James Nestor's fascinating book, "Breath," which has a suggestion that sweating during meditation or bodywork comes from activating Chi or life force energy, but still being in the process of learning how to channel it. In other words, it's not a negative thing -- the positive is that it means that your session was able to move Chi (or Qi) -- but it does suggest that this person could benefit from continuing meditative and movement practices on their own, too.
For the second session description... what a beautiful image! That would be so interesting to discuss with her, to see her interpretation. For more on gold auras, see this article: https://reikicolors.com/gold-aura/
Best of luck and thank you for taking the time to comment!
Elizabeth Hare
Thursday 16th of May 2024
While doing Reiki on myself while in hospital after hip surgery, I saw two women in what looked like individual photographs. To me, I thought that perhaps they were women who had passed over to the other side in that hospital room. What do you think?
Lillie Marshall
Thursday 16th of May 2024
I tend to think that visions hold helpful messages and guidance, so there are many interpretations of what you saw, but I'd encourage you to go with the one that feels the most helpful and supportive.
Diana
Wednesday 10th of April 2024
I recently became certified for reiki level 1. And at the beginning of my self-practice, as I was meditating in gassho to begin, I saw a small but strong man with red skin, blue shorts, green hands and yellow eyes in a desert scape. He sat cross-legged on the right-hand side of my periphery. He was very still and I felt so calm. I was fascinated by him.
Lillie Marshall
Wednesday 10th of April 2024
So interesting! Thank you for sharing this vision! I encourage you to journal about it to keep exploring the meaning and messages. In one of my trainings, the instructor explained that sometimes the visions we see are "guides."
Caroline
Sunday 10th of March 2024
I just had a reiki session a couple days ago. I always see lots of different colors as she works her way around. But this time when working on my solar plexus I saw yellow almost like a sheet of paper and then it was as if it was burning from the outside in but it wasn’t red like fire, it was bright white and it slowly burned away the yellow until all I saw was white. Then I saw a silhouette of a man and at first I thought he was walking towards me, but then realized he was walking away. Then everything kind of turned blue and I didn’t see what I will explain next, I experienced it. It’s hard to explain. I was on a beach, the ocean waves were crashing and seagulls were squawking and I could hear young children laughing and it was so overwhelmingly joyful that I just broke into tears. It was absolutely amazing. It should be noted, I just got out of a 20 year mentally abusive relationship. So I took it all as a very good omen of the joy that is in front of me.
Lillie Marshall
Sunday 10th of March 2024
Wow — what a profoundly amazing experience! Thank you so much for sharing this, and sending so much good energy for your wonderful new chapters to come.
Margaret Ellis
Tuesday 27th of February 2024
Last night during sound healing and reiki. I first saw rays of purple flying all around. Then I felt hands on my head. The color went away. At some point what seemed to be biblical images of people appeared. Then it transformed to clouds and opened to the sky. Then images of cross then transforming into angel.
I am a massage therapist and sometimes during sessions I have seen images of angels and colors etc. it's all new to me and not sure what to make or do with this?
Lillie Marshall
Tuesday 27th of February 2024
You've come to the right place, and you're not alone! It's a really wonderful trait to be able to see them. For more on purple, here is more information: https://reikicolors.com/purple-aura-meaning/ . My summary is keep enjoying and exploring it -- they are beautiful and useful messages for us about energy flow and paths forward.