The Reiki attunement process is how one becomes a Reiki pracitioner. Being attuned to Reiki gives one the ability to easily access the Reiki (Universal Life Force) energy, for the purpose of healing a person or situation. Attunements can be given for either the purpose of training one in Reiki, or for simply giving someone a larger experience of Reiki than usually experienced in treatments.
The attunement procedure is a ceremony of spirit. In this ceremony the Reiki master uses the Reiki symbols and other gestures in a prescribed way. This ceremony creates an energy pattern around the recipient of the attunement which entrains (or attunes) their energy field to the energies represented by the symbols. The attunement is permanent, thus making the recipient a Reiki practitioner, only if the master uses the symbol for the "subconscious". If this symbol is not used the entrainment is temporary only.