The Healing Power of the “Passe” (Spiritual Touch)

Introduction: The “Passe” – Spiritual Healing through the Laying on of Hands

The Concept behind the Spiritual Touch named “Passe”

What do you know about the healing Power of the “Passe” (Spiritual Touch) in Umbanda, Spiritism and Reiki?

In the healing rituals of Umbanda, Kardecist Spiritism, and related Afro-Brazilian traditions, one sacred gesture stands out for its simplicity and profound impact: the passe. Often described as a form of spiritual cleansing, magnetic healing, or laying on of hands, the passe is a ritual through which healing energy is channeled from spiritual sources to an individual in need—typically via the intermediary of a human medium.

Although there is no exact one-to-one translation in English, the concept of the passe overlaps with various global healing traditions. Terms like “energy healing”, “magnetic pass”, “therapeutic touch”, or even “spiritual laying on of hands”are frequently used in English-speaking contexts. In the broader field of complementary therapies, similar methods appear in Reiki (from Japan), Johrei (a Japanese spiritual healing using “divine light”), and Therapeutic Touch (a nursing-adapted practice in the West). All of these share the central idea that life energy can be intentionally transmitted for physical, emotional, and spiritual benefit.

The Link between Spiritism and Afro-American Traditions

However, it’s important to clarify that the passe is not an originally African practice. The idea of channeling energy through hand movements in a codified way is more aligned with European Spiritism, particularly the works of Allan Kardec, who formalized such ideas in 19th-century France. In Kardecist philosophy, the passe involves the transmission of magnetic fluids from a medium—sometimes aided by benevolent spirits—to rebalance the patient’s vital energy or perispirit (spiritual body).

But in the dynamic, syncretic context of Brazil—particularly in spiritual communities that blend Umbanda, Kimbanda, and Kardecist Spiritism—this technique has been adopted and transformed. Mixed houses (casas mistas) often combine Spiritist passes with the invocation of Orishá energies, Pontos Cantados (sacred songs), and herbal cleansings (banhos). While the passe itself may not be of Yoruba origin, in practice it has been Africanized and spiritually reinterpreted, forming a bridge between European metaphysics and African cosmology. In these hybrid rituals, a medium might channel both spiritual light and àṣẹ—the dynamic, activating energy present in all things according to Yoruba cosmology.

This blog will take you on a multidimensional journey through the world of the passe, its Spiritist roots, its resonance with global healing practices, and its emerging scientific validation. We’ll also explore how concepts from Yoruba and Ifá philosophy can enrich our understanding of this practice, even if it did not originally emerge from African soil.

As modern healing movements increasingly seek to integrate body, mind, and spirit, the passe stands as a powerful ritual—both symbolic and somatic—offering relief, alignment, and spiritual care to those open to receiving its blessings.

The “Passe” in Umbanda: Sacred Energy in Motion

In the ritual space of Umbanda, the passe is much more than a gesture—it’s a spiritual technology. Often delivered during giras (spiritual gatherings), passes are performed by mediums who serve as channels for healing energy from benevolent spiritual entities, known as Guias or Orixás incorporados. These entities can include spirits of light (espíritos de luz), such as Caboclos, Pretos Velhos, or Erês, each bringing their unique energetic frequency, purpose, and healing modality.

How a Passe Works in Umbanda

Typically, during a session:

The patient (or assistido) sits or stands, often in a designated part of the terreiro.
A medium, often in a light trance, performs specific hand movements in the energy field around the patient’s body.
These gestures may include sweeping motions (passes longitudinais), crosswise gestures (passes transversais), or a combination tailored to the spiritual diagnosis of the case.

There is rarely direct physical contact—rather, the etheric field around the person is engaged. The medium may pray silently, invoke spiritual guides, or sing pontos (sacred chants) to elevate the vibrational frequency of the space.

Types of Passes

Umbanda practice identifies multiple types of passes:

Magnetic Pass: The medium projects their own vital energy (fluido vital) toward the patient.
Spiritual Pass: A spirit guide (through incorporation or influence) transmits energy through the medium.
Mixed Pass: Combines both the medium’s energy and that of the spiritual entity.

Each type serves different needs—some for energetic clearing, others for vitalization, emotional balance, or even spiritual guidance. The act is often intuitive but rooted in esoteric knowledge passed down through Pai and Mãe de Santolineages.

Why It’s Effective in Practice

Though the passe may seem “simple,” practitioners understand it as a complex act of spiritual and energetic recalibration. The preparation of the space is key:

smoking rituals (defumação) to clear the environment,
drumming rhythms (atabaques) to align vibrational states,
and the moral and emotional posture of the medium, which directly affects the quality of the energy transmitted.

Mediums are often trained not just to open themselves to spirit but to maintain personal spiritual hygiene, so they do not pass their own imbalances to the recipient.

Inclusion of Orisha Energies

In mixed houses where Umbanda overlaps with Candomblé or Kimbanda, passes are sometimes given in the name of Orishas. For example:

A Caboclo of Oshóssi may deliver a passe to improve mental clarity and focus.
A Pomba Gira aligned with Oyá might clear emotional blockages or unresolved grief.
In rare but powerful moments, the pass is accompanied by herbal washes (banhos) or spiritual dispatches(despachos) to reinforce the cleansing.

This blending of Kardecist technique with Yoruba cosmology reveals how Brazilian spirituality is not bound by theological purity, but instead by practical, experiential wisdom—what works for healing is kept, adapted, and respected.

In the next chapter, we’ll shift focus to where the passe came from originally: European Spiritism and the work of Allan Kardec—and how his theories shaped healing practice across Brazil.

Spiritism and the Kardecist Tradition: The Magnetic Roots of the Passe

To fully understand the passe, one must return to 19th-century France, where Allan Kardec laid the foundations of what would become Spiritism. In his key works—The Spirits’ Book (1857), The Mediums’ Book (1861), and others—Kardec presented a rational, structured approach to the spirit world, blending philosophy, science, and moral instruction.

The Theory Behind the Passe: Magnetism and Moral Fluids

At the core of Kardecist healing lies the idea of magnetic fluid, a concept influenced by Mesmer’s animal magnetism. According to this view:

All living beings emit an energetic field—a vital fluid (fluido vital) that can be directed with intention.
The perispirit (perispírito)—a semi-material subtle body connecting the physical and spiritual—is the recipient of this energy.
Illness is often seen as a disruption or imbalance in this fluidic system, not just at the physical but also at the moral level.

The passe in Spiritism is thus a deliberate transfer of magnetized energy—either from the medium alone (magnetic pass), from spirits (spiritual pass), or both (mixed pass). This targets to rebalance the perispirit and stimulate self-healing.

Moral Energy and Mediumship

Importantly, ethical and emotional purity of the medium plays a crucial role in Kardecist passes. A medium must:

Cultivate humility, charity, and discipline.
Avoid anger, vanity, or desire for power, as these disrupt the flow of clean energy.
Prepare through prayer, study, and abstinence from harmful habits.

As Kardec wrote, the act of healing is not supernatural, but based on laws of nature we don’t yet fully understand—an early vision of what we might today call bioenergetic physics or psychophysiology.

How the Passe Differs from Prayer or Blessing

Unlike silent prayer, the passe is directed and intentional. It involves:

Movements of the hands above or around the body.
A specific mental state of the medium, focusing on channeling energy for a particular healing effect.
Often performed in collective spiritual sessions, such as healing meetings (reuniões de desobsessão), where groups of mediums work together to treat spiritual or emotional disturbances.

Spiritism Meets Umbanda

In Brazil, Spiritism took root not just in intellectual circles but in popular religion. It met African-based traditions and merged into Umbanda, where passes were adapted to serve not only moral or spiritual healing, but energetic clearingand ancestral reconnection.

This is how the “scientific” passe of Kardec became infused with Afro-Brazilian cosmology—not just healing the perispirit, but aligning the patient with their ancestral force, Orishá path, and collective energy field.

As a result, the passe today is a cultural hybrid: part Spiritist magnetism, part African cosmology, and fully Brazilian in its power and creativity.

In the next chapter, we’ll explore how similar concepts of energy healing exist worldwide, especially in Reiki, Johrei, and Therapeutic Touch, and what unites them with the passe across cultures.

Global Connections: Reiki, Johrei, and Therapeutic Touch

The passe may be uniquely rooted in Brazil’s spiritual soil, but it resonates with a global family of energy-healing practices. From Japanese mountain temples to North American hospitals, the idea that one can transmit healing energythrough intention and hands is surprisingly universal.

Reiki: Universal Life Energy from Japan

Perhaps the most widely known cousin of the passe is Reiki, a practice developed in early 20th-century Japan by Mikao Usui. The word “Reiki” means:

Rei (霊) – meaning “spiritual” or “universal”
Ki (気) – meaning “vital energy,” similar to prana in India or àṣẹ in Yoruba

In Reiki:

Practitioners place their hands on or near the patient’s body in a series of positions.
The goal is to channel universal energy to promote emotional and physical healing.
Like the passe, Reiki emphasizes intention, meditative presence, and the cultivation of inner balance in the healer.

Ricardo Monezi’s doctoral research (which we will explore in detail in the next chapter) found that Reiki has measurable effects on stress markers, including muscle tension, skin conductivity, and emotional well-being—offering important scientific parallels to Spiritist ideas of fluidic rebalancing.

Johrei: Purification through Divine Light

Another Japanese spiritual practice, Johrei, offers a variation on the theme. Founded by Mokichi Okada in the 1930s, Johrei is:

A non-contact healing using spiritual light (hikari) transmitted from the hand.
Intended to purify the spirit and remove negative energy causing illness.
Deeply rooted in the idea that spiritual harmony precedes physical health.

While Johrei does not involve spirit incorporation like Umbanda, it shares the belief that divine energy can be guided by human intention to cleanse and restore.

Therapeutic Touch: Energy Healing in Hospitals

In the 1970s, nurses Dora Kunz and Dolores Krieger developed Therapeutic Touch (TT) in the United States. This technique:

Involves assessing the patient’s energy field and modulating it with hand movements, without touching the body.
Is often used in clinical settings, especially in palliative care, oncology, and geriatrics.
Has been studied for its effects on pain, anxiety, wound healing, and even heart rate variability.

Though its language is secular and Western, TT shares the same core assumptions as the passe: that human beings have a subtle energy field, and that intentional contact can heal.

A Universal Gesture, Many Cultures

Whether called passe, Reiki, Johrei, or therapeutic touch, the essence remains strikingly consistent:

A belief in a life force or energy field
The use of hands to channel or guide this energy
A moral or spiritual preparation by the healer
A goal of restoring harmony, vitality, or spiritual clarity

This convergence across traditions invites us to ask: is energy healing part of human intuitive wisdom, manifesting across cultures under different names? And if so, might the passe be a Brazilian expression of a far older, global phenomenon?

In the next chapter, we’ll dive deeper into the science behind these practices. Using Ricardo Monezi’s groundbreaking research, we’ll see how Reiki, and by extension practices like the passe, affect the body and mind on a measurable level.

Scientific Inquiry: What Research Says About Energy Healing

For decades, energy healing practices like the passe, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch were dismissed by mainstream science as “placebo” or “folk belief.” But a growing body of research is beginning to challenge that dismissal—not with mysticism, but with data.

One of the most robust studies in this area comes from Dr. Ricardo Monezi Julião de Oliveira, whose 2013 PhD dissertation at UNIFESP (Federal University of São Paulo) rigorously evaluated the psychophysiological effects of Reiki on elderly individuals suffering from stress.

While Monezi’s research focused on Reiki, the parallels with the Spiritist “passe” are strong enough that his findings offer critical insight into how such energetic practices may work in general.

The Study Design: Science Meets Subtle Energy

Monezi’s research was:

Randomized: Participants were randomly assigned to a Reiki group or a placebo group.
Placebo-controlled: The placebo group received non-energetic mimicry of the hand movements, without the practitioner’s intention or energetic activation.
Double-blind in execution: Neither the participants nor the data analysts knew who received Reiki and who received placebo.

The participants were elderly volunteers showing symptoms of stress—an ideal population due to their vulnerability to stress-related health issues and their openness to complementary therapies.

What Was Measured?

The study focused on both psychological and physiological indicators, including:

Stress symptoms (via the Lipp Stress Symptom Inventory)
Anxiety and depression (Beck inventories)
Self-reported well-being and muscular tension
Peripheral body temperature (as a measure of vascular relaxation)
Electromyographic (EMG) activity in facial muscles (indicating muscle relaxation)
Skin electrical conductance (a common stress marker)

The Results: Measurable Change in Body and Mind

After eight weeks of treatment, the Reiki group showed significant improvements in nearly every metric compared to the placebo group:

✅ Lower stress and anxiety levels
✅ Reduction in depression symptoms
✅ Improved sense of well-being
✅ Reduction in muscle tension (as measured by EMG)
✅ Increase in peripheral skin temperature, suggesting relaxation
✅ Lower skin electrical conductance, reflecting decreased arousal

In contrast, the placebo group showed little to no significant improvement.

What This Means for the Passe

Although Monezi’s study was grounded in Reiki, the implications for the Spiritist or Umbanda passe are powerful:

Both involve non-invasive hand movements over the energy field
Both depend on the intention and inner state of the healer
Both aim to re-balance the energy field of the recipient
Both result in real, measurable effects on stress physiology

If Reiki—a system external to Brazil—can show such effects in clinical settings, then passes performed with spiritual intention, orixá invocation, and ancestral alignment may offer an even broader spectrum of healing potential, especially when performed in culturally resonant ways.

Not Just Placebo

One of the most common critiques of spiritual healing is that it works “just because people believe in it.” But Monezi’s placebo-controlled design shows something more: when practitioners perform healing with focused intention and energetic alignment, it has effects even beyond expectation.

This suggests that the mechanism of action lies not only in belief, but possibly in the interaction between consciousness, the human biofield, and autonomic regulation—areas now being explored in frontier sciences like psychoneuroimmunology and bioelectromagnetics.

In the next chapter, we’ll explore how these effects might actually work from a scientific and energetic perspective. How can invisible hands create real change in the nervous system? What is the biofield hypothesis, and could it explain what the ancients have always known?

The Biofield and Mind-Body Science: Bridging Spirit and Physiology

How is it that someone simply passing their hands near your body—without touching you—can reduce stress, relieve pain, or even shift your emotional state? For centuries, spiritual traditions had answers: life force energy, àṣẹ, prana, ki, spiritual fluids. Today, science is beginning to build a framework that might explain these phenomena—at least partially—under the emerging concept of the biofield.

What Is the Biofield?

The biofield is a term used to describe the complex electromagnetic and subtle energy system that surrounds and interpenetrates the human body. While not yet universally accepted in biomedical science, it has growing traction in integrative medicine, supported by:

Research in bioelectromagnetics and cellular signaling
Studies showing low-frequency electromagnetic fields can affect tissue regeneration, immune response, and emotional regulation
Theories from quantum biology suggesting that coherence in biological systems might arise from subtle energy interactions

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the biofield refers to “energy fields that purportedly surround and penetrate the human body and are associated with health and healing” (NCCIH, 2020).

How Intention Alters Physiology

Central to biofield-based healing is conscious intention. Studies in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) show that:

Mental states like compassion, attention, or prayer can influence autonomic nervous system activity
Changes in heart rate variability (HRV), cortisol levels, and immune cell behavior have been observed during focused intention practices
Healers may emit altered electromagnetic signals from their hands during healing sessions (measurable via SQUID devices or magnetometers)

This supports the idea that mediums and Reiki practitioners might be modulating real energetic signatures, which interact with the recipient’s body to trigger relaxation, pain relief, and homeostasis.

Touch Without Contact: The Language of Fields

Interestingly, the effects of passes and Reiki occur without direct touch. How is this possible?

The answer may lie in the body’s own electromagnetic field:

The heart emits the strongest field, measurable up to 2–3 meters from the body.
Cells communicate via electrical pulses and photons, and these signals can be coherently disrupted or harmonized by external fields.
The hands, particularly in trained healers, may act as antennas or amplifiers of intentional energy.

Monezi’s findings of changes in skin conductance, EMG, and temperature align with this idea—showing that healing may be informational as much as energetic.

Energy, Emotion, and the Nervous System

From a neurobiological standpoint, healing passes may work by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system—the branch responsible for “rest and digest” functions:

Hand movements and slow breathing may act as non-verbal cues of safety.
The recipient’s mirror neurons and interoceptive system respond to the healer’s calm focus, triggering relaxation responses.
Emotional safety allows suppressed traumas or stress responses to release, much like in somatic therapy.

These mechanisms don’t cancel out spiritual explanations. In fact, they provide a dual-language: one physiological, one metaphysical. Just as the perispirit in Spiritism serves as a bridge between body and soul, the biofield might be the bridge between neuroscience and sacred healing.

Why This Matters for the Passe

When performed in the emotionally attuned, spiritually centered context of Umbanda, Spiritism, or Reiki, the passebecomes more than a ritual. It becomes a coherent, intentional intervention that:

Engages ancient wisdom (fluido vital, àṣẹ)
Activates biological mechanisms (nervous system, immune modulation)
Offers both spiritual and scientific legitimacy

This convergence doesn’t dilute either side—it enhances both. As modern humans, we can embrace both our spiritual depth and our need for empirical understanding.

In the next chapter, we’ll explore when and why the passe works—or doesn’t. What makes a healing session successful? What blocks it? And what role do belief, emotional readiness, and spiritual harmony play?

Why the Passe Works (and When It Doesn’t)

If passes and energy healing are so effective, why don’t they always work? Why do some people feel transformed after a single session, while others report little to no change?

These are important questions—not just for skeptics, but for healers, mediums, and spiritual workers seeking to offer authentic care. The answer lies at the intersection of spiritual alignment, emotional readiness, and energetic dynamics.

Healing Requires Receptivity

Every experienced medium knows: the most powerful passe won’t help if the recipient is not open to receive. This doesn’t mean belief is mandatory—but emotional and energetic resistance can block the healing process. Common obstacles include:

Fear or mistrust of the ritual or healer
Repressed trauma or guilt that resists exposure
Disconnection from one’s own body or feelings
Expecting a cure without inner participation

Healing, whether spiritual or scientific, often requires the patient to surrender, soften, and engage with the process. As the Yoruba proverb says:

“Ẹni tí kò bá fi gbogbo ara rẹ̀ gbà àwẹ̀, kì í rí ìmúlẹ̀.”
“The one who does not commit their whole being to the cleansing will not find stability.”

Spiritual Alignment of the Healer

In both Umbanda and Spiritism, the moral character and energetic hygiene of the healer are seen as critical. A passe is not just technique—it’s a transmission of consciousness. If the medium is:

Distracted, angry, or egotistical
Spiritually unprepared (e.g., no prayer, no fasting, no grounding)
Working without protection or ethical boundaries

…then the energy transmitted may be chaotic, impure, or even harmful.

This is why in traditional houses, mediums go through years of initiation, mentorship, and purification before performing healing work. In Umbanda, this includes ritual grounding, spirit incorporation training, and energetic cleansings with herbs and baths.

Spiritual Interference and Karmic Factors

In some cases, spiritual interference—known in Kardecist terms as obsessores (obsessing spirits)—can block or distort the effects of a passe. Likewise, in Yoruba-based traditions, unresolved ancestral issues, spiritual contracts, or Ẹgbẹ(spiritual twin) imbalances may resist healing until addressed through deeper rituals.

In these moments, a simple passe may need to be complemented by stronger interventions:

Ebós (sacrificial offerings or spiritual payments)
Ancestral appeasement rituals
Prayers to guardian spirits or Orishás
Shadow work and emotional release

This reminds us that healing is rarely one-dimensional. The passe may start the process—but real transformation often requires ongoing spiritual and emotional integration.

The Power of Intention, Not Magic

A passe is not a magical fix. It is a facilitator—an energetic nudge toward balance. The recipient must:

Accept the process
Reflect on their life and habits
Sometimes change behavior to maintain the healing

This aligns with Kardec’s view that true healing requires moral transformation. And it aligns with African diasporic wisdom that healing is tied to relationship—with self, ancestors, community, and spirit.

What Success Looks Like

Success in energy healing is not always dramatic. It may appear as:

A sudden emotional release after years of numbness
A night of deep sleep after months of insomnia
Subtle peace that grows over days
Insights that lead to life changes

As Monezi’s research showed, measurable physiological shifts often occur before the conscious mind catches up. Healing is a process, not a performance.

In the next chapter, we’ll explore how Yoruba and Ifá philosophy contributes unique wisdom to this process—revealing how concepts like àṣẹ, èmí, and Orisha cosmology can help us understand and expand the idea of the passe in Afro-diasporic contexts.

Yoruba Wisdom and Energetic Healing: Àṣẹ, Èmí, and the Spirit Behind the Passe

While the passe itself is not an original African ritual, its energy-based logic resonates deeply with traditional Yoruba cosmology. In spiritual houses that blend Umbanda, Kimbanda, and Orisha worship, the passe is often enhanced by ancestral and Orisha energies—even if not formally codified in traditional Ifá practice.

This is more than fusion. It’s a reflection of how African spirituality adapts and transforms, making space for tools that help realign the individual with the sacred.

The Non-African Origin of the Passe

First, let’s be clear: the passe does not exist in classical Ifá or Yoruba liturgy. There are no ancient West African rites involving magnetic passes or hand gestures in the style of Kardecism.

However, in Brazil, where African, Indigenous, and European traditions merged, Spiritist practices like the passe were quickly intertwined with African understandings of energy and healing. In mixed-lineage terreiros, it’s common to hear that a passe is being done “with the energy of Xangô” or “guided by the wisdom of a Preto Velho.”

This doesn’t imply theological contradiction—it reflects the adaptive genius of Afro-diasporic religion: functionality over dogma.

Key Yoruba Concepts: Àṣẹ, Èmí, and Orí

Yoruba spiritual science rests on a powerful triad of energetic principles:

Àṣẹ: The divine life force that makes things happen. It’s not just energy; it is activated intention. Everything that exists and acts does so through àṣẹ. When a healer lays hands (or intention) upon someone, it is àṣẹ that animates the act.
Èmí: The breath of life, the vital soul. It is the energetic component that connects the physical body to the divine. A healthy èmí reflects emotional balance and spiritual openness.
Orí: Literally “head,” but spiritually, one’s personal destiny and spiritual consciousness. Healing that does not align with the Orí is incomplete, which is why divination (through Ifá or Obi) often precedes deeper healing work.

In this framework, a healing pass is not just about pushing energy. It is about reconciling these forces—recharging èmí, awakening àṣẹ, and aligning with Orí.

Orisha Involvement in Energy Work

While traditional Orisha worship focuses on offerings, dance, and initiation rites, Orishas are also embodiments of vibrational archetypes. Some examples:

Ọ̀ṣun governs sweetness, healing waters, and emotional restoration. A passe conducted with her presence can ease grief, soothe the heart, and unlock self-love.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà, the Orisha of wisdom, brings insight and energetic diagnostics, helping mediums sense where spiritual blockages lie.
Ọya governs transformational winds and the ancestral portal. Her presence can help blow away spiritual debris or connect the recipient with unhealed ancestral karma.

In mixed rituals, even a Kardecist-style passe may be spiritually “powered” by these energies—whether consciously invoked or intuitively present.

Odù Ifá and Proverbs on Healing and Balance

Yoruba sacred texts are rich in insights about energy and restoration. Consider this line from Odù Òfún Méjì:

“Àìlera ò kàn ara nìkan, ó tún kàn ọkàn.”
“Illness does not touch the body alone—it also touches the soul.”

This proverb echoes the multidimensional nature of healing. Whether through a passe, a bath, or an offering, true healing must address both spirit and soma.

Another teaching from Odù Ìrosùn Òsá says:

“Ẹ̀mí tí a fi wọ́ ayé ni ká pa dáadáa, kó má bàjẹ́.”
“We must care well for the spirit with which we entered the world, so it does not deteriorate.”

This reminds us that energetic and emotional cleansing (like a passe) are not luxuries—they are spiritual maintenancefor our divine mission.

A Cosmology of Connection

Whereas Spiritism speaks of perispirit and magnetic fluid, and science of the biofield, Yoruba philosophy offers something older and deeper: a living network of ancestral, cosmic, and elemental energies. Healing in this system is not about “fixing” but about restoring flow and relational harmony—with one’s Orí, ancestors, the natural world, and the divine.

When a passe is given in this context—with herbs, with Orisha chants, with prayers to Egún (ancestors)—it becomes more than a pass. It becomes a ritual of reconnection.

In the final chapter, we’ll bring all of this together—Spiritism, science, Yoruba wisdom—into a vision for how the passecan serve as a bridge between worlds, and a tool for planetary healing in our modern age.

Conclusion: The Passe as a Bridge Between Worlds

The passe—a humble gesture of spiritual care—might seem small. But as we’ve seen, it contains an entire universe of meaning. From the ritual spaces of Umbanda and Spiritism, to the clinics exploring Reiki and therapeutic touch, and the ancestral philosophies of Yoruba cosmology, the passe emerges as a bridge: between tradition and science, between the seen and unseen, and between healer and soul.

A Universal Gesture, Rooted in Culture

While the passe is uniquely Brazilian in its form, it is part of a global grammar of healing—an ancient instinct to use our hands, hearts, and intention to bring others back into harmony. Whether in:

A terreiro in Salvador,
A Spiritist center in Rio,
A Reiki clinic in Tokyo,
Or a hospital in Boston,

…the gesture is the same: hands raised, mind focused, heart open.

Scientific Legitimacy and Spiritual Depth

Through the research of scholars like Ricardo Monezi, we now know that energy-based healing is not just symbolic. It creates measurable changes in:

Muscle tension
Skin conductance
Stress biomarkers
Emotional well-being

But these changes aren’t just the result of touching the body—they’re the result of touching the soul, recalibrating the nervous system, and invoking something sacred and timeless.

The science doesn’t replace the mystery. It honors it.

Healing in the Age of Crisis

We live in an era of global stress, spiritual disconnection, and over-medicalized care. The passe, and energy work like it, offers a counter-narrative: healing is relational, spiritual, and rooted in cultural knowledge.

It reminds us that:

Not all medicine comes in a pill.
Not all pain is physical.
And not all healing is linear.

In a time where technology dominates, these ancestral gestures reclaim the sacred power of presence.

A Call to Practitioners and Seekers

If you are a medium, Reiki healer, spiritual worker, or researcher, this is your time. The world needs:

Healers who are both humble and trained
Rituals that are both culturally grounded and ethically aware
Research that is both rigorous and reverent

The passe—in its Spiritist, Umbanda, or hybrid form—can be a key part of this global healing movement. Not because it’s trendy, but because it works—body, mind, and soul.

Final Thought

The Yoruba say:

“Ayé ló máa yá, òrun ò ní yá.”
“The world may shake, but the spirit world never does.”

In a world of chaos, let your hands be steady. Let your intention be clear. Let your passe be not just a gesture—but a prayer in motion.

📚 Further Reading & Resources

Monezi, R. J. de O. (2013). Efeitos da prática do Reiki sobre aspectos psicofisiológicos e de qualidade de vida de idosos com sintomas de estresse. UNIFESP.
Allan Kardec – The Spirits’ Book and The Mediums’ Book
Cunha, L. B. da – Raízes do Candomblé
Moraes e Silva, C. – Umbanda: A Proto-Sociology of Spirit Possession
NIH NCCIH – Research on biofield and integrative medicine: https://www.nccih.nih.gov

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