What Are the Reiki Symbols, and What Do They Mean?

As students progress in Reiki, they are introduced to a set of special symbols, traditionally treated with reverence and once kept secret, each said to serve a particular purpose in the practice. Newcomers often find these symbols intriguing and a little mysterious. Understanding what the main Reiki symbols are, what they traditionally mean, and how to view them honestly demystifies an aspect of Reiki that can otherwise seem arcane. Here is a clear explanation of the Reiki symbols and their meanings.

What the Reiki symbols are

Let us begin with what these symbols are within the practice. The Reiki symbols are a set of traditional symbols, taught at certain levels of Reiki training, that practitioners use as focal points to direct the practice toward particular intentions, such as power, emotional healing, or distance work. Each symbol has a name, a form that is drawn or visualized, and an associated purpose.

Traditionally, these symbols were treated as sacred and kept secret, revealed only to students who reached the appropriate level, though they are now widely published. In practice, a practitioner may draw a symbol in the air or visualize it, with the intention of focusing the Reiki toward its associated purpose. The main symbols are introduced mostly at the second level of Reiki and at the master level. Understanding the symbols as traditional focal tools used to direct intention within the practice, each with a name and purpose, sets the stage for looking at the main symbols individually and then considering how to understand them honestly.

The power symbol: Cho Ku Rei

The first and most commonly used symbol is the power symbol, which is worth understanding first. Cho Ku Rei is known as the power symbol, and its name is often translated along the lines of placing the power of the universe here. It is associated with increasing or focusing the power of the Reiki, and with purposes such as boosting energy, providing protection, and clearing space.

In practice, Cho Ku Rei is used when a practitioner wishes to intensify or concentrate the Reiki, or to focus it on a particular spot, and it is often the first symbol students learn to use. It is the most frequently employed of the symbols, valued in the tradition as a versatile tool for amplifying and directing the practice. As a focal point for the intention of greater power and focus, Cho Ku Rei is central to how symbols are used in Reiki. Understanding it as the power and focus symbol, the workhorse of the set, gives a clear sense of how the symbols function as tools of intention within the practice.

The harmony symbol: Sei He Ki

The second main symbol concerns emotional and mental wellbeing, which is worth understanding next. Sei He Ki is the mental and emotional symbol, often associated with harmony, purification, and emotional and mental healing. Its purpose, within the tradition, is to support balance and the release of emotional and mental difficulties.

Practitioners use Sei He Ki with the intention of helping with emotional healing, calming the mind, releasing negative feelings or patterns, and fostering inner harmony and peace. It is the symbol turned to when the focus is on the emotional and psychological rather than the physical, aiming to soothe and balance the mind and heart. As a focal point for the intention of emotional and mental harmony, Sei He Ki complements the power symbol by addressing inner wellbeing. Understanding it as the symbol for emotional and mental healing and harmony shows how the symbols are mapped to different purposes within Reiki, giving practitioners focal tools for directing the practice toward particular aims, here the soothing of mind and emotions.

The distance and master symbols

The remaining main symbols concern distance work and the master level, completing the traditional set. Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the distance symbol, associated with sending Reiki across space and time, its name often rendered as having no present, past, or future. It is the symbol used in distance Reiki, with the intention of connecting to and sending Reiki to someone not physically present, or to past or future situations.

Dai Ko Myo is the master symbol, the most revered, associated with the master level, with enlightenment and spiritual illumination, and with the highest expression of Reiki; its name is often translated as great bright light. It is used in attunements and is central to the master level of practice. These two complete the four main traditional Usui symbols, the power, emotional, distance, and master symbols, each a focal tool for its associated intention. Understanding the distance symbol for remote work and the master symbol for the highest level rounds out the set, showing the range of purposes the symbols traditionally serve within Reiki practice.

An honest view of the symbols

Honesty about how to understand the symbols keeps them in proper perspective, as with all of Reiki. The Reiki symbols are traditional tools used to focus intention within a practice whose underlying energy is not scientifically established, so the symbols are best understood as meaningful focal points and aids to intention within the Reiki belief system, rather than as objects with proven inherent power.

The symbols do not have magical properties in any demonstrated sense; their role is to help the practitioner focus their intention toward particular purposes, much as any meaningful symbol can help concentrate the mind. Their significance lies in the tradition and the focus they provide, not in a scientifically verified power. This does not diminish the meaning they hold for practitioners, but it places them honestly: as traditional, intention-focusing tools within a spiritual practice, not as proven instruments of energy. Understanding the symbols this way, respecting their role and meaning in the tradition while being clear they are focal aids rather than magically powerful objects, keeps appreciation and honesty in balance, consistent with an honest view of Reiki overall.

Keeping it in perspective

A closing perspective ties it together. The Reiki symbols are a set of traditional symbols, mainly four in the Usui tradition, used as focal points to direct the practice toward particular intentions: Cho Ku Rei for power and focus, Sei He Ki for emotional and mental harmony, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen for distance work, and Dai Ko Myo as the revered master symbol. Each has a name, form, and associated purpose, and they are introduced at certain levels of training.

Honestly understood, the symbols are meaningful focal tools within the Reiki belief system, aids to intention rather than objects of demonstrated power, since the underlying energy is not scientifically established. Appreciate them for their role and meaning in the tradition while keeping this clear-eyed view. And as always with Reiki, the practice and its symbols are best treated as part of a relaxing, meaningful complementary practice rather than a medical treatment, never a substitute for proper care. Kept in this perspective, the Reiki symbols can be understood clearly, demystified yet respected, for what they are within the tradition.

Common questions

What are the four main Reiki symbols? They are Cho Ku Rei, the power symbol for focus and intensifying Reiki; Sei He Ki, the mental and emotional symbol for harmony and emotional healing; Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, the distance symbol for sending Reiki across space and time; and Dai Ko Myo, the revered master symbol associated with the master level and spiritual illumination.

Do the symbols have magical power? Not in any demonstrated sense. The symbols are traditional focal tools used to direct the practitioner’s intention within the Reiki belief system, whose underlying energy is not scientifically established. Their significance lies in tradition and focus, not in scientifically verified power; they are aids to intention rather than magically powerful objects.

When do you learn the Reiki symbols? The symbols are introduced at certain levels of training, with the power, emotional, and distance symbols typically taught at the second level, and the master symbol at the master level. Traditionally they were kept secret until the appropriate level, though they are now widely published.

The bottom line

The Reiki symbols are a set of traditional symbols, mainly four in the Usui tradition, used as focal points to direct the practice toward particular intentions: Cho Ku Rei for power and focus, Sei He Ki for emotional and mental harmony, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen for distance work, and Dai Ko Myo as the revered master symbol of spiritual illumination, each introduced at certain training levels. Honestly understood, they are meaningful focal tools and aids to intention within the Reiki belief system, not objects of demonstrated magical power, since the underlying energy is not scientifically established. Appreciate them for their role and meaning in the tradition while keeping this clear-eyed view, and treat Reiki and its symbols as part of a relaxing complementary practice, never a substitute for proper care.

Sources

This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. The Reiki symbols are part of a spiritual practice, not scientifically established, and Reiki is a complementary relaxation practice, not a treatment for medical conditions. Always continue proper care; use Reiki only as a complement, never a replacement.