Listen to your intuition. It will tell you everything you need to know.
Anthony J. D’Angelo
FIVE SYMBOLS ARE USED in the Usui Reiki attunement process. Four of these symbols are also used in conducting both hands-on and absentia treatments. Much mystery surrounds the Reiki symbols because of the tradition to honor their sacredness and to guard them from the eyes of non-practitioners. However, since they are instantly available on the Internet, this secrecy is no longer possible to maintain, which is why the symbols are pictured in Chapter 8. But, as you’ll learn in this chapter, simply knowing what the symbol looks like—or being able to draw it—is not what activates its power. You must be attuned in order to use the symbols effectively.
In this chapter, you’ll learn about the development, definitions, purposes, and methods of using the Reiki symbols, and you’ll see why they are the subjects of great interest and discussion.
Through Hawayo Takata’s Reiki stories, her students were taught that the Reiki symbols were revealed to Dr. Mikao Usui through spiritual enlightenment on the twenty-first day of his meditation fast on Mount Kurama. According to Takata, Usui had recognized these symbols from his studies of the ancient Sanskrit writings kept in the monastery’s libraries, but before his spiritual awakening on the mountain, he supposedly had no understanding of the meanings or the purpose of these symbols.
However, no definite proof that Usui actually reviewed or studied any Sanskrit documents has ever come to light. Also, the Reiki symbols employed by Usui are formulated from Chinese and Japanese kanji characters, not Sanskrit lettering. Usui either developed the Reiki symbols on his own, or he may have translated them from the ethereal knowledge revealed to him on the mountain by using his own written language, Japanese kanji.
Kanji are modified Chinese characters, originally imported from China. In addition to its use of kanji, the Japanese writing system also relies on hiragana and katakana, alphabetic systems that represent various sounds, as opposed to ideas or words.
For the Japanese, a handwritten kanji is a character equivalent to a written letter, word, or phrase in Western handwriting. Kanji characters are pictograms that represent ideas or words, rather than merely alphabetic letters or syllables of words that you would sound out in order to read. Whereas the word “Reiki” consists of five letters in the English alphabet, in Japanese writings Reiki is pictured as a “kanji-pair.” In other words, Reiki is represented by two individual kanji symbols, often drawn one on top of the other. The top symbol is rei, meaning “universal life,” and the lower symbol is ki, meaning “energy.”
Before the invention of typewriters and computers with Japanese fonts, the Japanese wrote their characters with a paintbrush or pen. There are many versions of “Reiki kanji,” mainly because of the differences in people’s handwriting styles.
Modern Japanese-English dictionaries have quite a few translations for the word “Reiki”:
However he derived them, Usui used the five Reiki symbols as practical teaching tools for his students—the symbols were meant to assist the students in focusing and holding intention while giving treatments and passing attunements.
Energy, in its purest essence, does not possess form, nor is it visually identifiable. However, in the physical world in which we live, the concept of visualizing or touching a structured energy form is often easier to comprehend than visualizing manipulation of shapeless or invisible energy. Usui’s symbols became visual representations of “all that Reiki is.” Usui understood that Reiki is a universal energy. He not only was able to give the symbols to his students as healing tools, but through graphic images, he managed to give Reiki its own universal language.
Imagery truly is a universal language—eye candy for our visual pleasure. Everyday pictures, icons, and symbols are used in our communications to represent our ideas and inspirations. When they are viewed, certain images can signify clear-cut meanings. Consider a glowing light bulb to symbolize a bright idea, the skull and crossbones to warn of poisonous contents, a red heart to indicate love, and the four-leaf clover to suggest good fortune. When we see these easily recognizable images, their associated meanings come to our minds instantly.
When practitioners use Reiki symbols regularly, they soon learn that the power is not in the symbols themselves but in the purposes and intentions that the symbols represent and solidify.
As stated previously, Reiki students are introduced to the first three symbols after they are attuned to Reiki Level II, and those who go on to the Reiki Master/Teacher Level are taught the two remaining symbols. An introduction to Reiki symbols includes learning how to draw them and instruction as to what they mean and how they may be used in Reiki.
Traditionally, any drawings of the Reiki symbols on paper were burned in a ritual at the end of the classes. Sometimes this ritual would be a part of the class. At other times the teacher would perform a private ritual, burning the drawings after the students were gone. Modern teachers who still honor the tradition of keeping the symbols private will either burn the drawings or use a paper shredder so that the paper waste can later be recycled. Other teachers see no harm in allowing students to keep their classroom drawings and may even provide pre-drawn diagrams in handouts that the students can keep for future reference.
Whenever any Reiki symbol is to be used, the practitioner recites it three times. This may be done aloud or mentally as the practitioner traces the symbol in the air over the recipient’s body.
Today, diagrams of the Reiki symbols can be readily found printed in books and displayed on the Internet, so true secrecy is no longer possible.
The Reiki Power symbol is the first symbol presented to Reiki initiates and is the most commonly used Reiki symbol. In fact, it is used more often than all of the other symbols combined. See Figure 8.1.
Reiki practitioners use the Cho Ku Rei symbol by itself or in combination with the other symbols. When conducting an absentia treatment, using two Power symbols as energetic bookends with a Connection symbol sandwiched in between creates a power-packed vacuum space that will travel at lightning speed. When the treatment is delivered, the results can be immediate and far-reaching.
When you draw the symbols on paper, they will appear flat and lifeless. However, if you draw them in the air, they evolve into three-dimensional animated images. It is as if the ki energies breathe life into them. The symbols will float in the air as if they are hanging from a mobile. They will shrink and enlarge and even change colors. The symbols will float across the room where you sit while conducting a full-body treatment on a client. From there you will manipulate the symbols either mentally or with your hands, as needed.
The Power symbol is a wonderful catalyst for the healing process. If you have ever held a purring kitten, you will understand the “motor” vibration associated with the Cho Ku Rei. There is an underlying current, or charge, that resides in the core of the coil of this symbol. The strength of this charge may be subtle at times and revved up high at other times, but even though the energy embedded within the symbol may cool down or unwind, it always maintains a constant pulse.
You can draw the Cho Ku Rei with as many spiral movements as you feel are appropriate for the situation at hand. Printed diagrams of the Cho Ku Rei normally show two-and-a-half coils, but you can draw the Cho Ku Rei with as many coils as you like. Don’t worry about winding up any coil too tightly, and be sure to draw the coils, or spirals, in a counterclockwise direction.
The primary intention of using the Cho Ku Rei is to increase power. This is why it is praised for its manifestation power; it is a metaphysical multiplier. No matter what aspect of your life you desire to increase, Reiki’s Power symbol is an intention tool that can help bring it to fruition. There are many areas in your life that can benefit from the boost of energy provided by the Cho Ku Rei. Listed here are just some of the effects this symbol can have:
The Reiki Harmony symbol is the second symbol Reiki initiates learn in their Level II class. This symbol is used as a purification tool and is also helpful to anyone dealing with emotional or mental disturbances. This is the symbol that assists a person who is trying to break a simple bad habit or overcome the grip of a serious physiological or mental addiction. See Fig. 8.2.
The Sei Hei Ki looks remarkably like a cartoon dragon. Cartoon dragons are not to be feared. Rather, they should be understood and enjoyed as friendly and courageous beings.
Nevertheless, the Reiki dragon is up to the challenge when faced with fighting off adversity. Although the symbol does not show the dragon’s fiery breath, you can easily add it in your imagination. The fire essence within the Sei Hei Ki serves as a purification flame. It scorches addictions and expels negative energies, leaving nothing but smoldering ashes upon the ground, allowing the rebirth of energy in its purest form.
In addition to its label as the Harmony symbol, the Sei Hei Ki is also often named the Protection symbol. In its protective capacity, the Sei Hei Ki can be used as an antiseptic “ointment” before, during, and after surgery. It can also be applied as a protective shield prior to and following purification ceremonies or whenever menacing energies have been removed from a person’s auric field or physical body.
Sei Hei Ki can be used in prayer mantras when asking for personal protection and safe travel conditions before driving, flying, taking a vacation cruise, and so on. The Sei Hei Ki symbol can be placed inside packages as additional insurance for their safe delivery before dropping them off at the post office. This Protection symbol can even be placed in condoms as an extra precaution before indulging in sex.
As with all protective measures, there is no guarantee that using the Sei Hei Ki will be 100 percent effective. If it’s in the cards, a traffic accident or pregnancy could still occur, no matter how many precautions have been taken. However, using the Sei Hei Ki as a cautionary intention in your day-to-day existence is recommended. After all, would you go out without wearing an overcoat if a heavy rainstorm were in the forecast? Of course, you wouldn’t. The Sei Hei Ki is an added protective covering to help you weather the stormy elements of life.
The Reiki Connection symbol is the third symbol taught to Reiki initiates. The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is best known for its use in distance, or absentia, treatments. This symbol has a long reach; it extends beyond time and space. This symbol is also called the Pagoda because of its tower-like appearance—multiple kanji characters are used to create it. More variations have been shown of this symbol than of any of the other Reiki symbols. See Fig. 8.3.
From a visual point of view, the Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is a cosmic shape-shifter. This symbol is extremely adaptable and feels elastic when you work with it. Its form collapses and stretches, as needed, in any application. More so than the other symbols, the Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen seems to exhibit extra flexibility.
All of the Reiki symbols are flexible. Working with these symbols could be described as handling modeling clay. Clay sculptures express what the artist feels. In this same way, the Reiki symbols emulate intentions put forth by the Reiki practitioner.
The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is always used in transmitting absentia, or distance, treatments. It possesses the power of telepathy and is comparable to the electrical wiring that connects telegraph operators on each end of a communication.
The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen also can assist you in making a connection with your inner child. Unresolved childhood traumas and issues tend to get buried inside our subconscious minds, contributing to our adult fears and concerns. Reiki treatments can bring about balance, and will sometimes bring these issues to the surface for healing. When you encounter hurtful memories that were formerly locked up inside a recipient but are suddenly beginning to surface, it is appropriate to apply this symbol to assist the ki movement toward balance and healing.
The Connection symbol serves as the key to accessing information recorded in the Akashic Records. This information is included for individuals who believe in reincarnation. If you believe that you have lived many lifetimes, you probably also believe that when you entered your current incarnation, you brought in talents and knowledge that you attained during previous incarnations. Also, any emotional backlash from pains or sufferings in past lives that were not completely healed would also have been carried into this life at birth.
One school of thought teaches the belief that all of our lifetimes (past, present, and future) are being lived out simultaneously in different dimensions. The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen symbol can extend to past and future lives and treat all dis-eases from all of our lifetimes. Applying Reiki to ailments that originated in previous lifetimes will treat the physical dis-ease during that lifetime, and as a bonus, will also treat any lingering emotional repercussions that were carried over into the present lifetime.
When visualizing the Reiki symbols, pay attention to whether or not they appear balanced. A symbol that appears askew is signaling an imbalance. For example, if you’re conducting a distance treatment and the Cho Ku Rei appears lopsided, it could mean that the recipient’s personal power is diminished. Or, if the Sei Hei Ki appears squashed, it could indicate disharmony. In these cases, ask your Reiki guides to bring balance to the misaligned symbol before sending it off to the recipient.
The Master symbol is possibly the single most coveted Reiki symbol by first- and second-degree practitioners. This is because most people are achievement-oriented. We want to earn the highest badge or be awarded the grandest trophy. See Fig. 8.4.
The energy represented by the Reiki Master symbol is powerful. It represents all that is Reiki, including love and personal empowerment. This is why the Master symbol is included in all levels of attunement. All levels of Reiki practitioners receive the Dai Ko Myo symbol from their teacher through the attunement ritual. It is not an exclusive energy available only to some people; Dai Ko Myo love energy is accessible to everyone.
Being attuned to Reiki Master Level and knowing how to draw the Master symbol are required for teachers in order for them to be able to attune others. But, aside from that, the symbol is seldom, if ever, used. The symbol can be drawn or visualized in healings, but the essence of this symbol is already in the energy of Reiki itself. Probably the only time it might be called upon is whenever you are treating someone who is struggling with self-love.
The last Reiki symbol in the Usui Reiki system is the Raku. This symbol is used only in the final stage of the attunement ritual in order to separate the teacher’s aura from the student’s aura. Its energy is very forceful and should carefully be placed between the two individuals. See Fig. 8.5.
Aside from being used to separate the auras and align the student’s chakras, the Raku has no other use in Reiki. Its appearance is that of a sharp zigzag image that resembles a lightning bolt. The Raku is drawn from top to bottom. An alternate Raku symbol, occasionally used by nontraditional Reiki Masters, resembles a winding snake and represents kundalini energy.
Each symbol carries its own unique energy and has distinct purposes. Once you learn a symbol, spend some time with it individually in order to form a close relationship with it. The symbols are wonderful healing tools, but trying to use them without knowing their full potential or understanding how or when to utilize them will diminish your awareness of the healing process. Meditate on each symbol individually and take note of any sensations and thoughts that surface.
The Reiki symbols are very beautiful, but they have no power by themselves. They are merely visual representations of all that Reiki has to offer. The symbols serve as tools to assist Reiki practitioners when practitioners shape their healing intentions during treatments for themselves and others. Each practitioner develops her own unique relationship with the symbols.