The Reiki Symbols Explained: What They Are and When You Learn Them

The Reiki symbols are focusing tools, not spells. Each one is a simple form with a name, and each is given to a student by a teacher during an attunement. If you have wondered what they are and when you would learn them, here is a clear and respectful overview.

What a Reiki symbol actually is

A Reiki symbol is a shape that a practitioner draws in the air, traces with a hand, or pictures in the mind. Alongside the form sits a name, repeated silently, which works rather like a key. The symbol does not create the energy. It gathers the practitioner's attention and intention so the practice has a clear direction.

Traditionally the symbols pass from teacher to student rather than being learned from a page. That is why a class matters more than a diagram, and it is also why practitioners treat them with care.

When you learn them

• Level 1 (Shoden). No symbols. The first level centers on the attunement itself, hand positions, and steady self-practice.
• Level 2 (Okuden). Three symbols are introduced here, along with distance work.
• Master (Shinpiden). The Master symbol is given, together with the ability to attune and teach others.

The three symbols of Level 2

Names and spellings vary between lineages, and the way each symbol is drawn is shown in class. What follows is what each one is traditionally used for.

• The power symbol (Cho Ku Rei). Focuses and concentrates the energy. Practitioners often use it to begin and close a session, or to bring a settled feeling to a room.
• The harmony symbol (Sei He Ki). Works with the emotional and mental side of a person. It is the one practitioners reach for when the intention is calm, balance, and peace of mind.
• The distance symbol (Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen). Bridges space and time, so Reiki can be offered to someone in another city, or held for a moment in the past or a day still ahead.

The Master symbol

The Master symbol (Dai Ko Myo) is given at the teaching level. Practitioners use it in attunements and in their own deepening practice, and it is often described as the symbol that meets the whole person rather than one part. Traditional Usui Reiki works with these four. Later branches of Reiki added others, which is why the symbol charts you find online rarely agree with one another.

How practitioners use them in a session

In practice this is quiet and undramatic. A practitioner might draw a symbol over their palms before beginning, picture one above a client, or silently repeat a name three times while their hands rest. Nothing is announced, and a client usually notices only a warm, settled calm. Reiki still flows where it is drawn. The symbol simply gives the practitioner a clear focus.

Why a book is not the same as a class

You can find pictures of the symbols in minutes. What a picture cannot give you is the attunement, which a teacher passes on directly, and the context that tells you when a symbol suits the moment. Students who learn in a class also get something no diagram offers: someone to ask.

Reiki is a complementary, holistic practice offered alongside, never instead of, conventional medical care. If you have a health concern, please speak with a licensed professional.

Ready to learn them properly?

The symbols open up at Level 2, and every attunement here comes with guidance from me at each step. Explore our Reiki attunements and courses and take the next step in your practice.

Frequently Asked Questions