Last Updated on November 21, 2022
Reiki is most often called energy healing, considered as a Japanese form of alternative medicine. With the technique known as hands-on healing, Reiki practitioners use their palm to transfer the universal energy onto their patients’ body to heal. Also known as Usui Reiki, it heals not just the physical pain and symptoms, but also the patients’ psychological and spiritual well-being.
Mikao Usui taught the system of Reiki that lets his students connect to the universal life force energy, also known as qi or chi. Reiki is derived from the words “rei” which means spirit, miraculous, and divine, and “ki” which means vital energy. In Japanese-English dictionaries, the word can also mean “feeling of mystery” or “sense of a spiritual divine presence.”
The concept that this ancient healing practice can transfer energy through touch and encompass mental, emotional, and physical healing people. One important element of this healing process is the knowledge about its symbols that can change how the Reiki energy works. In this article, you will better understand and gain insights on:
- the different Reiki symbols and their meanings
- how to use Reiki symbols for healing
- how to activate the symbols for a specific purpose
- the other forms of Reiki
What are the Reiki symbols?
Reiki symbols are teaching tools developed for students to allow them to open the door to a higher mind. People based these symbols on the Japanese writing system known as Kanji. To use these symbols, a Reiki practitioner needs to draw or visualize them to connect to the universal life force and take one’s spirituality to the next level.
You can activate the symbols by drawing, visualization, and chanting. The practitioner used his or her hand to draw while reciting the name of the symbol. One can easily visualize them during the Reiki session with familiarization and practice.
There are symbols that the Reiki practitioners use and call upon during their healing session to take one step further and make the healing even more effective.The benefits of using these symbols affect not just the patients, but also the people practicing Reiki. These are the main Reiki symbols and how they are being used in healing:
The power symbol
Cho ku rei is a power symbol that you can use if you’re looking at increasing or decreasing the amount of power during the healing process. The symbol is a coil drawing that represents its ability to illuminate or enlighten a person spiritually.
Practitioners commonly use this symbol at the beginning of the Reiki symbol to boost the Reiki power in case they need it at any point all throughout the session. It can help heal injuries and relieve light of more serious aches and pains.
The Reiki practitioner, to clear negative energies, can also call the power symbol. The coil symbol can be very useful in areas of your home or room to clear out the negative energy in that space.
This Reiki symbol can also address relationships that need a boost. It can also purify the energy systems that can serve as a protection against misfortune.
The harmony symbol
Symbolizing harmony and intended for purification, sei he ki is a Reiki symbol that is used for mental and emotional healing. The drawn symbol is like the wing of a bird in a flight or a wave sweeping across a beach. This is very much useful for addiction treatments and depression.
Sei he ki means “God and man become one.” The harmony symbol unblocks creative energies and restores a person’s spiritual equilibrium. It also helps purify mental and emotional balance that helps a person recover from past physical or emotional traumas.
The harmony symbol can also improve your memory, ideal for those taking up important examinations and activities that require a sharp memory. Sei he ki symbol also helps a person get rid of his or her vices and bad habits like drinking and smoking too much. While eliminating these bad habits, the harmony symbol can also help you focus more on cultivating positive thinking about yourself and life.
This symbol is also good for treating headaches, which are often caused by emotional and mental instability. The harmony symbol can also make positive affirmations more powerful and serve as a protection from negativity.
The distance symbol
Hon sha ze sho nen, also known as long distance reiki symbol, is an element of Reiki used for long distance healing. It is like a pagoda with a tower-like symbol. Timelessness is its intention, and it brings people who are across time and space.
The distance symbol is essential for any practitioners who would like to address past-life issues of their patients. But rather than changing the past, it helps heal old wounds by having unpleasant experiences reframed and turned into a learning experience. Experts recommend this symbol to be called upon by a Reiki practitioner daily and to be used on the patient’s subtle body.
The master symbol
Dai ko myo is the most sacred symbol in Reiki. Using this symbol intends to have enlightenment and best used during attunement. Drawing the master symbol with the hand is complex, and it requires mastery.
This symbol has the highest vibration and level of energy that encompasses the healing process of the soul, aura, and upper chakras. It also heals the Reiki healers and brings them closer to God, combining the first three Reiki symbols: harmony, power, and distance.
There are several methods of calling upon the master symbol. Healers can draw a series of characters or draw it using your third-eye to visualize it. Some use this symbol to receive its power and nourish their body, before they can give out the energy to heal others.
One can strengthen his or her relationship with self by calling upon this symbol. We may also combine it with other symbols to make it more effective in gaining self-awareness or a more stable spirituality. In a physical sense, the master symbol can also help boost one’s immune system because it cleanses and clears the blockages for a smooth energy flow within the body.
Related: Reiki Sensations and What They Mean?
The completion symbol
Raku is a symbol used in the last stage of the Reiki attunement process, with grounding as its primary intention. When a treatment or session is drawing to a close, Reiki practitioners call upon this symbol to set their patients’ body and seal the awakened life force energy from within. A striking lightning bolt symbol represents it, drawn in a downward gesture to reflect the completion of the healing session.
People use the raku symbol when they are a master Reiki level. The raku Reiki symbol meaning is like a downward zigzag or a lightning bolt as mentioned above. Similar to how savasana is being used at the end of yoga, people use this symbol at the end of the Reiki treatment process to seal and help the patients’ body absorb all the energies.
Reiki practitioners may also benefit from using this symbol, as they may have absorbed all the negative energies from their patients. You can draw this symbol from head to ground. This represents the life force energy that runs down the spine through the energy centers known as chakras.
Using multiple Reiki symbols
We can use the Reiki symbols independent from each other, but they can also be effective when we combine the symbols. Using over one symbol for example can heal a sick person, by just holding that person’s photo and visualizing the power, harmony, and distance symbols thrice each. Chant or recite the person’s name three times to send the positive healing energy his or her way.
Bring positivity along with you when attending a special event or appointment like an interview or meeting with a doctor to clear out all your anxiety and nervousness. Say the names of cho ku rei, sei he ki, and hon sha ze sho nen three times each, and visualize these symbols while asking for positive and calming vibrations. This technique will help you focus on that important event and forget all the doubts and worries.
Other Forms of Reiki
The Usui Reiki healing method has gained traction over the years because of its positive effects in people who have undergone the healing process. There are a lot of types or forms of Reiki passed down from the original Usui Reiki. Knowing the Reiki practice will help you identify which one is best to use for a particular patient or situation.
Karuna Reiki
Used in Buddhism and Hinduism, karuna is a Sanskrit word that means “to diminish the suffering of others or compassionate action.” This type of Reiki is extending the positive energy and love to others, and prajna (wisdom) often accompanies it for an efficient delivery. This type of Reiki allows people to experience enlightenment and realize their thoughts, words, and deeds.
The core of Karuna Reiki is to learn how to understand, accept, and forgive oneself. This requires a higher vibrational approach that includes a lot of meditations. Simply put, Karuna Reiki refers to helping yourself so you can help others because you believe we are all interconnected.
Karuna Reiki, when used together with other Reiki systems, can amplify the practitioner’s ability to channel the universal source of life force energy. It also brings a healer many more Reiki spirit guides that can become extremely useful in healing.
Lightarian Reiki
This type of Reiki is an expansion from Karuna Reiki and the original Usui Reiki, practiced by Reiki Masters who want to continue their spiritual journey to a higher level. Buddha inspires this healing method with self-empowerment as the primary intention.
This type of healing allows a practitioner to deliver the highest level of energy to his or her clients. The benefits of lightarian Reiki includes personal healing, faster and more efficient healing for patients, and spiritual gift development.
Seichim Reiki
Also known and spelled as Sekehem, Seichim Reiki is gentle and feminine that heals with fierce and grace. It uses the power of these four elements: air, water, fire, and spirit. Originating in Egypt, we believe that Sekhmet, the Egyptian Goddess, inspired this type of Reiki healing.
This type of Reiki healing builds the intensity slowly and gently in the treatment’s progress. Essential oils are an important part of this, and the effects of Seichim Reiki can last around four to five days.
The benefits of Seichim Reiki include: rapid healing of physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects, spiritual enlightenment and development, and increased awareness of oneself and the relationship with people. This type of Reiki is very effective, especially for people who are under emotional distress.
Shamballa Reiki
Considered as multi-dimensional healing or Shamballa MDH, this type of Reiki is for personal and spiritual healing. People base this on the belief that every person has undergone a Reiki attunement in the past. People have the power to awaken that again, to heal the world and benefit everyone.
Shamballa Reiki enables one to find deep meditations with the higher spiritual entities, archangels and ascended masters. Shamballa MDH seems to have the influence and teachings of Atlantis, and the spirit of St. Germain who belongs to this origin.
Shamballa operates on a high vibrational plane and therefore allows faster energy transfers at a higher intensity. It operates at the highest energy vibrations and offers access to many metaphysical levels. Someone can only attune himself as a master practitioner to the Shamballa MDH through a lot of practice and meditations.
This type of Reiki brings dominant power and responsibility and can cause one to gain new insights and a higher level of awareness. The understanding of your ‘karmic debts’ will be much clearer, and one must prepare him or herself to face all of them. This guides a person to clear his or her path, leading a way to a spiritual growth.
Related: What Is Violet Flame Reiki? And Why You Should Know
Conclusion
In Reiki healing and symbols, keep in mind that one symbol isn’t less or more powerful than the other. Each of the abovementioned symbols has their own properties and characteristics. Their power and function lies on how a practitioner uses them.
Reiki students need to understand the symbols and their differentiations. It reveals the value and power of each Reiki symbol when the Reiki student has already received a specific Reiki attunement level. It is also essential to practice the use of these symbols to maximize their healing benefits.
The Reiki healing symbols act as gateways to access certain types of energies and entities. Every symbol represents different manifestations of the universal life force energy, depending on how a practitioner uses it and on the intention for healing. We can use them for harmony, balance, concentration, clearing of blockages, aligning chakras, mental and emotional healing, connecting to angels, and opening a dimension.
