The three Reiki symbols are Cho Ku Rei (the Power Symbol), Sei He Ki (the Harmony Symbol), and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (the Distance Symbol). These are the core symbols taught during Usui Reiki Level 2 training, and each one serves a distinct purpose: amplifying energy, supporting emotional balance, and sending healing across distance or time.
A fourth symbol, Dai Ko Myo, exists at the Master level (Level 3), but when people refer to “the three Reiki symbols,” they almost always mean the Level 2 trio. Here’s what each one does and how practitioners use them.
Cho Ku Rei: The Power Symbol
Cho Ku Rei roughly translates to “place all the powers of the universe here,” and its primary function is straightforward: it amplifies energy. Practitioners call it the Power Symbol because it acts like a switch that intensifies the flow of Reiki energy and concentrates it in a specific area. If Reiki energy is a garden hose, Cho Ku Rei turns up the water pressure.
In practice, Cho Ku Rei is the most versatile of the three symbols. Practitioners use it to boost the strength of a healing session, clear negative or stagnant energy from a person or space, create a sense of energetic protection, and focus healing on a particular part of the body. Some practitioners also apply it to food, water, or objects as a form of energetic cleansing. The direction it’s drawn matters: clockwise is used to amplify energy, while counterclockwise is used to reduce or release it.
Because of its amplifying nature, Cho Ku Rei is often drawn at the beginning of a session to “power on” the energy flow, and again at the end to seal the work.
Sei He Ki: The Harmony Symbol
Sei He Ki translates loosely to “God and humanity become one” or “Earth and sky meet.” Where Cho Ku Rei works broadly with energy intensity, Sei He Ki targets emotional and mental healing specifically. It’s designed to bring the thinking mind and the feeling heart into alignment.
Practitioners use Sei He Ki to help soothe emotional turmoil, particularly feelings of anxiety, fear, and anger. The idea is that it dissolves entrenched negative thought patterns and limiting beliefs, creating space for clarity. Some Reiki practitioners also use it to address creative blocks or difficulty expressing oneself authentically. If Cho Ku Rei is about power, Sei He Ki is about balance. It fosters harmony between thought and emotion, which is why it’s sometimes called the Harmony Symbol rather than the Emotional Symbol.
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen: The Distance Symbol
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the most complex of the three, both in its name (which translates to “no past, no present, no future”) and in its concept. This is the Distance Symbol, and its purpose is to allow practitioners to send Reiki energy across physical distance and across time.
Distance healing is the core application. A practitioner uses Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen to create what’s described as a spiritual bridge to a specific person, situation, or event, regardless of where or when it exists. That means it can be directed toward a person in another city, toward a past experience that still carries emotional weight, or toward a future event like a surgery or job interview. The underlying principle is that this symbol’s energy transcends the boundaries of time and space.
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen also has a reputation for helping dissolve energetic blockages rooted in past experiences, which practitioners believe can free someone to access their full potential in the present. For maximum effect, practitioners typically use it in combination with the other two symbols. The standard sequence is to activate all three together: Cho Ku Rei to power the energy, Sei He Ki for emotional clarity, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen to direct it across distance or time.
How Practitioners Activate the Symbols
Reiki symbols aren’t passive images you simply look at. Practitioners activate them by drawing the symbols from memory, either on their palms, in the air with their fingers, or over the receiver’s energy centers. Some practitioners trace them with their eyes through visualization alone. The symbols can also be drawn in a room or meditated on individually for a desired effect. In all cases, the practitioner must have received the Level 2 attunement from a Reiki master before the symbols are considered “activated” for their use.
Why Only Three at Level 2
The Usui Reiki system is structured in layers. Level 1 focuses on channeling energy at the physical level. Level 2 introduces the three symbols above, expanding the practice into mental, emotional, and distance work. Level 3, the Master level, adds Dai Ko Myo, which focuses on spiritual awakening and higher consciousness. Some practitioners spend years or even a lifetime progressing to Level 3, though it’s not required. The three Level 2 symbols form the practical core of Reiki work, and many practitioners build an entire practice around them without ever pursuing the Master level.