There are four main symbols in Usui Reiki, each drawn as a specific pattern and spoken as a Japanese phrase. They are Cho Ku Rei (the power symbol), Sei He Ki (the emotional healing symbol), Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (the distance healing symbol), and Dai Ko Myo (the master symbol). Practitioners learn these symbols progressively across training levels, using them to focus and direct energy during sessions.
Where the Symbols Come From
The Reiki symbols are rooted in Japanese kanji, the written characters borrowed from Chinese that form part of the Japanese writing system. Despite a popular story that founder Mikao Usui discovered them in an ancient Sanskrit text, the symbols are primarily Japanese in origin. The distant healing and master symbols are composed entirely of Japanese kanji characters that can be found in a standard Japanese-English dictionary.
The power symbol and the emotional healing symbol are slightly more complex in their lineage. Their names are Japanese, but the way they are drawn may blend elements of Sanskrit with Japanese kanji. This kind of blending is a tradition in Japanese Buddhism, where ancient Sanskrit is sometimes woven into sacred writings. Usui likely encountered these symbols through his studies with Zen Buddhists or during a meditative experience on Mt. Kurama, a mountain just north of Kyoto with deep spiritual significance.
How Practitioners Learn Them
The symbols are not taught all at once. In Reiki Level 1, students learn hand positions and basic energy work but receive no symbols. Level 2 introduces the first three symbols: the power symbol, the emotional healing symbol, and the distance symbol. The fourth, the master symbol, is reserved for Level 3, also called the Master Level or “Mystery Teachings Level.”
Each symbol has both a visual component (a specific pattern drawn in the air or on the body) and a spoken component. The Japanese names function as mantras, sometimes called “jumon,” that practitioners repeat while visualizing or drawing the symbol. The combination of the visual pattern and the spoken name is what activates the symbol’s intended purpose in a session.
Cho Ku Rei: The Power Symbol
Cho Ku Rei translates roughly to “placing all the power of the universe here, now.” It looks like a coil, drawn from left to right and top to bottom, starting with a horizontal line at the top. Practitioners often describe it as a “light switch” for Reiki energy. You draw it at the beginning of a session to increase energy flow, or layer it on top of another symbol to amplify that symbol’s effect.
Its uses extend well beyond treatment sessions. Practitioners draw it on specific areas of the body to relieve pain or reduce discomfort, typically holding their hands in place for five to ten minutes. For grounding, some draw the symbol on each foot and visualize anchoring into the earth. It is also used to cleanse spaces by drawing the symbol on each wall, the ceiling, the floor, and in the corners of a room. Some practitioners activate it over food and drinks, on plants to encourage growth, or on personal objects as a form of energetic protection.
Of the four symbols, Cho Ku Rei is the most versatile and the one practitioners use most frequently in daily life outside of formal sessions.
Sei He Ki: The Emotional Healing Symbol
Sei He Ki translates to “God and humanity become one” or “earth and sky meet.” Its focus is mental and emotional balance. Where Cho Ku Rei deals primarily with physical energy, Sei He Ki targets anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, and patterns like addiction.
The symbol’s visual form resembles two hemispheres of a brain, which practitioners see as a representation of its purpose: balancing the creative, emotional side with the orderly, logical side. It is said to work on both conscious and subconscious levels, making it particularly relevant for emotional issues that a person may not fully understand or be able to articulate. Practitioners use it when a session shifts from physical complaints to emotional ones, or when they sense that an emotional imbalance is the root cause of physical tension.
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen: The Distance Symbol
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the most visually complex of the four symbols, composed of several Japanese kanji characters. It carries multiple translations: “no past, no present, no future,” “the past, present, and future are one,” and “the divinity in me salutes the divinity in you.”
This symbol is the foundation of distance healing, the practice of directing Reiki energy to someone who is not physically present. The underlying idea is that the symbol creates a “spiritual bridge” that transcends time and space, allowing practitioners to send energy across any physical distance. Practitioners also use it to direct energy toward past events (to address lingering emotional wounds) or toward future situations (to prepare energetically for something like a surgery or a difficult conversation).
Because it deals with concepts of time and interconnection, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen tends to be the most philosophically layered of the symbols. It is the one most closely tied to the spiritual worldview that underpins Reiki as a whole.
Dai Ko Myo: The Master Symbol
Dai Ko Myo translates to “great bright light” or “great enlightenment.” It carries the highest significance among the four symbols and is associated with spiritual awakening, wisdom, and compassion. Its origins trace directly to Zen Buddhism.
This symbol is reserved for practitioners who have completed Level 3 training and received the Master attunement. While Level 2 practitioners can begin incorporating Dai Ko Myo into their self-treatment in a limited way, accessing its full potential requires the formal attunement process. The Master Level shifts the focus of Reiki practice away from treating specific physical or emotional issues and toward broader spiritual development, self-growth, and higher awareness.
Practitioners describe Dai Ko Myo as representing a level of illumination that exists in the spiritual realm and needs to be drawn into physical life. It encompasses concepts of love, existence, light, wisdom, and spiritual evolution. In practical terms, it is used to deepen the practitioner’s own spiritual connection and to perform attunements on new students, making it essential for anyone who wants to teach Reiki.
How the Symbols Work Together
In a typical Reiki session, the symbols are not used in isolation. A practitioner might begin by drawing Cho Ku Rei to open and amplify energy flow, shift to Sei He Ki when working through an emotional issue, and use Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen if the session involves sending energy to a past trauma. A Master-level practitioner layers Dai Ko Myo into the process to deepen the spiritual dimension of the work.
Cho Ku Rei also functions as an amplifier for the other three. Drawing it before or after any other symbol is a common technique for boosting that symbol’s effect. This stacking quality is why it is often the first and last symbol used in any session or energy practice.
The symbols are drawn in the air with the hand, traced on the body, or simply visualized. Each is paired with its spoken name, repeated silently or aloud three times. Over time, experienced practitioners report that the symbols become internalized, requiring less deliberate visualization and functioning more as an intention that the body and mind recall automatically.