Reiki Symbols & Meanings: Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen & Dai Ko Myo
By DailyDestiny Editorial Team
If you just learned the Reiki symbols, or keep seeing them online, this guide shows you what each one means. Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen and Dai Ko Myo: origins, drawing, and uses.
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What Is Cho Ku Rei and How Does the Power Symbol Work?
Imagine you just finished your Level 2 Reiki class. You are holding a sheet of strange shapes you were told to memorize, and you are wondering which one to reach for first when someone you love lies down on your table.
The short answer: start with Cho Ku Rei. It is the first symbol taught at Level 2, known as the power symbol or light switch, and practitioners use it at the beginning and end of every session to increase energy flow. The other three symbols build on it.
Its name translates roughly to "place the power of the universe here" or "God is here." You draw a horizontal line, drop a vertical line down, then coil a spiral inward toward the center, typically counterclockwise in three and a half turns.
In Reiki teaching it amplifies the flow of Reiki energy, like a dimmer switch turned to full. You draw it over your palms before treating, over each hand position to deepen the energy, and at the end to seal the healing.
It is the most versatile of the four, also used for energetic cleansing (drawn in rooms to clear stagnant energy), protection (visualized around the body or home), manifesting intentions (drawn over written affirmations), and empowering food and water.
Which of those uses do you find yourself wanting most right now?
Its origins are debated. Some historians trace it to Shinto practices, where spirals represent the flow of universal energy; others note its resemblance to the Buddhist cintamani (wish-fulfilling jewel) symbol. Frank Arjava Petter's research in Japan suggests Usui may have derived it from practices in the Tendai Buddhist temple on Mount Kurama.
The spiral turns up everywhere: the Celtic triple spiral carved at Newgrange, the Hindu bindu point at the center of the Sri Yantra, the coiled serpent of tantric iconography. The three and a half coils are widely read as the three and a half turns of coiled energy at the base of the spine, a count that recurs in Indian yogic description and reached Japan through Buddhist channels.
Direction is where lineages split. Some teach clockwise to increase energy and counterclockwise to decrease it. The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai teaches a single direction. William Rand of the International Center for Reiki Training notes that the symbol works regardless of direction because intent guides the energy, though you should learn and practice the direction your own lineage teaches.
How do you draw Cho Ku Rei correctly?
Draw a horizontal line from left to right, then drop a vertical line from its middle. From the bottom, spiral counterclockwise inward in three and a half turns, ending near the center of the vertical line.
Aim for one continuous, flowing motion. Say "Cho Ku Rei" three times as you draw or immediately after.
When should you use Cho Ku Rei during a treatment?
Draw it at the start over each palm and the recipient's body, at each hand position change to boost the new spot, and at the end to seal the healing in place.
You'll also reach for it mid-treatment when you sense the flow weakening, or when Byosen scanning shows an area that needs extra power.
Can Cho Ku Rei be used outside of Reiki treatments?
Yes. Practitioners draw it over food and water to clear negative energy, visualize it on the walls, ceiling and floor of a room to cleanse and protect the space, place it over a written intention or goal to empower it, and draw it over the car before driving for protection.
Some practitioners use it before an important conversation or meeting, the moment your chest tightens on the way in, to amplify positive energy and clear the space.
What is the difference between drawing Cho Ku Rei clockwise and counterclockwise?
In lineages that distinguish them, counterclockwise draws energy in and increases power (to charge a room or a crystal), while clockwise disperses, releases or reduces energy in a congested area (over a swollen joint or a spot that scans hot and overfull).
Other lineages teach one direction and let your stated intention decide whether energy gathers or disperses. Follow your own Reiki Master's direction rather than mixing conventions mid-session.
What Is Sei He Ki and How Does the Emotional Healing Symbol Work?
If you have ever had a client, a friend, or yourself go quiet and teary on the table, Sei He Ki is the symbol practitioners say is made for that moment.
It is the second Reiki symbol, known as the mental-emotional symbol or harmony symbol. Its name translates approximately to "God and humanity become one" or "the earth and sky meet." The shape resembles a wave or the left half of a brain: a flowing S-curve topped by a cap-like stroke.
In Reiki teaching it works on the emotional and mental layers of the energy body, the primary tool for anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, anger, negative thought patterns and emotional trauma. It is said to bring the conscious and subconscious minds into alignment so suppressed emotions can surface gently for processing and release.
You draw it over the head and heart positions whenever someone arrives with emotional or psychological symptoms, often after Cho Ku Rei: first amplify the power, then direct it to the emotional body.
It is also used for breaking negative habits, improving memory and focus, setting emotional boundaries, and harmonizing relationships. Think of it as tuning an instrument: the strings were always there, they just needed to come back into harmony.
The form of Sei He Ki looks notably like the Sanskrit seed syllable "hrih," associated with Amitabha Buddha and the quality of compassion. Some Reiki historians, including Frank Arjava Petter, suggest Usui derived several symbols from Sanskrit or Siddham script used in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism, the esoteric Buddhist traditions he studied. Whatever the origin, lineages describe its uses consistently.
It often triggers emotional release: tears, laughter, memories surfacing, or a heaviness lifting from the chest. Experienced practitioners treat that release as the point of the symbol, not a complication, and are trained to stay quiet, keep their hands in place, and let the wave pass without comment.
Most lineages draw Sei He Ki and then hold the position longer than usual, since the emotional layer is understood to move more slowly than the physical one.
How do you draw Sei He Ki?
Begin with a curved cap stroke from left to right at the top. Then draw a flowing S-curve descending from it: left side down, curving right, then back left, ending at the bottom.
It should resemble a stylized wave or the brain's left hemisphere. Say "Sei He Ki" three times as you finish.
When is Sei He Ki most needed during a treatment?
Reach for it when you sense strong emotional energy or the client reports distress, at the heart or solar plexus positions, and for anxiety, depression, grief, trauma or relationship issues.
You'll often notice the need when a client's breathing catches as your hands reach the chest. It is described as especially effective with the heart and third eye positions, bridging emotional and mental healing at once.
Can Sei He Ki help with addiction and habit breaking?
Practitioners use it this way. Sei He Ki is said to address the emotional and subconscious patterns that drive addictive behaviors. You draw it with your hands on the head to reprogram mental habits, and on the solar plexus and heart to address the emotional void that addiction often attempts to fill.
Reiki is not a substitute for addiction treatment programs but can be a powerful complement to counseling, support groups, and medical care.
How does Sei He Ki interact with the subconscious mind?
Reiki teaching says it bridges the conscious and subconscious minds, the way hypnotherapy is described as reaching deeper mental layers. As the two harmonize, suppressed memories, beliefs and emotional patterns can surface for processing, which is why emotional release is common.
It is described as a gentle, gradual opening, like a door eased ajar rather than kicked in.
What should you do if a client cries when you use Sei He Ki?
Keep your hands exactly where they are, stay silent, and let the release finish. Withdrawing your hands reads to the client as you recoiling from what surfaced.
Don't ask what they are remembering; questions pull them into analysis and shut the process down. Once the crying settles, draw Cho Ku Rei over the heart position to seal, finish the remaining hand positions normally, and offer water and a few quiet minutes afterward.
If distressing material surfaces repeatedly across sessions, suggest working with a qualified therapist alongside the Reiki.
What Is Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen and What Does the Distance Symbol Mean?
If someone you love is in a hospital across the country, or you are dreading a moment that has not happened yet, this is the symbol practitioners turn to.
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the third and most complex Reiki symbol, known as the distance or connection symbol. Its name translates to "the Buddha in me reaches out to the Buddha in you" or "having no present, past, or future." It has approximately 22 brush strokes forming a vertical column of Japanese kanji characters, stacked one above another like a line of text.
In Reiki teaching it builds an energetic bridge to the recipient across any distance and through time, on the principle that at the deepest level of reality separation is an illusion and all points in space and time are connected. Practitioners use it three ways:
Other places: sending Reiki to people in other locations.
The past: sending Reiki to past events so the root of a present symptom is reached, not just the symptom.
The future: sending Reiki to surgery, an exam, or a difficult conversation before it happens.
The full sending and receiving procedure, including surrogate methods and scheduling across time zones, belongs to Distance Reiki: How It Works, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, Sending & Receiving Techniques.
The kanji that make up Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen carry the senses of hon (origin, source), sha (person), ze (correct, right), sho (correct nature) and nen (thought, mindfulness). Together they express a correct thought reaching the origin of a person's true nature. That is why teachers stress that the symbol connects to the recipient's highest self, not to their surface personality or stated wish.
Frank Arjava Petter traces its parts to Buddhist Siddham script and notes that its extra strokes reflect what it embodies: transcending the ordinary human experience of separation.
You draw the characters top to bottom in the order of the name, and many teachers describe the column as a ladder or pillar the energy travels along. Once you have learned it properly by hand, most lineages let you visualize it as one completed form, the way a fluent reader takes in a word without sounding out letters.
How do you draw Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen?
About 22 strokes of stacked kanji, drawn top to bottom. The form varies slightly between lineages, so learn your Reiki Master's version.
Draw it in the air or visualize it while saying the name three times. Many practitioners find it easier to visualize the complete symbol than to draw every stroke each time.
How do you send Reiki to past events with Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen?
Activate the symbol, state your intention to send Reiki to a specific past event, such as a childhood incident or a difficult experience, picture it, and let Reiki flow in.
In Reiki teaching you are not changing the past but shifting your energetic and emotional relationship to it. Practitioners often report the memory feels different afterward, and many pair the technique with Sei He Ki so the emotional layer is addressed at the same time.
Can Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen be used to send Reiki to a future event?
Yes. Activate the symbol, name the event and its date, and ask that the Reiki be held and released then. Practitioners do this before surgery, job interviews, court dates, exams and long flights.
Name the time window rather than leaving it open: for example, released at nine in the morning on the day of the procedure and continuing through the afternoon. Some teachers describe it as filling a reservoir the recipient draws on when the moment arrives. Close with Cho Ku Rei to seal the sending.
Do you need permission before using Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen on someone?
Most lineages say yes, because the symbol creates a direct connection to that individual.
Where asking is impossible, such as an unconscious patient or people in a disaster area, you state that the energy is offered for their highest good and may be accepted or declined at the level of their soul. Some teachers say to send to the situation rather than the person when consent is unavailable.
Sending unrequested Reiki to repair a relationship or change someone's mind is discouraged across essentially all lineages as a misuse of the symbol. However much you ache to fix things, that choice is theirs.
What Is Dai Ko Myo and What Makes the Master Symbol Special?
If you are thinking about Master training, Dai Ko Myo is likely the symbol you are most curious about.
It is the fourth Reiki symbol, the Master symbol, traditionally taught only in Master-level training. Its name translates to "great shining light" or "great enlightenment," and in Reiki teaching it is the highest vibration of Reiki energy, connecting you to universal life force at its purest.
It works mainly on the spiritual level: soul-level healing, spiritual awakening and deep transformation. Think of the four symbols as floors of a house. Cho Ku Rei works on the physical level, Sei He Ki on the emotional-mental level, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen on the connective level, and Dai Ko Myo integrates all of them and adds the spiritual dimension.
It is used during attunement ceremonies to transmit Reiki ability to students, for the deepest healing that addresses karmic patterns and soul wounds, in meditation for spiritual development and enlightenment, and to empower the other three symbols.
When a Master activates it, the energy is described as finer, lighter and more penetrating than the other symbols, reaching the deepest layers of being.
Two versions are commonly taught. The Usui version is a complex kanji character meaning "great bright light," made of strokes representing the sun, moon and earth unified. The Tibetan version, introduced by Arthur Robertson and popularized by Diane Stein and William Rand, is simpler and more flowing, and some practitioners find it easier to draw and visualize.
Each lineage considers its version effective; Masters attuned to both often use the Usui form for healing and the Tibetan form inside attunement ceremonies. Hiroshi Doi reports that the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai uses the traditional kanji form and considers it essential to Master-level teaching.
The spiritual side links to the Buddhist concept of daikomyo (great light), found in the esoteric Buddhist (Mikkyo) practices Usui studied. In Shingon Buddhism, the great light represents the illumination of Mahavairochana Buddha, the cosmic Buddha whose light pervades all existence. Usui's adaptation of it into a healing symbol reflects his synthesis of Buddhist spirituality with practical healing.
When should Dai Ko Myo be used in treatment?
For the deepest work: chronic conditions that have not responded to other treatments, spiritual crises, soul-level wounds and karmic patterns. Also at the start of a session to set the highest vibration, in attunements to transmit Reiki ability, and in personal meditation for spiritual growth.
Some Masters use it in every session; others save it for cases that specifically call for spiritual-level work.
How does Dai Ko Myo differ from the other three symbols?
Cho Ku Rei amplifies physical healing, Sei He Ki addresses emotions, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen transcends distance. Dai Ko Myo is said to work on the soul or spiritual level and integrate all the other levels at once, with a vibration described as finer and more encompassing.
It does not replace the others; it adds a dimension they cannot reach alone. Picture an umbrella that holds and rises above the other three.
Can non-Master practitioners use Dai Ko Myo?
Traditionally it is only taught and activated at Master-level attunement. Without that, drawing it may have meditative value but will not carry the full Master-level energy.
Some people find it in books or online and try it early. Most lineages advise against this, not because it is dangerous, but because the Master attunement is what activates the symbol's full potential.
How Do You Practice Drawing and Activating Reiki Symbols Effectively?
You will feel the difference between a symbol you have practiced and one you are still sounding out, much like a song you know by heart versus one you are reading off the sheet.
Build it in stages. Learn each symbol's exact form from your Reiki Master and draw it on paper until the strokes are fluid and automatic. Then draw it in the air with your dominant hand, same proportions and stroke order. Then close your eyes and see it as a glowing form in whatever color naturally appears.
The activation sequence: draw it (physically, in the air, or mentally), say its name three times (aloud or silently), then let the energy associated with that symbol flow.
Speed and precision come with practice. Many experienced practitioners can activate a symbol in under a second just by thinking its name; beginners may need the full drawing and naming process.
Practice combining symbols too: Cho Ku Rei first to amplify, then Sei He Ki for emotional healing or Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen for distance. Always end a sequence with Cho Ku Rei to seal the energy.
The Japanese calligraphy tradition of shodo holds that drawing a character is itself a meditation. Each stroke carries the calligrapher's ki and intention, and a character written in haste carries something different from the same character written with a settled mind. Usui, steeped in Japanese culture, would have taken that link between gesture and energy for granted.
Hence the focus on stroke order and continuous motion: you are performing an action, not producing a picture. William Rand recommends practicing each symbol 100 times to build fluency, and many teachers set a similar target in Level 2 training so the form is automatic before you use it on a client.
Once the drawing is automatic, your attention is free to rest on the recipient instead of the strokes, which is the whole point of the repetition. If your symbols start to feel flat, practitioners usually suggest going back to pen and paper for a week rather than trying harder at visualizing.
How often should you practice drawing the Reiki symbols?
At least once daily for your first month after Level 2 attunement. Many teachers recommend 10 times per symbol per day for the first 21 days, echoing the 21-day period of Usui's retreat on Mount Kurama.
After that, daily use in self-treatment and meditation keeps you fluent. If your visualizations blur, go back to physical drawing.
What is the best order for combining multiple Reiki symbols?
The standard order is Cho Ku Rei first to activate and amplify, then the symbol for your purpose (Sei He Ki for emotional work, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen for distance, Dai Ko Myo for spiritual healing), then Cho Ku Rei again to seal.
For distance emotional healing, the sequence is Cho Ku Rei, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, Sei He Ki, Cho Ku Rei. Always bookend with the power symbol.
Can you draw Reiki symbols on objects or write them on paper?
Yes. Drawing them on crystals is said to program the crystals with Reiki energy, set out in Reiki & Crystals: Programming, Crystal Grids, Best Crystals per Chakra & Cleansing. Symbols written on paper and placed under a pillow, in a wallet or on an altar are believed to create a continuous energy field.
Some practitioners draw them on bandages for physical healing or business cards for professional success. Written symbols are traditionally burned, buried or torn up with thanks when the work is done rather than thrown in ordinary trash.
Which hand should you draw Reiki symbols with?
Use your dominant hand, which most lineages treat as the projecting or sending hand. If you are left-handed, draw with the left and don't force the right; dominance matters more than which side it falls on.
When both hands are in a treatment position, draw the symbol with the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, trace it with your eyes, or visualize it complete. Experienced practitioners use the tongue method routinely because it leaves the hands undisturbed.
How Do Reiki Symbols Connect to the Broader Japanese Spiritual Tradition?
If you have wondered whether these symbols came from nowhere, it helps to see the older Japanese practices Mikao Usui drew from when he created his healing system.
Japan has deep precedent for sacred symbols in spiritual and healing work, through Shinto, Buddhism, and the esoteric traditions that blend both.
Shinto, Japan's indigenous spiritual practice, uses shimenawa (sacred ropes) and shide (paper streamers) to mark sacred space and channel spiritual energy. That parallels how Cho Ku Rei is used to consecrate a healing space.
Japanese Buddhism, particularly Shingon and Tendai, uses mandalas, mudras (hand gestures) and mantras to focus spiritual energy, which mirrors Reiki's symbols, hand positions and sacred names. The jumon (sacred words or incantations) of Japanese esoteric Buddhism parallel repeating each symbol name three times.
Usui's contribution was weaving these elements into an accessible healing system anyone could learn, regardless of religious background, while keeping the spiritual depth of its sources. Does knowing those roots change how the symbols feel in your hands?
Kurama-dera, the temple on Mount Kurama where Usui experienced his spiritual awakening, matters because it blends Shinto, Buddhist and newer spiritual traditions. Its own spiritual system, Kurama Kokyo, teaches that the universe is animated by a supreme spiritual energy called Sonten, made of love, light and power.
Those three line up with Sei He Ki (love and harmony), Dai Ko Myo (great shining light) and Cho Ku Rei (power), closely enough that many teachers read the symbols as encoding what Usui met at Kurama.
Esoteric Buddhist practice on Mount Kurama has long included meditation, fasting, and sacred syllables and written forms as instruments of transformation, broadly the shape of the 21-day retreat Usui is said to have undertaken there. Read that way, the Reiki symbols are a portable, radically simplified version of spiritual technology that temple traditions kept in far more elaborate form, minus the years of monastic training those versions require.
What is the connection between Reiki symbols and Buddhist script?
Several Reiki symbols share visual elements with Siddham script, a sacred Sanskrit-derived writing system used in Japanese esoteric Buddhism (Mikkyo). Siddham characters serve as meditation objects (bonji) in Shingon and Tendai Buddhism, and Usui studied both traditions.
The point is not that the symbols were copied from Siddham, but that they come from the same tradition of using sacred written forms to reach spiritual energies.
How do Shinto concepts relate to Reiki practice?
Shinto's concept of musubi (creative interconnecting energy) parallels ki in Reiki. Shinto purification rituals (misogi and harai) parallel Kenyoku Ho (dry bathing).
Shinto's reverence for nature and the presence of kami (spiritual forces) in all things fits Reiki's view that universal energy runs through everything. The five Reiki principles echo Shinto ethics of sincerity, gratitude and harmony with nature.
Are there other Japanese healing traditions that use symbols?
Yes. Kotodama (the spiritual power of words and sounds) uses specific syllables for healing and spiritual transformation. Kuji-in (nine syllable seals), used in Shugendo and ninjutsu traditions, uses hand gestures and mantras for protection and power.
Johrei, a healing practice from the Sekai Kyusei Kyo religion, uses channeled divine light in a way similar to Reiki. These traditions share common roots in Japanese spiritual culture.
Why did Hawayo Takata forbid students from writing the Reiki symbols down?
Hawayo Takata required students to memorize them in class and destroy any notes, for reasons part practical, part cultural.
She was teaching a Japanese healing method in the United States during and after a period of intense hostility toward Japan, and she adapted her presentation heavily to that setting. Keeping the symbols oral also protected the value of training she charged substantial fees for, and it followed the Japanese convention of passing sensitive material directly from teacher to student rather than through documents.
All four symbols have been published openly since the 1990s, so the secrecy no longer holds in practice, though some lineages still ask students to treat them with discretion.
Questions people ask
Are Reiki symbols secret?
Traditionally, yes. They were only revealed during Level 2 and Master attunements, and Hawayo Takata insisted students memorize them and not write them down. Since the 1990s all four have been widely published in books and online. Many modern teachers see them as tools for focusing intention and think secrecy is no longer necessary or practical. Some lineages still treat them as sacred and ask students not to share them casually.
Do Reiki symbols have power on their own?
Not in Reiki teaching. They are activating tools, like keys that open specific frequencies of Reiki energy. Without attunement, drawing them may have meditative value but will not activate their Reiki energy. After attunement, they become focal points that direct your intention and open specific energy pathways. The power is said to come from attunement, intention and symbol together.
Can you use Reiki symbols without being attuned to Level 2?
You can draw them at Level 1, but you will not have the full energetic activation that comes with the Level 2 attunement, which specifically opens the energy channels associated with each symbol. Some practitioners report partial effects before Level 2, likely from intention and visualization alone. Virtually all Reiki lineages consider the Level 2 attunement ceremony necessary for full effectiveness, and the order the attunements come in is set out in Reiki Levels Explained: Level 1, Level 2 & Master Training Guide.
How do you activate a Reiki symbol?
Draw the symbol with your dominant hand in the air, on your palm, or in your mind. As you draw, say its name three times, silently or aloud. The visual form and the spoken name together are said to activate the symbol's energy. Some practitioners also blow on the symbol or tap it with their fingertips to strengthen the activation. With practice, simply thinking the name can activate it instantly.
Why is each Reiki symbol name repeated three times?
It follows the Japanese devotional convention of threefold recitation, found in Shinto invocation and Buddhist chanting, where saying a name three times moves it from casual speech into ritual speech. Reiki teaching usually says the three repetitions address body, mind and spirit, and the rhythm gives your attention time to gather onto the symbol. Practitioners who say it once often report weaker activation, which teachers blame on unsettled attention, not the symbol.
Are there Reiki symbols beyond the traditional four?
Yes, several later branches have added symbols, though traditional Usui Reiki recognizes only Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen and Dai Ko Myo. Karuna Reiki, developed by William Rand, adds eight symbols across two levels, including Zonar for deep-seated patterns, Halu for clearing illusion, and Harth for heart-centered work involving love and trust. Tibetan-influenced Western lineages add the Raku, a lightning-bolt form drawn down the spine at the close of an attunement to separate the fields of teacher and student, plus the Tibetan Fire Serpent for opening the chakra column. Seichim and other branches carry their own sets. The four Usui symbols are attested across essentially every lineage worldwide; the later additions come from named modern teachers. Presenting the Raku as ancient Japanese tradition misrepresents its history.
Can Reiki symbols be used for protection?
Yes. Cho Ku Rei, the power symbol, is the usual choice. Draw it on the walls of a room to clear and seal the space, or picture it around your body as a shield before a challenging environment. Some practitioners draw it over food and water to clear negative energy. Sei He Ki can be used for emotional protection, so you absorb less of other people's emotional states.
Do you need to draw the Reiki symbols perfectly?
No. Intention matters more than artistic precision. If the general form and direction are right and you clearly intend to activate it, the symbol is said to work. With practice you will settle into a natural, consistent way of drawing each one. Some practitioners find one continuous motion works better than stopping and restarting strokes.
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