Symbols

The Reiki symbols play a very big part in Reiki. So much so that the symbols are kept secret until the student goes through the required attunement. Of course, Diane Stein, in an effort of making Reiki accessible to all, published them all in her book, Essential Reiki.This has caused quite a stir among Reiki practitioners and the feedback has ranged from joy to condemnation.

Traditionally, the symbols were only shown to the students when they received their attunements, where they would practice making the symbols. The symbols are viewed as sacred and that they would lose something vital if they were to be made public and commonplace. However the students would never see the symbols again and they had to destroy their notes to keep the symbols out of the hands of the profane. The problem with this is that the students were not learning the symbols properly and over time the symbols would get distorted. If the symbols are published you have easy access to them whenever you need, thus assuring uniformity in how the symbols are formed.

I am of two minds about the matter, although I tend to favor keeping them secret until the time comes for the student to learn them. But I do like the idea of the students keeping copies of the symbols that they can refer to if needed. They don't have to share them with those not ready to view them, but the symbols themselves are kept from being distorted by fuzzy memories. And this is important. It is said that Dr. Usui knew hundreds if not thousands of symbols, and how many are available to traditional Usui Reiki? Five. Barely a handful, and this is wrong and very sad. The symbols should have been written down and preserved as well how to use them.

Reiki symbols can be drawn out with the hand, visualized being drawn, or seen in the mind fully formed. The name of the symbol is repeated (either mentally or verbally) three times. This activates the symbol. Reiki II and III energy is started by the activation symbol. Without this activation symbol you are only working with Reiki I energy. The symbols are used to fine tune and help direct the healing. One exception is the distance symbol. By using this the practitioner can transcend time and space to do distance healings. I feel that this is one of the most important symbols, besides the activation symbol. It allows the practitioner to work on a global scale, rather than only on those he or she can lay hands on. In fact, the very next day after receiving my Reiki II attunement, I got a request via email to do a healing for someone in France. I live in Michigan, and was surprised by the request. But I was able to do it, and that is what matters.

New symbols have been discovered, usually during the course of an attunement. These new symbols should be incorporated into the Reiki practice as they perhaps represent missing symbols that have been lost. My teachers have uncovered several that are very useful, and which would have been unavailable if traditional Reiki had been strictly followed. Other symbols that have been around for many years can also be used. An example of this is the Ankh, an Egyptian symbol of eternal life, and healing. I have found that the Norse runes work as well.