First, let us get one thing straight. Reiki has nothing to do with Tibet and never has. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either misinformed or a crook trying to use the mystical aura of Tibet to sell the idea to you. The Reiki system was born in Japan, invented by Dr. Usui. Certainly, Dr. Usui referred to older things to put his methodology together. The hands-on method had already been used by Hindus, Jesus Christ, Aborigines and others. The energy involved, the Ki, was and still is the root of the entire body of Chinese medicine, where it is known as chi. He himself was a Tendai Buddhist and the symbolic concepts he introduced as healing tools were sacred Buddhist notions. But Usui did invent Reiki, and to pretend it has older its origin amounts to claiming St Peter's in Rome was built by the Romans.

I keep the following research updated to get as close as possible to the truth (the latest correction was in March 04). It is based my research on a basic knowledge of Japanese writing, books about sacred Eastern writing, websites that were more seriously documented than others, and even a talk with a Tibetan Lama with whom I discussed the Hrih mentioned below. I now wish I had enquired about hands-on healing methods in Tibet. Educated corrections will be appreciated if found necessary.

First, let us start with a general discussion on the use of symbols in Reiki, then we ll have a look at each symbol individually.

Usefulness of the symbols

Much yoopla is made of the Reiki symbols. Everyone wants to learn them; they are so exotic and exciting to use. It adds a little spice to the mix. That is all very well, but let us be strictly down-to-earth.

Symbols are merely a kind of trigger. They do not carry power in themselves. Some people believe that a much-used symbol is very powerful because using it is like tapping into a reservoir of all the power invested in them. I'm not saying this isn't true, but even if it is, it hardly applies to the case we are interested in. Reiki is too new and it seems no two practitioners, at least in the West, are able to remember the symbols in the same way.
So, then, symbols are nothing more than triggers, and they are useful because they help train the mind in such a way as to instantly trigger a certain function in a reflex, and therefore unconscious (or subconscious?) way. This way, instead of having to focus on doing this or that, the tracing of the symbol can get it going instantly while you can concentrate on something else. Pavlov s experiment is too well-known for any elaboration to be necessary.

This kind of trigger does not have to be a symbol. It can be a sound, a gesture, a formula, an image, etc. Just because Dr. Usui, in the tradition of sacred writing characteristic to his Asian origins, chose calligraphied symbols, doesn't mean you have to slavishly use them. Naturally, if you don't use them, you're not practicing Reiki since they are an integral part of it, but who says you have to? I'm not crazy about this need to insist that "I DO practice Reiki, just my personal version of it". Far better to be honest with oneself and stand for one's methods without needing to align them with established currents.

Tracing them accurately

That's what you least need to worry about. Most of the symbols that are being handed down in the Western world, some of which were published by Diane Stein for the first time, are themselves total distortions of the original symbols. Strictly speaking, they have as much to do with Reiki as a dollar-store dreamcatcher has to do with Plain Indians. The only value of a symbol resides in its efficiency as a trigger. Whether you use these, the originals, symbols you further modify yourself, symbols you make up or symbols you bring in from other traditions, you will not lose efficiency. If you forget how to draw a symbol in the middle of a working, you can still fly on intent, which is all you actually need anyway. Energy flows where your intent is. Everything else is just there to help until the day you can control your energy as naturally as you can move an arm.

Tracing them in order

Everything I read about Reiki, written down by Western practitioners, insisted on the fact that you MUST draw the symbols with the correct order of strokes. This is apparently because the Japanese attach a great importance to stroke order, and it betrays a very superficial understanding of this concern by the westerners who imported Reiki. Let me tell you something about Japanese writing, that none of these healers have figured out. In Japan it is very important to write characters with the correct order and direction of strokes, for the simple reason that if you write them fast and your brush or pen does not leave the paper between strokes, the extra "linking" strokes thus created can make the character totally illegible if they are not disciplined into a unique, consistent pattern. In other words, the stroke order is only important for legibility purposes, which is not something we need to worry about. If using an order of your own helps you memorize them, then by all means use your own order.
However what is important, I think, is that you stick to a single order once you've settled on it, or else your trigger will be fuzzy.

Single symbol vs sets

The Reiki symbols are each used for a specific function. That does not mean each of them has a holy and end-all connection to this function. It is simply that breaking down Reiki needs into different symbols makes each trigger sharper and more powerful. This is true of all symbols, and it is why it's a good idea to use a set of symbols rather than a single one. As an illustration, here are a few functions I can think of when it comes to a treatment:

. Starting the ki flow
. Boosting the power
. Giving healing
. Removing pain
. Giving emotional healing
. "Opening a gate", or triggering distance healing
. Aggressive cleansing for stubborn or clinging "ick"
. Attunements

This is a somewhat extreme breaking down; most of the above can be paired in less specific groups. But if I use the same symbol for say boosting the power and opening the gate, how am I supposed to focus properly and be instantly triggered in the exact function I want? Imagine if the control-C command had the double function to both copy and cut and you had to manually specify which every time. Distracting!

Traditionally we are taught 4 symbols. Because they were transmitted orally for a long time, and this mostly within an audience that had no understanding of the original forms (which were either words in Japanese script, or single characters in Siddham script), they got transformed almost beyond recognition. Along the way, mysterious new forms appeared. The latter may have been designed by the founder of Reiki himself, or they could have been introduced by later students in efforts to give a visually evocative shape for each function. What is certain is (and I don't care what is said by Reiki practitioners who transmit info through the grapevine without thinking of questioning it): they are not Tibetan. The symbols have Japanese names and two of them are very obviously written in Japanese Kanji -- the Chinese script. Tibetan spirituality using Chinese characters? I don't think so. That does not make the symbols any less good -- it is just ridiculous to give them a background they don't have, because then they become dependent on that background. The hunger of some people for glamour and mystery has polluted more than one serious discipline.

Past the first barrier of superficial knowledge you reach an inner skin of semi-serious, but still mislead information: I refer here to those who maintain that the shirushi were derived from symbols used by Kurama-Kokyo Buddhist sect to refer to their deities. This article previously reflected this belief but now stands corrected: see this site to find out why the symbols have nothing to do with the Kurama-Kokyo.

The likely scenario is this: as a Buddhist, Usui sensei had knowledge of many sacred symbols, or shuji before he retired to Kurama Yama. Shuji is the Japanese name of the "seed characters" written in the Siddham for of the Sanskrit script, which are used as attributes for deities. Usui's visionary experience on the mountain filled him with a new, deeper understanding for their significance. Fromt here he went to foudn Reiki, which he intended as a spiritual-philosophical system "for the improvement of body and soul". Self-healing was but a small part of this, but to improve its efficiency he found it fit to intoduce four "keys" for focusing the intent: these he chose among his system, and they have been handed down as "the four symbols of Reiki" ever since.

For every symbol I will give the "traditional" form, the "non-traditional" form, the known variations and one of the possiblemeanings of the Japanese names that I pieced together (you may be dismayed to hear that back in Japan, they are not referred to by the Japanese name we use, but by number, and the Kanji that might have been at their origin fell into oblivion, so that is something we may never find out). Many practitioners, traditional and modern, feel the symbols must not be disclosed to the unitiated. While I agree they should not be disrespected and used frivolously, which would indeed weaken them, I am against pointless secrecy (knowing the symbols cannot replace a true initiation as intended by Usui), so no, I have no qualms publishing a study of them.

I have removed all references to Raku from this article, as it was introduced by Arthur Robertson and Iris Ishikiru in the 80s, as part of the Raku Kei system which he claimed to have discovered in Tibet (thank you Rei for the info).

  Choku-rei
The Power Symbol, referred to in Japan as "Symbol 1"

Possible origin:
Choku-rei's origins are obscure. However, a meaning of the words "choku rei" is "to fix miraculously" (choku=to fix, rei=miracle), which I believe to be the original intention, so it may have been written in Japanese as shown in this diagram. James Deacon mentions the theory that it might be a stylized version of the actual 'choku' kanji*. No matter where the shape comes from, it is very evocative and helpful for the use of the symbol.

Use:
Choku-Rei is used to increase the power and flow of the Ki, or build up power within the healer or on the treated spot while giving a healing. It helps the ki gather in the healer's center where it is stored as if in a battery, ready to use.

Seiheki
The Emotional Healing Symbol, referred to in Japan as "Symbol 2"

Origins:
Seiheki is still recognizable as the Hrih, the Siddham seed character of Amida Butsu, also known as Amida Nyorai, the Buddha said "of Infinite Light and Life", known for being always there for anyone who calls onto him with a sincere heart. In a Tibetan ceremony, we used the Hrih to "give birth" to the mantra Om Mani Padme Hung. The Japanese name has nothing to do with the original one, and if it is a Japanese Buddhist word I don't know. The word "seiheki" however means "one's natural disposition, propensity, mental habit" and so I have included the characters for this word, in case there is indeed a connection.

Use:
As befits the Buddha whom this symbol represents, it is one used for emotional healing. It is also known as the "Love" symbol. The original concept is naturally the invokation of Amida Nyorai, and this is likely why the word has spread that it means "God and man coming together".

Hon Sha Ze Sh?n
The Distance Symbol, referred to in Japan as "Symbol 3"

Origins:
Hon Sha Ze Sh?n has kept its original form in Japanese script almost intact. Its name is actually meant to be a mantra that helps one connect with the symbol's energy, and means "Right consciousness is the root for everything", or better yet, "Correct thought is the essence of being". Some say it means "the higher being in me reaches out to the higher being in you", but that's an expression of its function rather than a translation. I am giving the full sentence as it would be written; the symbol is a simplified version of it, some of the characters being superimposed and a few lines dropped. There is more than one version of the simplified symbol, and I'm giving those I have encountered.

Uses:
Although "The higher being in me reaches out to the higher being in you" and "No past, no present, no future" are erroneous translations of Hon Sha Ze Sh?n, they accurately describe what it is used for. This is the symbol to cancel distance in space and time, used for distance healing.

Dai Kô Myo
The Master Symbol

Origin:
Dai Kô Myo is the most evident symbol and I was horrified to see that Diane Stein presented erroneous "original" versions without ever bothering to check her sources. the Kanji in Dai Kô Myo respectively mean "big", "light", and "shining", and put together like this convey the meaning of "Great illuminating light".
The non-traditional version, which is the one I was taught, is a mystery -- I have no idea where it came from. However it presents the advantage of being quite evocative. When I look at it I get the image of two cupped hands pulling pain away from someone and towards oneself. This time the spiral goes from the center out, and so does the second spiral stroke, a good evocation of this motion.

Uses:
Dai Kô Myo is the healing symbol, the one that takes away pain or disease. It combines the power of the previous three symbols on a more subtle level, and it is used by Reiki Masters for attunements.

I hope I have, although not brought out the final truth about the symbols, at least raised enough questions for practitioners to think twice about what they are told. Reiki does not need to come from Tibet to be "true", and the healing method you use does not have to be Reiki to be efficient. However, if you try to convince yourself of either when it's simply not true, you are discrediting all the above and yourself included. This is why I insist so much on looking for the basic truth in the matter.

Partial bibliography:

. All Energy-Therapies Web - Reiki Pages -- the best-documented and most detailed resource I've found so far.
. Reiki, Johrei, Macrobiotics: POWER TOOLS (and an ebook: An Exploration of Usui Reiki and Beyond)
. http://www.reiki.org/reikinews/roots/rootsreiki.html
. Halpern, Jack: The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary
. Stein, Diane: Essential Reiki
. Stevens, John: Sacred Calligraphy of the East

* I wish to quote here additional info kindly provided by James during our discussion of the symbol: "As I mention on the site, some people seem to be of the opinion that the actual symbol is of Shinto origin, and means something like 'In the presence of the spirits (kami)'.
it has also been said that the choku rei is meant to represent a coiled snake with it's head raised, and because of this some have sought to "jump cultures" and link it to the Kundalini Serpent of Indian tradition.
However, I've just been discussing the symbol with someone who is quite well-versed in Shinto/Buddhist Studies. He tends to agree that it could well be a representation of a coiled snake
He told me that according to some theories, associated with honji suijaku ( honji suijaku is a doctrine which seeks to equate the Kami Spirit-Beings of Shinto with Buddhist Deities, enabled the followers of Shinto and Buddhism to legitimately venerate the each other's Divine Beings as alternative manifestations of their own.) - any how, according to some honji suijaku theories, the real forms of kami are actually snakes..