This is the first Reiki symbol. Pronounced:  'Choku': the U in 'Choku' is almost mute. 'Choku' is pronounced 'choke' - but with a very slight pause in the middle: 'cho-ke'. 'Rei' is pronounced: 'ray'. Choku Rei is commonly called the 'Power Symbol'. Takata-Sensei translated Cho Ku Rei as 'put the (spiritual) power here'. The first drawing of Cho Ku Rei is in Takata Sensei's own handwriting.
 
Cho Ku Rei symbol can help start Reiki flowing and most practitioners use it at the beginning of a Reiki treatment. Symbol 1 can be used to increase the power/flow of Reiki, or to assist in focusing Reiki more intensely at a given location, or to a specific intent. It can also be used to seal in the energy at the end of a treatment. It is the all-purpose symbol. It can be used for various situations as a standalone symbol or in combination with any of the other Reiki symbols.

Cho Ku Rei can be used for protection, to cleanse negative energies, to aid manifestation, to empower other Reiki symbols, to seal energies after the treatment, to cleanse and clear crystals, to charge food, water and medicines.

Cho Ku Rei is always used in space clearing or to cleanse a room. Draw or visualize Cho Ku Rei in the walls or corners or floor or ceiling of a room with the intention that it be cleansed and filled with love and light. Mentally throw it into a room intending it to be filled with light. Most practitioners cleanse the treatment area/room in preparation for the treatment or attunement. Draw it on objects intending they be cleansed and work for your highest good. To charge objects with Reiki, draw Cho Ku Rei on the objects and charge with Reiki for a couple of minutes. 

You can use Cho Ku Rei to focus power at each hand position or on any problem areas. It is almost always used as an amulet for protection. You can draw it on a sheet of paper and place it on or under things you want filled with Reiki. You can also invoke the symbol mentally. Visualizing the symbol surrounding you is good protection. You can use it for a more concentrated meditation by drawing or visualizing it over your head before beginning meditation. Or you can meditate on the symbol itself.

Draw the Cho Ku Rei over food and water before you eat and drink. You can cleanse crystals with this symbol. Draw it on your showerhead, shampoo, personal care items, wind-chimes so that they are filled with Reiki. The Power Symbol turns up the energy and opens us as strong channels of the Reiki energy. It can help overcome negative resistance patterns and eases physical pain.

"It is very simple, but ...remember that it is very powerful"- Takata sensei.

Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the third Reiki symbol. This drawing of Symbol 3 is in Takata Sensei's own handwriting. It is pronounced 'hawn-sha-zay-show-nen'. It is a combination of Japanese kanji that can mean 'no past, no present, no future'. This symbol is also called the 'Distance Symbol' or 'bridge'. One of the clearest translations of 'Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen' is actually: 'correct thought or correct mindfulness is the essence of being'.

With the Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, you can send Reiki to anyone or anything anywhere. As the name suggests, the 'distant' symbol is used to send Reiki at a distance - be it to people or other animals, places, events, situations; or even across the 'great illusion' that is time itself.

Symbol 3 is used to send Reiki over time and space. This symbol is most often used in distant healings and Reiki Attunement/Initiation. It is used to heal past trauma including issues in the past life and to send Reiki to situations as yet not having manifested themselves i.e. a point in the future when you or others might need it.

Some practitioners use Symbol 3 when they need to 'connect' with people. The 'distant' symbol may also be used as a means of assisting interaction with deity, spirits of place, or ancestral energy-patterns or spirits.

The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is very useful in healing animals, children and in healing yourself on areas that are difficult to reach. This symbol is used for others in public places where it is not possible to do a hands-on treatment. It is often used together with other symbols. Distant healing can bridge time and space allowing you to send healing energies around the world to heal past wounds and to contribute healing energies for others and in situations of natural disasters. If you have a known future need, you can create a healing package that you can tap into later. This symbol brings transformation by correcting the distortions that have been obstacles to learning.

The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is used to heal the effects of traumas from the past and from past lives. It is a symbol of karmic release. When you heal a problem at its root or origination point often many related problems that are based from that root will resolve themselves and heal almost instantly. When used with the emotional healing symbol it can bring deep healing and transformation. Past life recall is also assisted with the use of this symbol. This symbol's deeper function is to 'make things right' and to bring one's whole being into harmony. Its effect is to help us live in the present, free of blocks and worries about the past and future. The Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is also employed as a means of meditative focus.

Dai Ko Myo is the fourth Reiki symbol. Dai Ko Myo is also known as the Master Symbol. It is pronounced 'dye-koe (rhyming with doe)-mmyoh'. The word Dai means 'Great' and Ko Myo, means 'Bright Light', 'Enlightened Nature'. As the 'Master' symbol it is the very encapsulation of the Reiki phenomenon itself. To practitioners of many Reiki styles, this symbol represents the combined energies of the symbols CKR, SHK and HSZSN, at a more subtle level. Dai Ko Myo is also of great importance in the practice of Johrei.
For many practitioners, the main use of the Master Symbol is the passing of Reiki attunements to others. The master Symbol is the symbol or energy function used for activating the attunement or initiation to Reiki. Attunements make the Reiki energy permanently accessible to the new practitioner. Dai Ko Myo is also employed as a meditative focus. Empowerment, Intuition, and Spiritual connection are associated with the use of the Master Symbol. It helps you gain clarity of your true path.

Until quite recently there have been very few Reiki Masters who are empowered to use it. Hence, there is less written about this Reiki symbol than about the other symbols. Mrs. Takata drew the CKR, SHK and HSZSN symbols differently for many of her students. The symbols were compared and one form for each symbol was selected after passing on. Dai Ko Myo is the only symbol which has many different versions.

Dai Ko Myo activates a powerful energy for empowerment of the self and it facilitates spiritual connection, intuition and cellular healing. The other focus of the Master Symbol is healing at the soul. Healing at the Master level is said to directly affect the higher spiritual body and leads to immense transformation. The Master Symbol is said to work at the cellular and genetic levels. This is considered to be a very sacred symbol and given the highest expressions like, "symbol for guiding spiritual awakening".

Dai Ko Myo can be used for all purposes of Reiki in combination with the other symbols or as a stand alone symbol. The Master Symbol can be used for protection: visualise a large Dai Ko Myo bright with pure white light surrounding you.

Many people have found that the Level 3 Reiki Attunement increases the
intuitive and psychic awareness and that these can be accessed more easily. Attunement to this level often seems to initiate dramatic changes in career and lifestyle.

"Reiki is wisdom and truth", Takata sensei.