10/21/2022
The Reiki symbols are something that are typically shrouded in mystery.
For most of modern Reiki's history - ~1930-1990 - the symbols were very clearly not allowed to be written down for any reason other than during a Reiki II/III training session. Typically during these sessions, they would practice writing the symbols and then burn the paper at the end of the training.
This was for several very good reasons - the most important of which was to help the student step into their knowing - the symbols, once learned and transferred into the students energy field by the Reiju/initiation/attunement process, are there permanently, accessible at any time.
Another important reason for the secrecy was to preserve the potency of the methods by keeping them undiluted by outside practices or commentary. This was VERY necessary during the time of the birth of modern Reiki, since there were wars going on all around the world and the patriarchal and puritanical systems of 1900-prior were still very opposed to the spreading of energetic practices.
In the 1990s, several authors released the Reiki symbols in print for the first time on a large, accessible scale.
Diane Stein's book, Essential Reiki, is one of the most comprehensive texts from this time, and her reasons for sharing most of the previously secret information resonate strongly.
She speaks at length about the times we are living in and that, while the secrecy was needed in the past to preserve the teachings until the present, now the situation on Earth is more dire, and we need Reiki for every, as accessibly as possible.
I both honor and study the more traditional ways of sharing the Reiki trainings and knowledge, and agree that, now is the time for everyone to experience this element of being human, this capacity to heal and be healed.
Stay tuned - I will be diving further into each symbol in future posts!
**ra