Reiki is a type of energy therapy used by healers worldwide. During Reiki, practitioners use a variety of symbols on their patients to encourage healing. One of the most commonly used symbols is Raku, the Completion Symbol.
Raku is a lightning bolt-shaped symbol used for grounding. It is usually used during an attunement ceremony to help Reiki students absorb the energies they receive from their master. It’s also used to heal ailments in the body and to ground healers during sessions.
This article will cover Reiki symbols and what they are used for. Then we’ll look specifically at the Raku symbol and discuss its origins, meaning, and function. Lastly, we’ll discuss whether or not the Raku can remove negative energy from the body and how Reiki healers activate this symbol during their sessions.
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What Are Reiki Symbols?
Practitioners use symbols to direct Reiki energy throughout their patients’ bodies. Every symbol has a different effect on the receiver’s energy.
Although practitioners use many symbols today, Reiki’s founder, Mikao Usui, developed four traditional symbols. These include Cho Ku Rei (the Power Symbol), Sei Hei Ki (the Harmony Symbol), Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (the Distance Symbol), and Dai Ko Myo (the Master Symbol).
These symbols do not have any special powers in and of themselves. Instead, Reiki healers activate them during their attunement ceremony, when Reiki masters pass their energy to their students at a specific frequency.
This permits the students to channel Reiki energy and become master healers themselves. After the ceremony, students can activate the symbols without help from their masters.
Reiki healers can activate symbols in three ways. They can either say their name aloud, draw them over the recipient’s body, or visualize them. Sometimes, healers use all three of these methods at the same time. The more the healer activates the symbols, the more powerful they become.
Origins of the Reiki Symbols
As mentioned above, the raku (completion symbol) was not one of Usui’s traditional symbols. The exact origins of this symbol are unknown. Some believe it originated in Tibet, where Reiki Master Iris Ishikuro used it. Iris’s student, Arthur Robertson, supposedly learned this symbol from Iris during his training and introduced it in the West.
Today, the Raku symbol is used by Reiki healers worldwide. Even though it is not one of the original symbols, it still is a powerful tool that permits practitioners to bestow their healing energy upon others.
Meaning and Function of the Raku Symbol
The Raku, also called the “Completion Symbol,” is a zig-zag shape. It is thought to represent a lightning bolt coming down from the heavens. It gives off a pink or violet color when it is activated.
Master-level Reiki healers only perform this symbol. They use this symbol as a way to ground their recipients.
Raku permits the life force, or Chi, to run through the recipients’ bodies and seal energy inside their seven chakras. It is used at the end of a Reiki session to help the receiver absorb all of the benefits of the practice.
The Raku Symbol is commonly performed on students of Reiki during their final attunement ceremony. It helps them integrate all of their new high-vibration energy into their chakras.
It is also used to separate the points of the students and the masters. Disconnecting their energy from their masters permits the students to independently process the powers they receive during the initiation.
While the Raku Symbol is mainly used on Reiki students, it is occasionally incorporated into Reiki sessions with non-students to help them retain their session’s benefits. Some healers also use Raku to encourage the healing of minor ailments throughout their recipients’ bodies, such as kidney stones and blood clots.
The Raku symbol is also occasionally used on the healers themselves. Reiki healers sometimes use this symbol to ground themselves and to clear their bodies of any energy they may have absorbed from the recipient they were working on.
To learn more about the meaning and function of the Raku Symbol, watch this video by Reiki healer Christy Darling. In the clip, she goes over Raku’s grounding function and ability to separate energies between two people. Christy also demonstrates how to draw the symbol and ways you can use the Raku to help you in everyday life:
Does the Raku Symbol Remove Negative Energy?
Some Reiki practitioners claim that they can use the Raku Symbol to direct negative energy out of the body. While this may be the case, it typically isn’t recommended for healers to do this unless they’ve received extensive training. Redirecting negative energy can have disastrous effects, making things worse instead of better if done incorrectly.
Most practitioners agree that it is best for Reiki to naturally remove negative energy from the body instead of a healer trying to do it themselves. If recipients experience a block in their chakras during a session, healers can use other Reiki symbols to remove the blockage.
However, some healers use the Raku to remove negativity from their recipients’ lives. Some receivers enjoy this service and believe that Raku is an effective way to heal their energy and remove negativity.
To learn more about removing negative energy using Raku, watch this video by Eye of the Star. In the clip, she discusses her method for using Raku to reverse curses or other bad vibrations from people’s lives. She also demonstrates some negativity-removing techniques you can try at home:
How Do Practitioners Activate the Raku Symbol?
The Raku symbol is typically drawn during Reiki to begin the activation process. Healers will then chant and visualize the symbol to increase the effects. Below, you will find the steps Reiki healers take to activate this symbol:
- Put their hands in the correct position. Typically, healers put their index finger and middle finger together with their thumbs. They do this because these fingers can concentrate the most energy. Then, they draw with one finger pointed forward or with their entire hand.
- Move their hand slowly over the body. Healers start drawing the Raku symbol above the recipient’s head and steadily move downwards toward the ground in a zig-zag pattern.
- Chant the symbol’s name three times. Sometimes healers say the word out loud, while others chant internally. They chant it three times because this helps make the Raku present in the physical world.
- Visualize the symbol. Visualizing the emblem in their minds enhances its activation power. With experience, they can have a clearer mental picture of the symbol.
- Activate the Raku. Performing these steps initiates the symbol, permitting its effects to take hold. Some healers perform these steps in a different order, but they all use the same general techniques to activate the symbol.
Final Thoughts
Raku is a symbol shaped like a lightning bolt. It is used to ground recipients. It permits Chi (or the life force) to run down the recipient’s spine into their seven chakras, where it remains.
Master healers often perform this symbol on their students during their attunement ceremony to help them absorb the newly awakened Reiki energies. Reiki healers also use Raku to help heal minor ailments and ground themselves after a session.