The Rei glyphs were used by the rongorongo men to mark cardinal points, i.e. points where the direction of the journey of the sun canoe across the blue sea of the sky had to be adjusted.

The orientation of the canoe as seen in the glyphs is therefore 'standing on its front end'. It has stopped for a moment and a new straight course will soon begin.

Whereas the sun is steady and always the same the moon is the incarnation of change. Therefore the Rei glyphs have 'appendices' in form of 'crescents' below the hull, a sign to indicate the moon. Rei glyphs always appear when change is due, never at other times.

The calendars for the year had the solstices and equinoxes located at points which did not coincide with the points where the major calendar periods changed. In that respect their view corresponds with our view: New year arrives, for example, later than winter solstice and spring equinox before the 1st of April.