Upon the Altar

Introduction

In the many cases I have seen where individuals purchase a Thai talisman — whether it be a prai talisman or other forms of Buddhist talismans — the talisman itself tends to be ‘propitiated’, rather than ‘worked with’. Of course, there is nothing wrong with simply keeping a talisman around to venerate and petition them when the need arises! But, as someone who is interested in operative sorcery and folk magic, I find that it is incredibly rewarding to include the spirits of these talismans within rituals and spells. In this blog post, I would like to give some examples of workings with three talismans under my care: the Mahatoot talisman created by Ajarn Apichai, the Spider-Rooster amulet by Gary Noriyuki and Ajarn Wutkongmon, and the Palang Jakawaa amulet by Ajarn Apichai. 

As a note though, I am only including rituals which are more accessible to the layperson (utilizing techniques from practices such as Hoodoo or Conjure) as I wish to provide examples that could be easily done by beginners and non-beginners alike.

The See Peung of Four Mahatoot

Photos from Manticore’s Den, used with permission

This talisman consists of see peung (สีผึ้ง) which is wax, mixed with ashes from four different sources: a man who died in a car accident (representing death by earth), a man who drowned (representing death by water), a man who died via hanging (representing death by air or lack thereof), and a man who died in a fire (representing death by fire). Other ingredients were added to the mixture, and all the ingredients were boiled together and blessed on a full moon, with the intention of empowering the four spirits within the talisman with the four elements. The prai empowered by the element of earth is said to protect from dangers, the water prai bringing metta (a quality which allows one to be treated with mercy and compassion), saneah (attraction and magnetism), luck and fortune, the wind prai carrying forth desires and enabling the avoidance of danger, and fire prai being protective against malefica and evil spirits whilst bestowing authority.

One way which I had asked the prai spirits to assist me in magic is to help me with road openings (quick shoutout to Lucas of @geopythia for helping me with this). After some trial and errors, I ended up with the following ritual. First, I drew a cross with a mixture of a road opening/Mercury powder, placing a single candle at the makeshift mini-crossroad. Then, I placed a lock at one end of the road and placed its key at the other end of the road. I then called upon the fire prai, asking that it burn away all obstacles blocking my road so that the paths would be open and that its flames will light the way, allowing me to see the steps in which I may take. This was done whilst the candle at the center of the cross was lit aflame. After watching the flames burn, I called upon the earth prai to guard over the road, keeping watch over the ritual and “anchor the magic” so to speak. Once the ritual was complete, I placed the key within the lock and locked it tight, keeping the magic bound within the lock  so it would not fizzle away, only to release the lock and key when the time was right. In hindsight, the wind prai could also be used instead of or alongside the fire prai (air feeds fire, and wind open ways etc). But, regardless of that, the ritual showed success.

I had petitioned that the roads be opened so that I would land an internship with a specific agency of the United Nations. I later received a phone call accepting me without any extra interviews. The only issue I had was that the speed of the ritual succeeding was slower than expected (could be due to my unclear or conflicting petition) as I ended up landing another role at another place, which I ended up accepting instead. All in all, the ritual did get me what I asked for (the internship), so I would call the attempt a success.

In addition to the road opening, I also created a honey jar of which I placed my applications and petitions in, along with taglocks of those I wish to charm. With this honey jar, I had called upon the blessings of various spirits, two of them being the water prai and the air prai. Water, alongside air — two elements of glamour and attraction and desire, amongst other qualities — was called to make my application be attention-grabbing and enthralling to those who have seen it, especially to those in positions of authority. It would also ensure that I would be viewed in the best of lights by those who looked upon me. Funnily enough, JM Hamade (@starnightdwell) was kind enough to perform divination on my internship fiasco and it was he who suggested to me that I utilized my “Thai spirit” for this, the Mahatoot appearing to him in the form of an “almost plump character […] he bounces up and down and high up in the sky into the form of a cloud and is definitely related to rain and wind”. So, credits and thanks where it is due. 

The Spider-Rooster Amulet

As a note, the amulet is available for purchase here: https://www.manticoresden.com/product/rooster-spider-coin-amulet-by-gary-noriyuki-and-ajarn-wutkongmon 

This amulet technically isn’t a prai spirit, but rather it is “a fusion of spiritual practices rooted in conjure and Thai-magic”. The rooster, in various practices of conjure, is said to be protective. This specific rooster has been enchanted as to provide protection against hurtful gossip, protection against thieves, and protector against lingering negativity and psychic attacks. Within its tail feathers, a spear can be found pointing up, the spear being an extra weapon to watch your back at all times. The spider, in Thai practices, is often associated with wealth (its web catching gold etc). It is thus a collector of good fortune, a road opener to success, and a talisman that is generally good for business. I have petitioned the rooster-spider spirit many times with financial issues, and many times it has swiftly (as in, less than 24 hours later) delivered my wish.

Yet, what I found to be a fun (and successful) experiment with the amulet is to have its spirits bless a good luck charm for me. The charm is created to specifically aid in the passing of tests and exams. In that specific case, I had to take this exam to land a role with the Central Bank of Thailand— it is known that parts of the exam will be multiple choice, with many sections being things you cannot prepare for. Hence, I wanted luck to be on my side, a concentrated bout of luck directed towards this qualifying test I had to take. I created a simple mojo hand with ashes of Psalm 121 and various herbs of Jupiter and Mercury within it. I then had the rooster-spider amulet draw the luck from the open crossroads and bless the mojo hand with it. Shoutout to Gary Noriyuki, one of the creators of the amulet, who assisted me with the mojo hand/ ritual idea as well!

I had the charm with me during the test and needless to say, I passed the test despite straight-up guessing certain sections due to my unfamiliarity with some topics and the incredibly tight time limit of the test.

The Palang Jakawaa Amulet 

The main purpose of this amulet is to help remediate one’s natal astrological placements. It is an amulet that calls upon the powers of the seven planets in addition to Rahu, the North Node. I wore it whilst performing rituals of astrolatry, and also during other important but mundane events in my life too such as when I had to pass my driver’s license exam (I frankly almost failed the parking test but the examiner was uncharacteristically nice as gave me a pass as I didn’t actually went over the line, only touched it). I petitioned it for various issues but it wasn’t until talking to Gary Noriyuki — and later on, the advice came up again during direct correspondences with Ajarn Apichai himself — that I started using the amulet for another purpose: the creation of holy water.

The advice I received from both Gary and Ajarn Apichai was simple. I had to place the amulet within a bowl or glass of water, ask that the amulet bless the water, and recite the amulet’s kata three or nine or however many times I felt was necessary. This would turn the water into a form of holy or blessed water, one of which I could wash myself with, or drink. Should I feel like I am in need of a major cleansing, drinking this blessed water for three days straight should do the trick. It should be noted though that other amulets also possess the same ability to bless water as well, that this ability is not exclusive to the Palang Jakawaa amulet.

All in all, the amulet helped me a lot in maintaining my day-to-day spiritual hygiene without requiring extensive or elaborate rituals.

Conclusion

In my experience, ensouled talismans are teachers as much as they are tools. If you do not know how to “use” them, then simply reach out to the talisman and ask! Often, the spirits of the talismans will be willing to teach you on how to best work with them. Although I do understand how sometimes it is just easier to just petition the talismans and let them do their own things, I still believe that the process of working alongside talismans is incredibly fun and rewarding— just remember to compensate the spirits fairly for their efforts as well. Thus, I hope it is clear from this blog post that Thai amulets are incredibly versatile and can be blended with various practices with relative ease.