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Thai Good Luck Amulets and Symbols from Thailand

There are many types of good luck pendants in Thailand, and some of them we sell here on this site – well, at our main website – Thai Amulet Store!

Thai Amulets and Superstition

Thais and most Asian nations have a lot of superstitions. Thais came from a background of Animism before there was Buddhism at all. Hinduism and Buddhism, Animism, have all combined to create the religious atmosphere in Thailand. In the southernmost provinces, Islam can be added to this – so there is quite a diversity of beliefs in Thai culture. All Thai culture believes in good luck pendants of some sort.

There is a spirit world that can reach us and bring us both good luck and bad luck. Most Thais believe in karma as being the bringer of good luck. I would say that most Thais act on a day-to-day basis – hoping that their good deeds are registered and karma in the form of good luck later – occurs to bring them happiness.

Thais, in general, are afraid of ghosts to a very high degree. Most of the funny movies in Thailand – comedies – have ghosts in them. The ghosts are something for Thais to laugh at in the movie, but in reality – they are scared to death of them. If you come to Thailand you will notice “Spirit Houses” in a corner of the yard of many homes.

Thais understand that there are ghosts roaming the world and that they might just live on the piece of land that you bought for your house… Instead of them roaming around, Thais make a Spirit House to ward off bad luck, evil spirits, and primarily to give the spirits a place to stay, so they don’t choose living in the Thai person’s house.

There are many types of ghosts Thais are afraid of – child ghosts are perhaps the scariest. There are Kuman Thong pendants that are with a child and oil in it… the child needs to be taken care of like a real child, and it will bring good luck beyond measure.

If the owner of the Kuman Thong pendant does not take care of it, feed it, help it to sleep, give it a nice place to rest… the baby can bring bad luck and destroy families and businesses.

Good Luck Buddha Pendants

Demons surrounding Phra Pidta on a Thailand Amulet
Ring of copper-colored demons around Phra Pidta. © ThaiAmuletStore.com

Buddha good luck pendants are one of the most used. Buddha signifies a release from the cares of this world… from the pain and suffering. Buddhas and Buddhists who meditate, monks, and nuns, are not afraid of ghosts because they understand that they have power over them.

You can see in many pendants – especially the Jatukam pendants – the ring of demons surrounding either Buddha or Jatukam Ramathep, and looking in at the figure (see photo)

While Buddha was sitting in meditation before his enlightenment, he was said to be tempted by demons. While monks sit and meditate, and anytime – they are constantly being tempted to do things that break the monastic rules that Theravada Buddhist monks must follow.

At some temples you can see a ridiculous sight… a giant cobra in front of a meditating Buddha… and the cobra has nice breasts like a woman, and usually a bra or negligee on! I will try to find a photo of this – I have many.

So, Buddha is one that has transcended the fear of ghosts, the fear of the realm outside reality – that we all experience. Buddha good luck charms – amulets, are used by some Thais to help them stay safe and have good luck, and not bad.

On the reverse side of Jatukam Ramathep pendants is often a sacred geometrical pattern – a yant pattern that is comprised of sacred Pali, Sanskrit, and Thai characters. This is arranged in a way that a senior monk (or historical scripts) have shown to be the most powerful good luck arrangement for the wearer of the amulet.

Reverse side of a brilliant white Tok Ha Buddha amulet from Wat Mahathat in Southern Thailand.
Sacred geometrical yant pattern on the back of Thai Buddha pendant from Nakhon si Thammarat. © ThaiAmuletStore.com

The animals of the Chinese zodiac are also used often to show that all wearers are protected with luck, regardless of day of birth.

Sothorn Buddha amulets, Jinarat Buddha amulets, Somdej Buddhas, these are all said to bring the best of luck to wearers, and some people pay a million dollars for very powerful lucky Thai amulets.

There are shops in Bangkok that I’ve seen where buyers hand over a couple hundred thousand baht for special pendants that have been certified as authentic originals. One hundred thousand Thai Baht today is about $3,000 USD.

Salika pendants – which are two birds together – bring good luck love relationships.

Good Luck Buddhist Monk Amulets

Phra Luang Phor Tuad on a solid copper Thai amulet from Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi.
Solid copper Luang Phor Tuad pendant – good luck and protection. From Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi. © ThaiAmuletStore.com

The Luang Phor Tuad amulet above is from Wat Tham Seua in Krabi. Also known as Tiger Cave Temple. Luang Phor Tuad, Luang Phor Klai, Ajahn Chamnian, Luang Phor Koon, Lersi, Chu Chok, and other monks across Thailand have all earned the title of luck bringing monks.

Their pendants are highly sought out for their good luck properties and protection properties. Protection from harm, from spirits, from bad luck, from injury, illness, crime.

Some Thai people believe that Buddhist monks can give them lucky numbers for the lottery – and they do whatever they can do to get the monk to say a number – even if the monk doesn’t want to give one.

Thais might count the number of chants a special monk does – and think that this is the number to play in the lottery for good luck. Some monks in the past have given numbers to people that hit for very large amounts of money in the lottery.

Buddha and other monks that have been in to the jhana realms have said that seeing the future with the divine eye – Abhinna – is possible. Monks are warned not to use their abilities to further harmful practices, and yet, some seem to thrive on the power and continue to use their special abilities to help some with extra luck, good for those who need it most.

The number nine (9) is very significant for good luck in Thailand. Thais buy custom license plates with 9’s on them. Buddhist pendants that are special editions and that are numbers 9, 99, 999, or 9999 are bought for thousands of THB over what the regular pendants in the series without those numbers, sell for.

One of the pendants we have – probably our most powerful good luck pendant – has been named the “9” series Buddha pendant and is said to be the most powerful pendant we have in stock.

Reverse side of a Tok Ha Buddha amulet from Nakhon Si Thammarat's Wat Mahathat Buddhist temple.
Solid Copper “9” series Buddha pendant – our most powerful. © ThaiAmuletStore.com

The chedi at our local temple is going to be 99 meters high. There are 9 levels of the chedi. The number 9 can be found throughout Thai culture and society – as it is widely respected as the most important number.

Hindu Lucky Amulets in Thailand

A white Ganesh elephant amulet in a fancy gold-plated case. This is a Thai amulet from Thailand.
Ganesh – god of obstacles – removing and setting. © ThaiAmuletStore.com

Other Thai good luck symbols are really more of a Hindu origin and come in the form of Ganesh and Kwan Yin. Ganesh is the elephant symbol that is on many of Thailand’s good luck pendants and charms. Ganesh is the god of obstacles.

Specifically, he can remove and set obstacles in the path of people on earth. So, an obstacle removed could result in overwhelming luck in some cases. An obstacle placed, could cause the person to grow spiritually, or intellectually… gain compassion, or some other virtue… and be good too. In our housing complex, we have a very large gold Ganesh shrine that Thais are constantly bringing offerings to.

Kwan Yin is another good luck symbol. She is the goddess of compassion. Of course, many Thais are hurting inside and need better luck in areas of health, getting over loss, and love… Kwan Yin is another of the major lucky figures Thais adore.

Nong Kwak is a woman with her hand extended. She is most commonly found in businesses that want to increase their good luck in business and have customers and money coming in. She is unrivaled for this purpose, and especially Chinese Thais will have a statue or ten of Nong Kwak in their store to bring luck.

Sacred scrolls, or Takrud, are made into pendants for luck in Thailand. These are rolled metal scrolls – or other items that are put in small glass or plastic tubes, and that function as lucky pendants for those that wear them.

Many Thais believe in the power of the rolled scrolls with inscribed prayers written in them by Theravada Buddhist monks here in Thailand – and many people buy these pendants to become as lucky as possible.

Multiple pendant necklaces that hold 3 or 5, even 7 or 9 pendants can be found. Cab drivers, tuk-tuk drivers, and song-thaew drivers seem to wear these multiple good luck pendant necklaces to increase their luck exponentially.

If you are driving a vehicle in Thailand, you might notice people standing around in hats, long sleeves and long pants at the red lights. They are selling flower bracelets that can be put on your rearview mirror to bring safety and luck to those in the vehicle.

Each flower wreath is 20 THB on average (about 66 cents) and some drivers replace them every chance they get – to ensure good health, and luck on Thailand’s rather dangerous roads.

Most people in Thailand wear good luck pendants or other symbols of luck – or have them in a purse, in their car, or somewhere else for luck. If you are looking for lucky pendants – have a look at our Thai Amulet Store site.

Click one of the below Buddhist figures to learn more and find amulets:

The Buddha – Happy Buddha – Jinaraj Buddha – Somdej Buddha

Kwan Yin – Ganesh – Nong Kwak – Luang Phor Tuad 

Jatukam Ramathep –  Thai Black Magic – Buddha Relics

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