Talisman

The Thai name for a penis amulet is palad khik, which means “honorable surrogate penis.” These small charms, averaging less than 2′ in length, are worn by boys and men on a waist-string under the clothes, off-center from the real penis, in the hope that they will attract and absorb any magical injury directed toward the generative organs. It is not uncommon for a man to wear several palad khiks at one time, one to increase gambling luck, for instance, another to attract women, and a third for invulnerability from bullets and knives. With the exception of styles # 7 and 15 shown below, women in Thailand do not generally wear palad khiks, nor is there a Thai equivalent of the vulva amulet for them to use — although a circular disk amulet called a chaping is worn by young girls to protect their genitals from evil forces.

The palad khik amulet is said to have originated in the Siva linga of India and to have been imported to Thailand by Cambodian monks in the 8th century AD. Early styles of palad khik bear inscribed invocations, entreaties, and praises to Siva; later ones combine these with interlineated invocations and praises to Buddha; modern ones bear uniformly Buddhist inscriptions, invariably written in an old form of script that cannot be read by contemporary Thais.

Palad khik amulets carved from wood, bone, or horn are made by monks who specialize in their manufacture, and the efficacy of a given amulet is dependant on the charisma and reputation of its creator. The lettering of the inscriptions is a matter of serious ritual and can take several days to complete. Cast metal palad khiks do not always bear inscriptions, but they may carry the additional symbolism embodied in an animal holding the penis.

Although palad khik amulets are not designed specifically to use in love spells, among American eclectic pagans, witches, and magicians, they are often employed that way at the present time.