Spirit Medicine in Thailand primarily works with the unseen — such as ghosts, angels, demons, spirits, sorcery, and the occult — through ritualistic and symbolic practices that are believed to affect natural and supernatural forces.
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The phenomenon of Spirit Medicine shouldn’t be confused with Spiritual Medicine, which in Thailand is predominantly Buddhist Medicine, although you will often see that the one doesn’t exclude the other and both practices may blend into each other.
As from ancient times, the Thai know many different kinds of ghosts and spirits and they may be benevolent, evil, or need to be appeased to prevent harm for humans or invoked for beneficial influences, and so on.
In Thailand, you will often see that Spirit Medicine is a combination of indigenous animistic, Hindu, Brahmanic, and Buddhist beliefs, typically related to navigating health, luck, the future, or protection against evil forces, carried out by folk healers who actually practice a form of Shamanism.
As for health concerns, Spirit Medicine is used to alleviate or cure health conditions when they arise and provides preventative care and protection against possible health disturbances and afflictions.
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Treatments and practices may involve Sak Yant (magical tattoos), working with amulets, exorcism, rituals, Tham Khwan, meditations, mantras, breathing techniques, visualizations, and the use of magical incantations.
In addition, you can’t see Thai Spirit Medicine as something completely separate of the other Thai Healing Arts. Often they blend together; a Thai Massage given with incantations, a Thai Scraping session accompanied with mantras, a Thai childbirth experience with rituals and visualizations, just to give some examples.
It may all sound as superstition, but even if so, let’s not forget the power of placebos … and if it works, it’s real, even if not based on “scientific evidence.” It’s all in the eye of the beholder. And as has been shown over and over again, the power of mind, belief, and conviction can work miracles.
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