Thai people are among the most superstitious in the world. There is a deep rooted belief in magic and ghosts. Of course this is more pronounced in rural less educated Thais but even college graduates in Bangkok truly believe the Buddhist amulets around their necks will protect them and give them good fortune. There are claims that people have survived accidents that should be impossible to survive. If they have an amulet on their neck suddenly that Buddha is widely sought after and is believed to have powerful magic.

Another superstition is that each day has a color attached to it that brings good kuck. The day you are born determines your " birth color" and that would be your personal lucky color. Wearing the color of the day on that day is also believed to convey good luck. It's in my experience a means to start up a conversation with a Thai girl. If you know the color of the day and you are wearing it.,you can recieve some wanted attention in the bars .

I was asked at least by one hombre after my chat post to put the list of the colors in Discus and a bit about the reason behind the color. That was the genesis of this thread. Perhaps we can also use it to comment on Thai superstitions you have witnessed or encountered. I'm sure there are many stories of Thai girls reactions to ghosts etc.
Anyway -- the colors are --


Monday -- Yellow . The King was born on Monday hence Yellow is his color. The origin of all the colors lies in ancient Hindu stories that the Thais believed in prior to Buddhism taking over the country.
Monday in Thai is Wan Jahn or day of the moon. According to Hindu legend Shiva turned fifteen beautiful ladies into dust , wrapped the dust in yellow cloth , dipped it in Ambrosia and tossed it into the sky. This became the moon and yellow became the color of Monday.
Wearing yellow on Monday brings you happiness and joy.


Tuesday -- Pink . Thai -- Wan Angkahn . Day of Mars. Shiva turned eight buffalo into dust and wrapped the dust in a Pink cloth more Ambrosia and viola out comes Mars .
Wearing Pink on Tuesday brings you good luck.


Wednesday -- Green . Wan Poot . Day of Mercury . Shiva again -- seventeen elephants into dust -- Wrapped them in green leaves, Ambrosia gave birth Mercury.
Wearing green brings good health.


Thursday -- Orange . Wan Paruhat . Jupiter. Nineteen hermits into dust, orange cloth etc .
Wearing orange brings good luck.


Friday -- Blue . Wan Sook . Venus . Twenty one cows into dust ,blue cloth, etc.
Wearing blue again good luck.


Saturday -- Purple . Wan Sao . Saturn Ten Tigers into dust,Purple and Black cloth, etc. The Black was dropped many years ago because it was also associated with bad luck.
Wearing purple by itself good luck.


Sunday -- Red . Wan Ahtit . Day of the Sun . Ten Lions into dust , red cloth get the idea ?
Wearing Red very good luck.


In my experience the two MOST followed colors are Red on Sunday and Yellow on Monday. If you find the above too hard to remember - just stick with Red and Yellow and you could be golden !

Sorry if this was tedious but forget about the reasons for the colors . I'll bet 99% of Thai people don't know anyway. Just remember the colors if you want to impress a Thai pooying a lil bit.

Khun Mor

Fascinating.

This may not qualify exactly as superstition, but it certainly is a curious belief, seemingly rooted in custom:

I was astonished to hear a bright, university-educated 21-year-old confidently proclaim that she cannot get pregnant as long as she concentrates. She truly believes that mind control is the key to contraception, conceding that some of her friends have gotten pregnant, but only because they "forget".

Tujunga

I'll have to remember that !

Tujunga, it behooves a monger to never underestimate the mystical and universal power of "Chi" and the "Ying/Yang" dynamics that facilitate the pornostar experience :-) Now, if you run into gals in AC/Colombia reiterating these truths, you'll know who they've been hang'n with.

A couple of friends are married to very nice Vietnamese women, both of whom moved to the US as children back in the mid-70's, after the war. Both grew up in Northern Virginia, went to colleges here, neither speak much Vietnamese at all - but both have a genie on the shelf in their kitchens, and one actually has the mirror on the wall opposite the front door, so that if the spirit of a dragon tries to enter it will see it's reflection and think another dragon spirit already lives there and will leave you alone. Or some such shit.

Do the Thais have similar superstitions about genies and whatnot?

Hmmmm... if wearing purple by itself brings good luck, then I need to start telling these girls just how lucky they'll be when they actually get Mr. Purple inside them...

Cat
Not Genies that I am aware of but my Thai ex-wife also had small octagonal mirrors --Chinese in origin -- hung on the outside of all our doors and outside our bedroom window to ward off evil spirits and ghosts. She also insisted on a large mirror hung on the wall directly across from the front entrance for the same reason you mention above.
Of course we had several small altars and Buddha statues that had to be fed and watered frequently accompanied by the appropriate prayers and chants.
She wanted a spirit house but changed her mind because she was too lazy bring food and water there every day. The spirit house is for the ghosts of your house to live in instead of yours, but aparently the Thaios believe if you do not feed them EVERY day they become angry and hungry and enter your house. Buddha she said was more tolerant and you only needed to feed him occasionally.

Just checked. I was born on a Friday here, which would have been Saturday in Thailand, making purple my Thai birth color. Whoa, double luck girls!

Khun Purple -

Won't they get the triple whammy when they see that huge purple dick you carry around ??

I don't mind the genie thing that much, except on New Years when they talk to it and open up the lid so he can fly out and do whatever he needs to do.

Catocony,

Just tell your favorite Thai girl that you have a genie in your shorts that needs to fly out and do whatever he needs to do, but that she shouldn't worry, it will bring her good luck if he does.

Khun Mor, this is a fascinating subject of the colors that you have thoughtfully relayed here. Thai culture, religious beliefs and customs are indeed fascinating. I also observed that the Thais love to wear red on a Sunday and when I remember to wear red, there are a lot of mutual smiles and admiration. Yellow on a Monday for His Majesty King Rama IV, shows respect for one of the most revered King's in Thai history.

I am pleased that black was dropped because of its obvious association with death and evil. Purple is a much better replacement and a beautiful color in its own right. I am sure Khun Murasaki will agree!

LETTERS - Thais look quite horrified if you send them a letter or memo in RED. This is because coffins are scripted in RED lettering for the names of the dead. So when you ask them to sign it they tend to have an expression of horror - not surprising if you believe that you are signing your own death warrant!