CREATIVE WELLNESS STUDIO GOOD PEOPLES LAUNCHES MALI MALI HOME, A DECK OF ORACLE CARDS INSPIRED BY THE MAGIC OF HONG KONG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HONG KONG, August 8, 2024
Good Peoples, a creative wellness studio situated in the heart of Wanchai, announces the launch of Mali Mali Home, an oracle-card deck that takes inspiration from the city of Hong Kong.
The deck of 33 cards includes iconic Hong Kong tropes, ranging from the ordinary to the idiosyncratic, from Lion Rock, shopping malls and egg tarts to illegal structures, typhoon 8 signals and the +$3 surcharge for iced drinks.
Oracle card decks can be enjoyed by tarot readers and novices alike. Users shuffle the deck, drawing a card or series of cards in response to a topic or question, consulting the accompanying booklet to discern the meaning of each card and its advice for the situation in question. An essential item in the toolkits of the more spiritually inclined, Mali Mali Home has been created to appeal broadly to all those who feel an affinity for Hong Kong, regardless of belief system.
The booklet can also be read from front to back. Each image is accompanied by a spread detailing the card’s origin, along with a message intended to inspire: the Property Market card, for example, suggests the reader look into investing in the self; the Mobile Softee ice-cream truck prompts readers to take an amateur or child-like perspective towards the issue at hand; while bamboo scaffolding acts as a symbol of impermanence and a reminder to stay detached from the little things that go wrong in life.
The deck’s name, Mali Mali Home, is derived from a spell phrase used by children in Hong Kong in the same vein as abracadabra – though in fact, the term is an adaptation of the Buddhist chant, Om Mani Padme Hum. Mali Mali Home is the brainchild of Hong Kong writer Christina Ko, a veteran of the local media industry who founded Good Peoples in 2023 as a space for a creative take on wellness.
“The idea for Mali Mali Home came up in early 2020, in the wake of our social movements and at the dawn of our social-distancing measures, which unbeknownst to all of us at the time would last over two years. It was an era during which love for the city was at a fever pitch, when irreversible changes were afoot, and as we posed the question: what really makes Hong Kong, Hong Kong? This is a deck that transcends time and politics. The themes are somewhat current, but the messages within them are timeless and universal. These are all the idiosyncratic ideas I saw and loved across the city when we were bound here by disease and destiny; the reminders that gave me hope that this will always be my home, no matter how things may change and fall apart. Ultimately, this deck is my love letter to my home,” ”
Mali Mali Home is available via Good Peoples’ website. It can be purchased as a standalone product or accompanied by an intuitive card reading by Ko, who channels messages, guidance and insights beyond what the booklet can cover. Shorter intuitive readings using the deck are conducted in most group sessions hosted at Good Peoples, from its weekly meditations to its signature writing and photography workshop, About Me.
Images can be found at:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15hP8C4WoOV1SMe6SnOZmoc9OZEceWMFY
Interviews are available upon request.
ABOUT GOOD PEOPLES
Good Peoples was founded in 2023 as a space for a new kind of wellness and urban spirituality, integrating traditional meditative and healing modalities with present-day sensibilities: think breathwork sessions set to pop-driven playlists, guided meditations for people who obsess over trees, and corporate workshops that brazenly bring a new and heart-hitting approach to team building.
Its signature workshop, About Me, ostensibly aids participants in writing their bios and getting headshots done, but uses these goals as a conduit for a profound self-love and self-discovery journey, allowing them to express and accept themselves authentically, whether on the page, at a networking event or in the bathroom mirror.
ABOUT CHRISTINA KO
Christina Ko has lived many lives, during which she has written for many publications and clients, ranging from Louis Vuitton to the World Health Organization, from the Financial Times to Artsy. For many years she was the editor of Prestige Hong Kong, and later a freelance writer and content strategist, until 2023, when – after waking up one fateful morning to discover she was now psychic – she hung up her editorial hat to devote her attention to Good Peoples. She now exerts her creativity through wellness workshops hosted at Good Peoples’ space in Wanchai, or with partners such as The Upper House, Hong Kong. She continues to tell stories, using cards instead of interview questions, speaking privately instead of writing publicly. She is figuring it all out, still. And she has never been happier.
