Why ‘insecure’ young Hongkongers are looking for answers from tarot cards

Amid the hustle and bustle of a prime Hong Kong shopping district, there is a small alley where Ceci Yeung sits and quietly shuffles her deck of tarot cards, offering answers to questions both great and small to anyone who walks past her booth.

For two days a week, Yeung performs tarot readings at the Window and Alley, a 46 sq ft space in Causeway Bay that is commonly used for community events and as a spot for local vendors to sell artwork and other goods.

Among her clientele, many of whom are in their twenties and thirties, relationship questions are always the most popular.

But this year has seen a growing number of people seeking answers to existential dilemmas, she said.

“In an earlier stage of my career, romance was the most-asked question, like whether they should get back together, or questions about cheating,” Yeung said.

“But this year, people feel more helpless than usual because of huge societal changes. They feel insecure about their current situation. Maybe they feel they might become redundant at work or are replaceable by artificial intelligence.