'Be the TIHEI to the Mauri Ora!'

The TIHEI cards are here!

Jun 14, 2025

The TIHEI cards have been a passion project of mine for a few years now so I am really excited they are finally here! To me, these cards are another way of bringing the atua to the forefront of our daily thinking…as we once did i ngā rā o mua (in days gone past). Its about remembering our atua pūrākau, its about seeing their momo or characteristics and its about ‘being in conversation with the atua.’

There are 60 cards in a pack. Each card has a reflection and reference to a particular atua (ancestor/deity/ realm/ god).

The TIHEI cards are $59.95 a pack + postage ($6.90 NZ Post Economy for up to 2 packs).

You can place an order by emailing your name and address to: tiheicards@gmail.com

I will send you my account details and total cost. Once pūtea comes through, I will put them in the post to you!

If you’re interested in knowing a little bit about how the TIHEI cards came into being, who they are for and how they can be used, read on:

What is TIHEI?

TIHEI is a hauora (wellbeing) kaupapa that I have developing over the last 10 years. It has come out into the world in small iterations, sometimes on FB and sometimes on my Substack page. I also wrote a TIHEI programme for rangatahi in youth residence which revolved around training for triathlon and learning about the atua that algin with triathlon.

What are the TIHEI cards?

On the back of each card has a reflection and reference to a particular atua (ancestor/ god/ deity/ realm). The idea is you randomly pick a card and throughout your day, you reflect about the message contained and the particular atua. By doing so, you are in conversation with this atua. You are breathing life into their presence, their essence, hence the acclamation, TIHEI Mauri Ora! But instead of Mauri Ora, the name of the atua is there. To bring this atua to the forefront of your thinking.

Who did I create these cards for?

To be honest, I created these cards for someone like me. A Māori wahine on her hauora journey who wanted some awhi/ nudges/ connection to wairua alongside that journey. To provide some guidance as I traversed the highs and lows, the obstacles and challenges of actualising what wellbeing looked like for me. To be healthier, fitter, stronger and yes lighter.

But as we all know, getting fitter, stronger, lighter and healthier is not just about taha tinana (physical wellbeing). I wanted ‘something’ that connected to me to ‘something’ deeper. I ‘trialed’ these cards (using cardboard, my printer and borrowing images off the internet’ with whānau (including my two young adult sons), friends and Substack subscribers. Their feedback was instrumental in me continuing on with bringing them out into the world.

I recently received this beautiful feedback on the TIHEI cards:

My hope is that the cards will be for anyone who is open to connection with wairua, to the Universe, to the tai ao (environment) in navigating their own hauora and life journeys.

Acknowledgments:

A large number of the photo’s came from photographer and artist, Michelle Levy and I am forever grateful for her koha, feedback, support and belief in me to bring these to fruition. As well as being an amazing visual artist, she is also an amazing wordsmith.

https://www.michellelevy.net/

Four out of the sixty photos were my mine. Lols. My kete, my korowai, my shot of Kapiti Island and someone who took a photo of me at Porangahau during the karanga wānanga.

The remaining photos were from photographers on the Pexels website: https://www.pexels.com/

What intrigued me about this is – that these photographers come from all over the world. Images of humans and the environment which show cases our universality and picked out by me, an indigenous wahine, to showcase indigenous whakaaro. TIHEI, Mauri Ora!

For those that are interested, I have detailed each artist (apart from one which I could not re-find, but will endeavour to keep looking) in the ‘references’ section of this post.

I would also like to mihi to Mitch Leathem who designed the TIHEI tohu for me. Her patience and considered questions were so appreciated. I love the TIHEI tohu!

Nō reira, if you are interested in purchasing a pack, I have about 70 packs left. Email: tiheicards@gmail.com

Arohanui,

Lisa