What is the difference between being self-full and being full of yourself? People who we consider to be “full of themselves” don’t tend to consider others. They always want to be the center of the conversation. They always act as if their priorities are the only things that matter.

Selfish people care more about their own comfort than the comfort of others.

Few of us want to be selfish. Yet, we all need to learn to prioritize our needs. Sometimes, we must put ourselves first. That’s an uncomfortable thing for many of us to do.

I often refer to the need to put ourselves first as “that airplane thing.” During the safety talk before the airplane takes off, we are always reminded that, should the oxygen masks drop, we must put on our own oxygen mask before helping someone else with theirs.

If we are traveling with children, or with the infirmed, this directive seems so counterintuitive. Yet, it is a metaphor for self-care.

It’s especially important to remember the need for self-care during these difficult times. Right now, the emotional demands on us may be greater than usual. And, our usual self-care practices might not be available to us.

My favorite self-care practices, other than tarot and meditation, involve spas, salons, yoga studios and live music. Clearly, I don’t have access to any of those things these days.

The challenge for all of us right now is to take care of our responsibilities in this new reality, and also to remember that we are responsible for our self-care.

My personal commitment to my self-fullness includes playing my guitar, spending time online with friends, attending online musical events and doing video exercise classes. When all this is over, I hope to keep some of these activities on my busy schedule!

Very often we feel guilty when we take time for ourselves, especially when we know that others in the world are suffering, and that there are people who are depending on us to meet their needs. That’s when we must remember that airplane thing. We will do a better job helping others when we have taken time to make sure our own needs are met.

The StaarCorner

StaarCon, the Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers Conference, is scheduled for January 2021, in Palm Beach Gardens.

StaarCon will be an annual event, welcoming participants from around the globe, as well as those who live and work in Florida.

We have a four-point mission for our conference. You can read about our mission on the StaarCon website.

Ticket are available now. You can select from a range of options to meet your needs.

StaarCon Presenter Benebell Wen Tarot Artist and Author — StaarCon Presenter Benebell Wen
Tarot Artist and Author

Three Tarot Practices for Self-Care

Tarot study and divination is always an act of self-care. Treating yourself to a reading with a great professional reader can help you find answers, gain new perspective, and feel better in difficult times. Your own personal tarot practice can offer healing, insight, humor, and growth. Here are three practices that will help you use your tarot deck as a tool of self-care.

Card of the Day

Pulling one card every day to be your ‘Card of the Day’ (COTD) is a great practice. Don’t think of this as a daily reading. Rather, think of it as a meditative and energetic focus for the day.

If you aren’t familiar with the card, spend some time researching it in order to learn more about it.

Notice the way the card’s energy appears in your day.

Tarot Collage

You can do this with scissors and glue, or digitally. Simply find images and put them together to create a tarot card. You will find that this process is fun and creative and helps you to understand the card in a new and deeper way.

You don’t have to make a whole deck, simply rendering a card or two can be soothing and enlightening.

Tarot Trade

We often say that your tarot friends are your best friends. Find a friend and trade readings with them! You can do this by email, text, phone or video. While not the same as giving or receiving a professional reading, the insights and fellowship that can come from discussing the cards with your friend should not be underestimated.

The Major Arcana, Magical and Mundane Live on Zoom

Get your ticket now to join us for our next Zoom class!

On Thursday, April 23 at 7 pm EDT I will be presenting this interactive class which takes a deep dive into the twenty-two Major Arcana cards.

Whether you are a tarot beginner, professional, or somewhere in between, you will find this class enlightening and entertaining.

The twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana are considered to hold the “Greater Secrets” of tarot. In this class you will learn their spiritual lessons as well as the information they may reveal in a reading. You will also learn which Major Arcana cards to use to manifest your desires.

The Major Arcana cards are here to assist in our spiritual growth and our divination. They can also be powerful tools in creating our future.

Register now for this exciting live class. Class fee is $37.50.

The Week in Review

This week I shared a blogpost entitled How Tarot Helps When We are Suffering.

Did you catch my free live webinar on YouTube, The Incredibly Versatile Two-Card Spread?

Keep your eyes on my Facebook Business Page and my YouTube channel throughout the week!

From Around the Web

I bet we are all watching more videos than usual right now! Here are some of my favorites on YouTube that I found and enjoyed this week. I hope you enjoy them too!

It’s been twelve years since the closing of the Broadway musical, A Chorus Line. The cast came together, in quarantine, to dance a number, separately, together.

There are so many coronavirus musical parodies. Although this is a serious problem, humor sometimes helps us get through it. Here is one of my favorites. It’s a Bee Gees parody, “Staying Inside”.

This spring, teachers all over needed to quickly move their classes online. Of course, some classes are easier to transition to the online learning environment than others. Dance students at Lawrence High School in New York look forward to their spring dance recital every year. This year, of course, it had to be cancelled.

Here’s what they did instead.

Cards for Your Consideration

There are many tarot cards that can, in context, suggest the need for self-care and self-nurturance. This week, I would like to consider the four Queens as cards that can direct our attention to the need for self-care.

Each Queen can ask us to nurture something within ourselves. The Queen of Swords may ask us to nurture our intellect, to read a book, take a class or learn something new.

The Queen of Pentacles may ask us to nurture our body or our home. Perhaps she encourages us to exercise, to eat good food, to garden, or to rearrange our furniture.

The Queen of Wands ask us to nurture our passions and our creativity. Perhaps she suggests that we do something fun or start a creative project.

The Queen of Cups suggests that we nurture our emotional well-being. Perhaps she tells us to call a friend or connect with someone or something that we love.

Sometimes when the Queens appear in a reading they are speaking of specific women in our lives. Sometimes, however, they appear to remind us to be more self-full, and to nurture ourselves.