DarkLakeTarot Does Kwanzaa! [pt 1/7]

​Happy Holidays everyone!  I trust that you all had a wonderful time celebrating whatever holiday you hold dear with your loved ones.
Today is Boxing Day and thus, the first day of Kwanzaa!  As part of my personal journey into exploring my own African heritage, I found it important over the last few years to start studying Kwanzaa for myself.  created in 1966 by Dr Maulana Karenga, it's more of a cultural festival as opposed to a religious or spiritual one- so literally the only prerequisite to celebrating is having some of that sweet Melanin in your blood~  but everyone should learn about Kwanzaa anyway, so that's what these posts will be about!

Kwanzaa's 7 days are separated its Seven Principles or The Nguzo Saba, and the first one for today is UMOJA [or 'Unity']: to strive/maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race at large.  And if there is one thing I have been kinda lacking as of late, it’s Unity.  Within the last year a lot of my endeavours with DLT have dropped onto the wayside because of other things taking up my focus [like work, performing and SO. MANY. REHEARSALS.].  So I decided for this first day of Kwanzaa I was going to sit down with my cards and figure out where the disconnect is, and find out what elements do I need to bring together to unify my goals with this tarot-reading practice.
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[also I wanna point that in a perfect world I would’ve been reading this spread with my new Dust II Onyx deck- to keep in the spirit of Kwanzaa- buuuuut it only just got shipped this afternoon so I’ll be cycling through my current decks for this exercise- first up is my Initiatory Golden Dawn Deck~]

So firstly- here’s the spread I created!  Feel free to try it out for yourselves.  I changed the wording for own spread since I’m concentrating on fostering unity within the confines of how I envision DarkLake Tarot.

And here’s what I got for the spread [with a bonus Shadow Card to see what is actually stopping me from unifying my objective]:

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Unity with Goals [or Business in my case] – Queen of Chalices
This Watery Matriarch is all about being sensitive to the needs of her people as well as her own, with the grace and kindness of a loving motherly figure tending to her child.  DarkLake Tarot will only grow when I put in the necessary time and effort to make it into the fruitful endeavour I know it can be.

Unity with Relationships [or Clients] – Princess of Chalices
Aha, a mother-daughter relationship indeed!  This archetype is similar to the sweet nature of the Queen of Chalices, but a touch more grounded and courageous.  Still, she’s a romantic at heart, and it’s my job to encourage their daydreams.

Unity with Community - The Star
To the wider community [however that is defined, but for me I think it’s a combo of my actual surroundings and target audiences- the ones that may not ever make it to ‘clients’ but otherwise still benefit from what I have to offer] DarkLake Tarot should operate as an icon of hope and reassurance.  One thing about stars in the sky- regardless of the reality of stars in the Cosmos, we consider them to be a fixed and steady presence, and that’s why they are often seen as sources of comfort.  My work with DarkLake Tarot must be aligned with that goal.

Unity with Detractors – Prince of Pentacles
I mean hey, everyone’s got haters, right?  [Alright I’m reasonably certain I don’t have any].  But people who will deride, misunderstand and discredit what I am doing will be out there, and that’s just part of the cycle- but how I deal with them is simple: through my work ethic.  So long as I learn to work without distraction, the naysayers will have to see that I am both serious and legit about what I do.  And the rewards that will come from those efforts will help out tons too.

 Unity with Self – Princess of Pentacles
Much like her cousin earlier, the Princess of Pentacles is a practical individual- but what she needs is an avenue to test the limits of her creativity and innovation.  I have the tendencies towards being a hard worker already- it’s apparent in all of my other endeavours- so why not apply them here? 

And lastly the Shadow Card I pulled… the Ace of Chalices.  Not terribly surprising for someone who already lacks a lot of water in her natal chart.  If my proverbial font of intuition and passion is all tapped out- especially if its flow is being diverted into other endeavours- then it’s no wonder that I can’t be like the Queen of Chalices to my business.  I have to reconnect to that intuitive side again- no, I have to remember to connect to that side again.  Refill the cup when it gets empty.  Revitalize my practice from the ground up.  Intuitive means like second-nature, instinctive, right?

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Well this was a fun exercise to try out!  And I have a lot to sleep on tonight.  Tomorrow I return to work for the rest of the week, and to the rest of the activities that threaten to claim my time as well.  But in the spirit of Umoja, I’m committed to making this all work.
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Stay tuned for tomorrow’s spread!