What is the King of Pentacles foot resting on?

Gov

This is something I've noticed before and always mean to look up but never get around to. It looks like a stone carving of an animals head but what sort of animal is it supposed to be?
 

Sulis

I think it looks like a tortoise - representative of the Earth element.
 

starrystarrynight

If it is a tortoise, might that also suggest this king's propensity to move slowly forward (as in the Hare and the Tortoise...slow and steady wins the race?) making sure he has firm footing where he is before proceeding forward?

Just a thought. :)
 

Sulis

starrystarrynight said:
If it is a tortoise, might that also suggest this king's propensity to move slowly forward (as in the Hare and the Tortoise...slow and steady wins the race?) making sure he has firm footing where he is before proceeding forward?

Just a thought. :)

Yep, he's been slow and steady all the time he was The Knight and now it's paid off and he's got that lovely castle and all of this lusciousness.
He's successful and being like the tortoise is how he's got there.
And like all the Pentacle courts, he's well grounded too :).
 

Gov

starrystarrynight said:
If it is a tortoise, might that also suggest this king's propensity to move slowly forward (as in the Hare and the Tortoise...slow and steady wins the race?) making sure he has firm footing where he is before proceeding forward?

Just a thought. :)

Well, that would certainly be interesting in contrast to the Queen of Pentacles rabbit (hare?), which I had though of only in terms of fertility before now.
 

Abrac

It was suggested to me once upon a time that it is a wild boar, and it does look like one to me, but it's hard to say for sure.
 

Gov

Yeah it looks more like a boar's head than a turtle to me too, the first thing I thought of was a cow but it didn't resemble all the bulls in the picture enough for me to be totally convinced.
 

Sagepowder

When I looked closely at it it reminded me of an armadillo. Though it does also look like a boar's head.
 

All Is One

I can't tell what it is either...but the Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack shed a bit of light on connection between the animal figure at his foot and the card... Re: King of Pents:

"Enjoying life means a closeness to nature as well [...] Life is good to him and he means to enjoy it."

Will be interested to see what other people think the figure actually represents under his foot...
 

StellarMyst

Boar's head is what I thought too. ;)

Blesssings,

StellarMyst