brenmck
The Two of Coins in RW type decks usually pictures a minor conflict with balancing daily issues of life; finances, relationships, decision-making. But here we have the Sun and Moon, with the implications of those cards very pronounced (enlightenment vs. bewilderment?), the coins of animus and anima “polarized,” and the body of the lion forming a lemniscate, symbol of infinity around the Sun and Moon.
Place describes the lion symbol in this card as that which is “fixed,” and it devours the eagle, “volatile.” Yet the eagle is not consumed and is still capable of putting up a fight, as the story of the card suggests. The embattled lion, fixed in his stable earthly aspects, tries to control the free-soaring eagle, which is also part of his tail, his being. These inner conflicts go well beyond the notion of juggling daily affairs to the picture of one part of the psyche in serious conflict with another. Again the “groundedness” of the suit of Coins fights for control over the airy nature of this untamed “emblem of the soul.” Note that when the procession of this suit reaches the King of Coins, where this battle is now won, there is no eagle symbol, but the lion appears as the King; his mane is smooth, he wears a crown at last, rests a comfortable paw on his coin, and looks quite regal and satisfied.
Place describes the lion symbol in this card as that which is “fixed,” and it devours the eagle, “volatile.” Yet the eagle is not consumed and is still capable of putting up a fight, as the story of the card suggests. The embattled lion, fixed in his stable earthly aspects, tries to control the free-soaring eagle, which is also part of his tail, his being. These inner conflicts go well beyond the notion of juggling daily affairs to the picture of one part of the psyche in serious conflict with another. Again the “groundedness” of the suit of Coins fights for control over the airy nature of this untamed “emblem of the soul.” Note that when the procession of this suit reaches the King of Coins, where this battle is now won, there is no eagle symbol, but the lion appears as the King; his mane is smooth, he wears a crown at last, rests a comfortable paw on his coin, and looks quite regal and satisfied.