Margarete Petersen Study -Two of Coins

firemaiden

Translation:
  • The soles of the feet are the part of the body which has direct contact with the earth. [Constant rotating, alternating] change (Wechsel) means what happens frequently, like walking, is performed mechanically, automatically, and unconsciously. Take a step consciously. At the physical (body) and psychic levels an unconsious pattern will become conscious, take a step next to it, observe it. Bring something old and new into balance. A game, a swaying to and fro. One part is bound to the old, and one part carries the step into the unknown. In the Tao, it is called "the pathway which develops in order to disappear "

    ["Der Weg, der dadurch ensteht, daß er gegangen wird"]


Link to image: Zwei der Münzen




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Rusty Neon

Footprints all over the place

Hi firemaiden ... Thanks. I'll try to post some comments a bit later on. In the meantime, you mentioned that there are footprints on other Coins cards too. In the MP commentary, she gives an idea why she included footprints on at least one Coins card and perhaps most suitably on the 2 of Coins, but have you been able to figure out why MP felt the need to put footprints on those other Coins cards as well?
 

firemaiden

Feet as earth eyes

I think the footprint is the leitmotiv which represents the suit of coins for her, in that the footstep is both an emblem of the body, and of the earth, since (as is quoted above) it is our contact point with the earth. There is only one footprint on the three, (no mention in the text) but on the six of coins there are two foot and two handprints. For the six she again says "Exchange with the earth through the soles of the feet..." and she recommends to "link consciousness to the feet" and to "run over various earth surfaces. Sand, stony ground, dirt, mud, moss, meadows, invigorate through the feet the whole body and the organs"

Perhaps for MP the soles/souls of the feet are like sensory doors to the soul, and as we observe the world with our eyes, so should we feel it with our toes...

Are there eyes on those feet?
 

Rusty Neon

Thanks firemaiden! And hello to all.

With the 2 of Coins, we see MP using the familiar symbol of the ouroboros (serpent biting its own tail) that we used in the 2 of Coins cards from the OGD and Thoth decks and disguised in the 2 of Coins from the RWS deck. (Incidentally, the ouroboros was prefigured in the design features of the Tarot de Marseille 2 of Coins. Perhaps, like in the RWS, the designers intended an ouroboros but disguised it.)

The ouroboros has various meanings in Western symbolism. One meaning that appeals to me in the context of the 2 of Coins is "marriage of opposing principles, Heaven and Earth, night and day, the Chinese yang, and yin, and of all the properties possessed by these opposing elements" (Chevalier/Gheerbrant). In fact, Crowley uses yin/yang symbols in his 2 of Coins card to bring home the concept of constant change, and alternation, in the material world. Our world is in constant flux, as shown by the magician in the RWS 2 of Coins card juggling the two pentacles.

To MP, an example of such constant rotation and alternation are human steps, which firemaiden notes is at the same time a leitmotiv of MP's for the Coins suit -- footsteps as emblem of body and earth. Yes, IMHO, MP overdoes it with those feet. Great concept, but once for the whole suit would have sufficed.

Interestingly, we also see a theme of human steps and alternation in the Osho Zen 2 of Rainbows (=2 of Coins). The card is titled Moment to Moment. In that card, we see the man in Oriental dress step-toeing "lightly and non-seriously" across the stones, "balanced and alert".
 

firemaiden

It sure is wonderful to have your input here Rusty Neon. I particularly loved reading your historical perspective -- I do think MP usually harks back to all three tradtions -- Marseilles, RW and Thoth as much as possible and then adds her own twist. Isn't it the two of coins which was habitually used for the artist (or publisher) to leave their signature/stamp?
 

Rusty Neon

firemaiden said:
It sure is wonderful to have your input here Rusty Neon. I particularly loved reading your historical perspective -- I do think MP usually harks back to all three tradtions -- Marseilles, RW and Thoth as much as possible and then adds her own twist. Isn't it the two of coins which was habitually used for the artist (or publisher) to leave their signature/stamp?

Yes, precisely! The 2 of Coins was a signature/stamp card in antique tarots. We see this idea to this day in American playing cards in the Ace of Spades.

In the Conver TdM, the ouroboros is disguised as an infinity-shaped ribbon around the 2 coin emblems of the 2 of Coins cards, with Conver's name and publication year written on the ribbon. A wonderful combination of function (i.e., signature/stamp) and purpose (i.e., inclusion of the ouroboros), wouldn't you say?
 

Little Baron

Ok. This one is a little harder to comprehend.

So we have change.

And it is likened to walking. How constant walking becomes unconscious, rather than conscious [as it is when we learn at first]. Is that right?

So how do we interpret this one? Is it simply that change will be coming into our lives? Or does it suggest we change events in our lives? Or does it suggest we go with the flow?

Aside from these obvious ideas, I cannot get much more from the card at the moment.

LB