Eagle

With its acute eyesight, the eagle has come to embody an all-seeing EYE. The eagle is often a solar symbol, and can be linked to all sky gods. It signifies inspiration, release from bondage, victory, longevity, speed, pride, father and royalty; it is often an emblem for powerful nations. The Roman, French, Austrian, German, and American peoples have all adopted this image as their symbol. Hence, a two-headed eagle has come to often mean the union of two nations, but it also means creative power. In psychological symbology, the eagle is viewed as "a mightily winged creature in the heavens of the mind" (Biederman, 110). Since it lives in full light of the sun, it is considered luminous and shares characteristics with air and fire. Through its detachment from earth it represents spirit and soul. Dante has called the eagle of 'bird of God', while Jung defines it merely as height.

The eagle is often depicted in combat with other animals; when seen in combat with a bull or lion, it represents the spirit or the intellect in conflict with the physical. When shown with a SERPENT in its talons, the two represent the struggle and unity of LIGHT and DARKNESS; good and evil. In this context the eagle depicts LIGHT and good, while the serpent represents evil and DARKNESS. Often its opposite is the owl -- the bird of darkness and death.


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