The Hidden Charn Connection: How One Narnia Illustration Explains Tash’s Origins

Longtime devotees of The Chronicles of Narnia often find themselves revisiting C.S. Lewis’ trademark fantasy series—there are more than enough books to warrant it, after all. Now, with Greta Gerwig‘s already controversial The Magician’s Nephew Netflix adaptation underway, more folks are talking about the series than ever.

But to go back to the original Lewis novels themselves, there’s one minor detail in The Magician’s Nephew that may just reveal something dark and devastating about the world of Narnia. This seemingly unimportant fact is something that, after careful research and fan speculation, seems to imply that there was more going on in the famed prequel novel than we understood at the time of its initial release.

‘How ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ Illuminates Tash’s Arrival in Narnia’

Image via HarperCollins

Folks familiar with all Narnia novels will recall that the conclusion, The Last Battle, wraps up with the arrival of the demon-god, Tash. This monstrous, vulture-like creature materializes from the shadows to devour all in its path without partiality. It’s a horrific sight brought about by the Calormene men who worshiped the beast with ritualistic sacrifice. In some respects, the worship of Tash in the form of “Tashlan” leads to Narnia’s end (though Aslan remains firmly in control), which has led many to wonder where the demon originated in the first place. Well, The Magician’s Nephew may offer some answers, though not in the way of Lewis’ writings explicitly, but rather the artistic renditions approved by the author and drawn by Pauline Baynes. Now, to give proper credit where credit is due, this idea was first documented on Tumblr years ago before being popularized by Stuart Hunt on his Narnia-centric YouTube channel Into the Wardrobe. For more deep-dives into Narnia lore, that channel does amazing work keeping the spirit of Lewis’ work alive.

Although first mentioned by the Calormenes in A Horse and His Boy, Tash doesn’t actually appear in that novel. Lewis almost implies that, like the gods of the biblical Old Testament, Tash and others like him (Azaroth and Zardeenah) are nothing more than false idols. Of course, consistent with Lewis’ own Christian worldview, The Chronicles of Narnia soon reveals that there are genuine demonic forces behind such hollow idols, with Tash being an actual entity existing in Narnia. Considering that over 1,500 years (in Narnian time) take place between A Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle, it’s obvious that Tash has been around for quite a long time. Frankly, it’s hard to say for certain just how back the worship of Tash goes. It’s in this truth that we can lean further into The Magician’s Nephew, which offers quite an inspired answer as to Tash’s origins and how they may impact Narnia as a whole.

Artwork by Pauline Baynes accompanies all seven Narnia novels. It was her vision that helped children (and adults) everywhere first see Narnia for how Lewis seemingly envisioned it. Well, in “The Bell and the Hammer,” we find an image of Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer in Charn, the homeworld of Jadis, who would later be known as the White Witch. In Baynes’ depiction, we find the biggest clue to Tash’s origin. When Digory and Polly wander through Charn, they encounter an idol that somewhat resembles Tash. But the real clue comes from the symbols in the door frame surrounding the courtyard, where a creature with a face that looks remarkably like what we see of Tash in the illustrations found in The Last Battle appears. Thus, it’s quite possible that Tash was first worshiped on Charn before making its way to Narnia.

Was Tash the Series’ “Big Bad” from the Start?

It seems highly probable that Tash may have attached itself to Jadis — who later comes to hate Aslan — at some point in Charn’s history. As Stuart Hunt postulates, it could be that Tash was the one who first inspired her to use the “Deplorable Word” that wiped out Charn. Maybe that “great price” the witch paid for such power was that of her soul? It could explain her full, unadulterated devotion to evil, with her commitment to power and her self-imposed royal destiny being prime motivators for such a dark alliance.

Going even a step further, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe reveals that the White Witch has ancestry that includes Jinn and giant blood. If this is true and not just a myth propagated by Jadis herself, Lewis may have been connecting the villain to the biblical Nephilim first spoken of in Genesis 6 (giants who were fathered by demons). Thus, there might be a deeper connection between the two Narnian antagonists that may even go all the way back to her parentage. When Jadis accompanies Digory and Polly to the Wood Between the Worlds (and eventually Narnia itself), she might’ve brought Tash with her. Indeed, Aslan tells Digory that he has brought evil into Narnia, with the obvious conclusion being that he means Jadis. However, if Tash indeed arrived with Jadis at Narnia’s creation only to grow in influence over time, Aslan may also be speaking of the demon itself.

This changes the entire way we read The Chronicles of Narnia, because just as Aslan symbolizes all that is good, right, and pure in Narnia — indeed, to Lewis, Aslan was always a “supposal” of how Jesus Christ might appear on another world, thus making Aslan literally God in the form of a Great Lion — Tash is evil incarnate, the lion’s philosophical and moral opposite. It’s an interesting theory, and certainly not the only one to connect Lewis with works outside his own. For how intricate and inspired it is, this ambitious theory deserves some proper respect from Narnia readers.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew hits theaters in 2027.

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