The Creation of Narnia: A Swift Flash

Then there came a swift flash like fire (but it burnt nobody) either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children's bodies… 

(The Magician's Nephew)

With the breath of life being blown into the sentient beasts of Narnia and having been welcomed to the great story of Aslan by the singing of the stars, a flash causes the children’s (and presumably the Talking Beasts’) blood to tingle. Dr. Ward already notes that “tingle” when used by Lewis is “loaded with astrological significance.” What happened here? 

Lewis posits two possible origins for the flash. Of course, as Lewis is the author of the story, Lewis could have told us where he wanted the flash to come from. The fact that he doesn’t suggests that he wants either the ambiguity or that both possibilities are (at least symbolically) true. 

The first possible origin of the flash is from the sky, likely meaning the stars. This logically connects with the previous sentence describing the stars’ song. Before the song becomes inaudible, they (as it were) reach out in friendship and solidarity to their fellow-creatures about to begin their service of Aslan. 

This is supported by the only other time Lewis uses the word tingle in the Chronicles, “She went up to the desk and laid her hand on the book; her fingers tingled when she touched it as if it were full of electricity.” Lucy is preparing to find the spell to make the Dufflepuds visible. This requires reading a spell from the Magician’s Book. Unbeknownst to Lucy, the Magician is actually Coriakin, a star. Upon touching the Book of the star, her fingers tingle, for that is the result when the heavenly and earthly connect.

The second possibility is that the flash comes from the Lion. As we remember the Lion (either during or right before the stars’ singing) had breathed out, presumably breathing his spark into what are about to be the sentient creatures of Narnia. How does a swift flash come from the Lion’s breath? 

Perhaps one can suggest that the flash comes at the completion of Alsan’s blowing. The reason for this is as follows. A slow steady breath suggests that the Talking Beasts gain sentience in a slow, incremental manner. The difference then between the Talking and Dumb Beasts, one might think, is incremental, quantitative, they have greater intelligence and insight, nothing more. 

The swift flash upon the Talking Beasts receiving the divine spark demonstrates this is not true. The Talking Beasts are qualitatively different. They can connect with God; they are part of the Great Story. The Dumb Beasts are not. 

(Perhaps that is why Lewis says a “swift flash,” after all, isn’t a flash swift by definition? One might suggest that the flash is described as swift in contrast to the slow breath of Aslan. The build-up is slow, but the divine spark is instantaneous.)

The Talking Beasts are now fully sentient. They are infused with a divine spark. Even so, a sentient, talking being is no better than a non-sentient, dumb one without order, civility, and morality. There must be a command, and we thus wait for Aslan to speak.

The Stars' Song

Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music

(The Magician's Nephew)

In our last post we saw that, upon awakening of sentient beings in Narnia, the stars welcome them to the great Symphony of Creation. Before going on in the Creation story let’s take a few moments to consider the song of the stars. Lewis describes the song as “pure, cold, and difficult.” What is the song as described by these three adjectives?

We have previously discussed that the Heavenly luminaries sing praises to God, the music of the spheres, by following His laws (what we call the laws of physics). Perhaps it is these laws, and not a tune per se, that Lewis is referring to. Let us see how relevant this description is.  

From our earthly perspective, we observe the stars move as governed by the laws of gravity. While not a priori obvious, Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is surprisingly simple depending only on the mass of the objects involved and the distance between them (moderated by the gravitational constant). This simplicity perhaps is what Lewis refers to as "pure." Lewis rarely uses the adjective pure in the Chronicles. When he does, in phrases such as “pure gold,” or “purest of blood,” it appears defined as unadulterated, not mixed with anything else. So too here: the law governing the movement of the stars is clear, unadulterated, not tinted with anything else.

The term “cold” has regularly been applied to science as in uncaring and immutable. The scientific laws do not care about feelings or effort. They are independent of the goodness or evil of a person. Should someone touch an electrified fence, the righteousness of the individual does not change the shock he or she receives. Even in a religious approach to astronomy, the Heavenly spheres and their music are generally cold and uncaring. It is only with rare exceptions (such as at Joshua’s request for the sun to stop, the destruction of the Temple, or the cataclysmic events of the flood) that the spheres pause or alter their song. The religious approach to the presence or consistency of the music of the spheres, is whether one pays enough attention to hear is sensitive enough to hear and contemplate it.

Finally, Lewis describes the song of the stars as difficult. Indeed, the simplicity of the laws of gravitation should not suggest that the evolution of the spheres guided by these laws is simple or straightforward. It took centuries for humanity to transition from epicycles to gravity and even gravitation can cause complex and intricate dynamics. Hence, while the song of the spheres is simply described, the complexity it leads to may hide the purity of the music.

The song of the stars bids the sentient beings of Narnia to join in the Great Story of Aslan. Furthermore, the song calls out for analysis and contemplation. In our world, humanity has always looked to the stars in awe and wonder. Understanding their song, in the words of Maimonides, enables man to “behold through them His wonderful, matchless and infinite wisdom.” And thus, “he will spontaneously be filled with love, praise and exaltation and become possessed of a great longing to know the Great Name.”