I am new to the forum, but I have been on this site since it began. I grew up reading the books, multiple times over. I was a Christian that fell in love with Aslan... More than Jesus. I know I might get a lot of hate here for even suggesting that there is paganism in a positive light in the Narnia books, but I truly think that if people looked beyond the allegory that Lewis very much had a deep love and appreciation of pagan beliefs, myths and lore. That even I can see the beauty and genius of storytelling in Aslan's sacrifice. That the lore and myth of Jesus is in itself beautiful, I know that even as a pagan.
I am not here to get evangelized to or berated. I am looking for others who have the ability to look at Narnia as a whole and be scholars with me. I am not suggesting taking Christianity out of it in place of paganism, but that perhaps there is a marriage, love and appreciation between the two.
I have found so think pieces online, but none that delve really deep into the idea. I am curious what others think of this idea.
Just to clarify, I am not on the White Witch's side, it's silly but I feel like I need to make that clear.
Topic starter
Posted : April 29, 2026 3:47 pm
Hi TarotOfTheEndless!
To start off, I think Lewis was pretty straightforward in his appreciation for pagan beliefs, stories, and thematic elements -- especially when I consider that the "hodgepodge" of mythologies was one of the things that annoyed Tolkien the most! There's also the element that Lewis did not mean for Narnia to be an allegory, and started with images and questions rather than a theological point that he subsequently built a story around. When you say
perhaps there is a marriage, love and appreciation between the two
it seems to be exactly in line with Lewis' own thought process.
All that said, I think this could be a really interesting topic--are there any particular pagan notes that you want to discuss in particular? I feel the fauns and satyrs from Greek lore are an obvious starting point, but I'd love to hear what stands out most to you, and then maybe we can trace some of those backwards in Lewis' writings and studies (or just bat around how they might have influenced him!).
Avatar thanks to AITB
Posted : April 29, 2026 5:02 pm
Hi! @tarotoftheendless , welcome to the forum!
I don't think you need to be worried, as i think you would be hard pressed to find a Narnia fan who doesn't acknowledge that the pagan elements present in Narnia are a critical element of.the stories.
Obviously "pagan" is a broad, and ill-defined term, but I'd include a tonne of stuff under that umbrella, including the Roman Gods (Bacchus, Silenus, etc) Greek Mythology (Minotaurs, Centaurus), Norse mythology, Medieval legend (creatures like dufflepuds, and Arthurian influences), spiritual personifications (like Father Time) and probably even Father Christmas given that he represents more of the English folkloric tradition in that regard.
I guess we could spend hours debating such semantic categorisation, but it's absolutely undeniable that the Chronicles are stuffed full of influences from all over the place, and I would like to think that for most people that's a huge part of the appeal.
I always delight in learning some obscure historical fact or mythological element, and being like "ahhh! So that's where Lewis plucked that idea from"
Posted : April 29, 2026 5:11 pm
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