Don't feel guilty Fair Faun! Being critical is a NarniaWebber's job! You sure are attentive to details! I never noticed that Earthly zodiac on the helm. I can't say that I like it, either. 1st, because (to me) Narnian constellations would be the obvious choice of decoration, regardless of the Telmarines' background (Though that may be their explanation, as Bookwyrm says). 2ndly, I don't like the thought of a zodiac on the Dawn Treader. I don't think those are good at all. Though, that is just what we have been calling it. It's very possible that the helm's designers did not think of it in the Astrology way at all, just as constellations.

I can understand your reservations about this, Adeona, but I think it's worth noting that the zodiac is not tied exclusively to astrology. Astronomers - who are usually the first to assert their dissatisfaction with astrology - make frequent use of the zodiac since it's the path of the sun, moon and planets. And as the stars are used by mariners in navigation, the zodiac - even as a purely observational tool - is a natural decoration for a sailing ship.

(Thanks for that quote, Varnafinde, regarding the 7 noble lords as being Telmarines unafraid of the sea).

Heh, don't feel bad about being critical. That's pretty much our job.

if the movie makers read this, they would probably say something like: "We hadn't even thought of the Narnian zodiac!"

1st, because (to me) Narnian constellations would be the obvious choice of decoration, regardless of the Telmarines' background (Though that may be their explanation, as Bookwyrm says).

Since Narnia has more of a Telmarine feel to it since Caspian the Conqueror, and since Caspian is Telmarine himself, I wouldn't be surprised to see Telmarine influences. But although perhaps I am misunderstanding, but if Telmarines came from our world, how would it be useful to use their/our world's zodiac in a different world?

2ndly, I don't like the thought of a zodiac on the Dawn Treader. I don't think those are good at all. Though, that is just what we have been calling it.

I looked up the zodiac on Wikipedia. Here's the link, if anyone is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac

It states in the first paragraph of this link that "In astronomy, the zodiac is the ring of constellations that lines the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the Sun across the sky over the course of the year."

I'm basically saying this to back up stargazer's post at the top of this page, saying that this would be a normal thing in astronomy to find on a sailing ship.

Although I'd like to point out that there are several examples in the Chronicles where the stars foretell things before they occur on earth...it almost sounds like it might be astrology? (Although I don't think it would have been Lewis's intention to promote astrology.)

Simply put, astronomy is the study of the night sky, it's stars and planets etc. Astrology is attempting to foretell the future by 'reading' the path of the planets as they 'pass through' the twelve constellations known as the zodiac.
The zodiac on the Dawn Treader's helm can only be for navigational purposes (even if it is the 'wrong' zodiac).
As Lady Galadriel points out: there is a small degree of studying the stars in CoN but I also don't think this is used to promote astrology in a 'fortune telling' manner. I like to think of it as being akin to the three wise men using the star of Bethlehem as a sign that a King has been born - especially the conjuction of Tarva and Alambil in PC. (Sorry if I'm veering off on a bit of a tangent there).

The Narnian stars are sentient beings though. Because they dwell high above Narnia, they can presumably see all of Narnia, with all the comings and goings. It isn't much of a stretch to say that the centaurs are able to gain information from the stars' activity.