In 'The Magicians Nephew', I very much enjoy the way that Lewis worked in the creation of Narnia. It was sung into being - and this note Sung by the Lion is the origin of the whole of Narnia. This notion of song, or sound itself is very common to many creation myths.
Most commonly known would likely be the story of Genesis where God spoke the world into being (i.e. Let there be light ). Another, possibly more complementary, similarity to Aslans' singing Narnia into being is shifting towards Hinduism "OM". 'OM' is considered the vibration of the universe and highly regarded as a sacred mantra/chant to virtually all Hindu's and some Buddhists.
OM is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is a mantra or prayer in itself. If repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the centre of one's being, the atman or soul.
Going back to Narnia, this vibratory note seems very similar to Aslan singing, as in the Magicians Nephew it mentions how the ground, and the very air itself were vibrating with this resonance. I also think it interesting how each individual received this 'note' reflexively, that is everyone had different reactions to it. The cab-man enjoyed the 'moosic', while the children were rather shocked and practically dumb-founded and jaw-dropped by it. The most interesting is that the Witch Jadis couldn't stand to hear/feel it. The most obvious observation to this would say that Aslans' pure or good magic surpassed Jadis' evil or dark-aligned magic. Looking at this in the light of the Sanskrit "OM", another possibility comes to my mind, the Witch was caused to reflect on her own life and deeds. Aslans' Narnian-ic OM caused the Witch to pierce her own being or soul, and her life-time of repressed and regrettable actions that she didn't care to recall... This in my opinion is why Jadis could have been so angered by the Lion from the get-go.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
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