Have you ever read The Chronicles of Narnia? The Chronicles are some of the best loved stories of the 20th century, and for good reason; C.S. Lewis wrote so intricately and deeply that you can uncover new layers of meaning every time you read them.

Lewis claimed that each of the seven volumes were “all about Christ.” But how? Oh sure, Aslan is parallel with Christ, and other obvious comparisons. But is there something more?

Michael Ward seems to have discovered the underlying basis for just how C.S. Lewis filled each volume with Christ.

In the pre-Copernican view of things, people viewed the heavens as much more than simple scientific astronomy. Each of the heavenly bodies had symbolic significance; they held a much deeper meaning. And during that earth-centric time period, the cosmos was considered to consist of seven heavens: the sun and the moon, as well as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Lewis felt strongly that the pre-Copernican viewpoint still held significant value, if we had the eyes to see it. Copernicus’s Revolution changed our thinking from an earth-centric view to one with the sun at the center of the solar system, thus changing our own view of humanity’s self significance. And with that change in thinking, we lost much of the meaning that he heavens held up to that point in time.

In a pre-Copernican view, each of these seven heavens held significance: Jupiter referred to Jove and in classical mythology, Jove signified kingship and joviality. And Lewis filled The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with instance after instance of jovialness and kingship. Lewis created an atmosphere for the story which exuded these attributes.

Ward’s eureka moment came as he was reading Lewis’s poem The Planets, written in 1935. In this poem, Lewis expounds on the significant “personalities” of each of these pre-Copernican ideas.

I found The Narnia Code extremely interesting. I think I would have to do some more study of this topic myself before I completely buy into the idea that this is the underlying motive behind The Chronicles of Narnia. But it is a very interesting concept; one that piqued my curiosity, as well as my desire to dig deeper into the works of C.S. Lewis.

If you are interested in reading The Narnia Code, by Michael Ward, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”