The three constellations of Narnia mentioned by name: the Ship, the Hammer, and the Leopard. The artist modeled the Ship after Pauline Baynes’ drawing of The Dawn Treader while the Hammer is something a blacksmith would use.
In Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis decided to explore the astronomical lore of the Narnian world. He created two planets, Tarva and Alambil, whose conjunction Caspian and Dr. Cornelius witness from a castle tower, and three constellations which Lucy mentions later — the Ship, Hammer, and Leopard. Alchemy and magic are also mentioned. The impression they give is that Narnia has become a run-of-the-mill, vaguely Tudor world rather than the magical land it once was (aside from those pesky educational inspectors, of course.) Which is fine if the books had remained a two-off, but this model is never brought up again.
As the series goes on a North Star is mentioned, the Spear-Head, which implies there’s also a constellation called the Spear. And I swore there was also a constellation called The Wheel (a ship’s wheel) but that turns out to be my childhood memories being fuzzy. At any rate, the starlore adds to the world’s depth. Writer and Mythopoeic scholar Ruth Berman goes into depth about Narnia’s starlore here.
What other stars, planets, and constellations might there be?
Narnian Stars and Constellations
| Stars and Planets
Emernash Falgus Hilthim Nemales Pellior The Prophet’s Star Proserpta The Star of Sacrifice Vespoma Zulmar |
Constellations
The Ash Tree The Autumn Cross The Kneeling Shipwright The Leaping Whale The Lily The Lioness The Milk Jug The Nightingale The Royal Hearth The Summer Diamond |
