I think another theory about Tash that was touched on in the Into the Wardrobe was that he may have originally been a star, like Ramandu and Coriakin. He may have been very beautiful, yet somehow thought he'd like to be worshiped by all and fell down and was turned into a monstrous creature for punishment.

You might recall that Satan used to be an angel named Lucifer. At times in the Bible, "stars" are referred to as "angels". He was very beautiful yet at one point, he thought he could be like God and rebelled. God had to kicked him out of Heaven, and he became known as Satan.

I have two favorite theories about Tash. One is the Fallen Star angle, which makes sense to me thematically. But something that makes more sense to me with his aesthetic and his ties to Calormen, is that he was a localized god/nature spirit - a spirit of the desert like the river-gods in Narnia are spirits of the waters - who got too big for his britches and started wanting the glory of being worshipped and served by humans in his territory.

I have two favorite theories about Tash. One is the Fallen Star angle, which makes sense to me thematically. But something that makes more sense to me with his aesthetic and his ties to Calormen, is that he was a localized god/nature spirit - a spirit of the desert like the river-gods in Narnia are spirits of the waters - who got too big for his britches and started wanting the glory of being worshipped and served by humans in his territory.

I think I'd go with the Fallen Star theory about Tash. He may have thought he'd be like the Great Emperor Over The Sea or Aslan. He may have been very beautiful. Possibly, if he fell from the sky, he was most likely stripped of his position and beauty, transforming him into the monstrous creature. However, he may not have been stripped of his power.

When Calormen was established, he may have started demanding worship, and temples of Tash were built. Maybe the question is, was Tash his actual name or did he have another name prior? Did he always have the four arms or did two new ones started growing when he fell?

...I'm still divided on which theory I would like better. Partly because of his aesthetic, and partly because I like to think of the *other* Calormen gods and goddesses as hyped-up nature spirits, and it would fit for him to be as their leader. But.

If the fallen star theory were true... I have kind of an unnerving and yet maybe beautifully tragic idea about that other pair of arms.
I think they didn't grow when he fell... they shriveled, and lost their feathers.
They were originally his *wings*.
Bird-person Star, and all.
...the rotten smell, though - *that's* a result of his falling.

If the fallen star theory were true... I have kind of an unnerving and yet maybe beautifully tragic idea about that other pair of arms.
I think they didn't grow when he fell... they shriveled, and lost their feathers.
They were originally his *wings*.
Bird-person Star, and all.
...the rotten smell, though - *that's* a result of his falling.

I didn't think about that. I would think that he was once very beautiful and was transformed into a monstrous creature as a result of his falling; the foul smell may have been something of his corruption as well.

I like the possibility that Stars can come in different shapes sometimes. After all, Angels do.

I like the possibility that Stars can come in different shapes sometimes. After all, Angels do.

They do, that's true! It can be debated that who is the most likely Satan figure, Jadis or Tash. Though I would say that Tash could be a picture of how Satan will one day reveal his true nature. You know that passage in Revelation, "Woe to the Earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you! He is filled with great anger, knowing he doesn't have much time!"

There are some who often view Shift as the Antichrist, but I think Rishda could also be the Antichrist in some aspect. Rishda is a Calormene, and not a Narnian, and he persecutes Narnians, especially the followers of Aslan. So it would have been kind of awkward if Shift, a talking ape from Narnia, was the only one persecuting Narnians. And how else would Shift manipulate Narnians when says that Aslan and Tash are one and the same without the Calormenes involved?

Please keep the discussion on Jadis and Tash here so we don’t go off on rabbit trails.

It's hard to know how Tash originally came to be in Narnia. He could have come from another world, like Jadis came from Charn. It kind of raises the question of how is that Jadis went North and Tash went South.

Who is the Satan figure? Jadis or Tash? Well, I would say it's complicated. Tash is not in equal to Aslan, just as Satan is not in equal to Jesus.