Elven Magic

Elven magic is a magic of enchantment, of art, of dreams given form. Of sub-creation and imagination, used for both frivolity and ease and for guarding and guiding. Maybe a good way to think of Elven magic is to look at the definition of the word olos, considered in “Unfinished Tales”:

“olo-s: vision, ‘phantasy’: Common Elvish name for ‘construction of the mind; not actually (pre)existing in Eä apart from the construction, but by the Eldar capable of being by Art (Karmë) made visible and sensible. Olos is usually applied to fair constructions having solely an artistic object (i.e. not having the object of deception, or of acquiring power).”

This always makes me think very much of dreams given form, of fantasy spun into reality. Of power gathered from love of the world – the skies, the stars, the sun. It is clear that the elves do not consider their abilities as “magic”, but more just a part of their world – a world that extends beyond the physical world into the realm of the ‘supernatural’. As Galadriel says to Sam and Frodo when giving them a chance to see into her Mirror:

“For this is what your folk would call magic, I believe, though I do not understand clearly what they mean…” (LotR, FotR)

Examples and types of Elven magic are numerous, and here I will focus on healing abilities, telepathy (to use a very un-Middle-earth word), natural magic, songs of power and magic associated with the Elven Rings of Power.

Healing

It is maybe unfair to discuss healing under Elvish magic, for clearly many other races could also have such skills. The Gondorians had their Houses of Healing, for example; Estë was known as the Healer, and even Orcs seemed to have some rudimentary knowledge of healing substances. However, what is unusual about Elvish healing, and what takes it more from the realm of potions and powders into a higher realm, is their ability to self-heal and to heal or succour the soul.

– Self-healing

Self-healing seems to be a capacity innate in at least most Elves of the First Age, and in particular the Noldor:

“There Maedhros in time was healed; for the fire of life was hot within him, and his strength was of the ancient world, such as those possessed who were nurtured in Valinor. His body recovered from his torment and became hale, but the shadow of his pain was in his heart; and he lived to wield his sword with left hand more deadly than his right had been. (Of the Return of the Noldor, Silmarillion)

An exception to this is Beleg, still First Age, but a Sinda of great power:

“Now Beleg was sorely wounded, but he was mighty among the Elves of Middle-earth, and he was moreover a master of healing. Therefore he did not die, and slowly his strength returned ~ (Of Túrin Turambar, Silmarillion)”

“Now was it that it came into the heart of Beleg the hunter of the Elves to seek after Turin so soon as his own hurts were healed. This being done in no great number of days, for he had a skill of healing… (Turambar and the Foaloke, BoLT2)”

The talent for self-healing, however, is not limitless. Tolkien states in “Morgoth’s Ring” that while elves healed rapidly and completely after injuries that would have proved fatal to Men, and that while they could endure great physical pain for long periods, their bodies or souls could not survive overwhelming injuries, nor could they regrow any lost pieces.

– Healing others

We have several examples of elves working to heal others, with Elrond and Glorfindel aiding Frodo, and Lúthien healing Beren being two of the more detailed examples.

1) Glorfindel / Elrond

When Glorfindel meets Strider and the Hobbits near Rivendell, he is first given the Morgul-knife to study, and then he looks at Frodo’s injury:

“There are evil things written on this hilt,’ he said; ‘though maybe your eyes cannot see them. Keep it, Aragorn, till we reach the house of Elrond! But be wary, and handle it as little as you may! Alas! the wounds of this weapon are beyond my skill to heal. I will do what I can – but all the more do I urge you now to go on without rest.’

He searched the wound on Frodo’s shoulder with his fingers, and his face grew graver, as if what he learned disquieted him. But Frodo felt the chill lessen in his side and arm; a little warmth crept down from his shoulder to his hand, and the pain grew easier. The dusk of evening seemed to grow lighter about him, as if a cloud had been withdrawn. He saw his friends’ faces more clearly again, and a measure of new hope and strength returned.” (LotR, FotR)

It would seem from this that somehow Glorfindel’s touch, or the communion of Glorfindel’s spirit with Frodo’s, works to both physically heal his body and to help him withstand continued assault from the wraith world.

When Frodo arrives at Rivendell, he is then given over to the care of Elrond, one of the greatest healers of the Elven realm:

“‘Good!’ said Gandalf. ‘It is mending fast. You will soon be sound again. Elrond has cured you: he has tended you for days, ever since you were brought in.’

… Elrond is a master of healing, but the weapons of our Enemy are deadly. To tell you the truth, I had very little hope; for I suspected that there was some fragment of the blade still in the closed wound. But it could not be found until last night. Then Elrond removed a splinter. It was deeply buried, and it was working inwards.’” (LotR, FotR)

It is interesting to note that Elrond was able to aid Frodo when Glorfindel, one of the most powerful of the Eldar, could only provide temporary relief. Perhaps then the healing powers came down strongly into the lines of the Peredhil, reaching back to Lúthien, or even Melian.

However, Frodo’s recovery in Rivendell is, unfortunately, even less informative about healing methods than Glorfindel’s cameo role. Was the splinter physically excised, or could Elrond somehow ‘dissolve’ it in situ? Did he use herbs and potions? Or was it simply something more magical, akin to Glorfindel’s laying on of hands?

I would think it a mixture of all three. However, something else this clearly shows is that even Elrond’s powers cannot completely heal all hurts – Frodo’s wound never truly healed, at least in the spiritual sense, and pained him on the anniversaries of his wounding and if the Witch-king was near.

In Tolkien’s letters, he described how he saw Aragorn’s healing powers, and as it seems more than likely that Aragorn learnt his abilities from his life in Rivendell and from Elrond, maybe it is pertinent to believe that this also applies to the Elves:

“Aragorn’s ‘healing’ might be regarded as ‘magical’, or at least a blend of magic with pharmacy and ‘hypnotic’ processes.” (Letter #155)

2) Lúthien

Lúthien’s healing powers are disclosed in detail in the “Lay of Leithian” and from this, we can understand quite clearly how she healed Beren after he took an arrow meant for her.

First, she tries to stop his bleeding, moving his clothing away from the wound, taking out the arrowhead, and washing the wound clean with her tears:

“Now sank she weeping at the side
of Beren, and sought to stem the tide
of welling blood that flowed there fast.
The raiment from his breast she cast;
from shoulder plucked the arrow keen;
his wound with tears she washed it clean.”

Huan then came to her bearing a sprig of athelas, which she used to ease the pain of the wound:

“Then Huan came and bore a leaf,
of all the herbs of healing chief”

After the application of athelas, she sings:

“while Lúthien murmuring in the shade
the staunching song, that Elvish wives
long years had sung in those sad lives
of war and weapons, wove o’er him.”
…
his brow caresses, and softly croons
a song more potent than in runes
or leeches’ lore hath since been writ.”

Songs seem to be key in Elven magic – from the Music of the Valar at the creation of Arda to Aragorn singing in the Houses of Healing, voice seems essential, though whether because of the actual words, the cadence or the music, it is not stated, though maybe we
can discern a few glimmers of possibility.

The use of the word “wove” seems to suggest some sort of tapestry-like spell of words, using language to create something material and healing. Also, the fact that she “murmured” her song would suggest that detailed cadence or tune is not important. One would perhaps like to compare the song to a mantra or an incantation, or even to something like saying the rosary – a device to focus the elf’s healing power.

Two other things that seem to be key here are her tears, shown several times through references in HoME to have healing and restorative properties, and also her kiss. So, like with Glorfindel, it seems that touch also plays an important role in the healing, perhaps providing a necessary union between the will of the healer’s spirit and the ailing body.

One thing that complicates any Lúthien issue, however, is her heritage. Lúthien’s power was particularly strong due to the nature of her parents, Thingol and Melian the Maia, and the “Lays of Beleriand” suggest that she was at least one of the strongest Elven enchanters, if not the strongest:

“and Melian’s daughter of deep lore
knew many things, yea, magics more
than then or now know elven-maids
that glint and shimmer in the glades.”
(Lays of Beleriand)

So perhaps, while Lúthien is certainly an extraordinary case, we could say that she represented the very top end of Elven ability.

What is particularly interesting about this piece of healing is that we also have the process shown from Beren’s point of view:

“Then Beren woke and opened eyes
and rose and cried: ‘Neath other skies,
in lands more awful and unknown,
I wandered long, methought, alone
to the deep shadow where the dead dwell;
but ever a voice that I knew well,
like bells, like viols, like harps, like birds,
like music moving without words,
called me, called me through the night,
enchanted drew me back to light!
Healed the wound, assuaged the pain!”

Here, then, we have a situation the same as that of Aragorn calling Éowyn and Faramir back to life after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where it seemed that the result of his song and the power behind his song was to call the souls of the wounded back from darker realms. As with the Music of the Ainur, Lúthien’s song is heard by Beren as like bells, viols and harps, though her repertoire seems to include birds too. And the fact that he heard her song as wordless music would suggest that the spoken words are truly only an aide-memoire or mantra, with the true power manifesting itself as akin to music.

– Healing objects

However, as well as their more esoteric magic, both elves and men also used more mundane healing items:

“some bore them meat and cool drinks and salves and healing things for their hurts” (Tale of Tinúviel, BoLT2)

“Those that were hurt or sick he [Beleg] tended, and gave to them the lembas of Melian; and they were quickly healed, for though the Grey-elves were less in skill and knowledge than the Exiles from Valinor, in the ways of the life of Middle-earth they had a wisdom beyond the reach of Men.” (Of Túrin Turambar, Silmarillion)

Telepathy

While telepathy is mostly associated with the Elves (for example Galadriel, Elrond and Celeborn conversing silently in “Many Partings”), the capability for telepathic speaking was common to all thinking beings in Middle-earth. While little is discussed about telepathy in canon, in a late work, the “Osanwe-kenta”, Tolkien wrote extensively about the subject:

“Pengolodh says that all minds … are equal in status, though they differ in capacity in strength. A mind by its nature perceives another mind directly. But it cannot perceive more than the existence of another mind (as something other than itself, though of the same order) except by the will of both parties. The degree of will, however, need not be the same in both parties. If we call one mind G (for guest or comer) and the other H (for host and receiver), then G must have full intention to inspect H or to inform it. But knowledge may be gained or imparted by G, even when H is not seeking or intending to impart or to learn: the act of G will be effective, if H is simply ‘open’… This distinction, he says, is of the greatest importance. (Osanwe-kenta)

The natural state of each mind is to be open, unless otherwise engaged. In Arda Unmarred, being continually open would be the normal state, though that ideal is not met in Middle-earth, where minds may choose in an act of Unwill to become closed – against one person in particular, against a group of people, or against everyone in a retreat into privacy.

– Telepathy in different peoples

The extent to which the faculty expresses itself in different peoples depends on a number of limitations, mainly related to the hroä. For Elves and Men, the hroä not only forms a barrier, but forms a double barrier as a thought has to leave one person’s hroä and enter another. Thus, to be effective, some form of strengthening of the “signal” is required.

This strengthening can be achieved through authority, necessity, or the degree of connection of the two people concerned. This does not mean the physical closeness of the two people, but more their spiritual connection, which would be greater in members of the same family, or those tied together by love or great friendship.

The ability to use telepathy is also tied up with spoken language, for the more one uses a physical voice rather than a spiritual one, the harder telepathic communication becomes, as in one who has not spoken a foreign language for some time.

It may be interesting to note here that the “Osanwe-kenta” also discussed the abilities of the Valar to converse with Ilúvatar:

“They are, of course, open to Eru, but they cannot of their own will ‘see’ any part of His mind. They can open themselves to Eru in entreaty, and He may then reveal His thought to them”.

– Galadriel

Galadriel’s testing of the Fellowship in Lothlórien can also be explained with these principles. To repeat from a quote above:

“But knowledge may be gained or imparted by G, even when H is not seeking or intending to impart or to learn: the act of G will be effective, if H is simply ‘open’.” (Osanwe-kenta)

In this way, Galadriel should have easily been able to gain some sense of their character and desires.

Songs of power

The power of Songs is a recurring theme in Tolkien’s work, not only used in the arts of healing as mentioned earlier.

When confronting Sauron, Finrod sung songs of defiance:

“The chanting swelled, Felagund fought,
And all the magic and might he brought
of Elvenesse into his words.” (The Silmarillion)

and when Lúthien was trapped in Hirilorn, she sung to make her hair grow long enough for her to weave an enchanted cloak of darkness from it.

However, our only real hint of how Songs of Power are formed and used occurs in the “Lays of Beleriand”, when Lúthien asked Daeron to fashion her a loom:

This [Daeron] did and asked her then:
‘O Lúthien, O Lúthien,
What wilt thou weave? What wilt thou spin?’
‘A marvellous thread, and wind therein
a potent magic, and a spell
I will weave within my web that hell
nor all the powers of Dread shall break.’
…
And Lúthien now was left alone.
A magic song to Men unknown
she sang, and singing then the wine
with water mingled three times nine;
and as in golden jar they lay
she sang a song of growth and day;
and as they lay in silver white
another song she sang, of night
and darkness without end, of height
uplifted to the stars, and flight
and freedom. And all names of things
tallest and longest on earth she sings:
the locks of the Longbeard dwarves; the tail
of Draugluin the werewolf pale;
the body of [Glaurung] the great snake;
the vast upsoaring peaks that quake
above the fires in Angband’s gloom;
the chain Angainor that ere Doom
for Morgoth shall by Gods be wrought
of steel and torment. Names she sought,
and sang of Glend the sword of Nan;
of Gilim the giant of Eruman;
and last and longest named she then
the endless hair of Uinen,
the Lady of the Sea, that lies
through all the waters under skies.
(Lays of Beleriand)

In Angband, Lúthien once more used her power of enchantment, singing Morgoth and his minions to sleep:

“With arms upraised and drooping head
then softly she began to sing
a theme of sleep and slumbering,
wandering, woven with deeper spell
than songs wherewith in ancient dell
Melian did once the twilight fill,
profound, and fathomless, and still.”
(Lays of Beleriand)

These examples show us that different uses of Elven song magic seem to follow the same pattern seen in healing, where the spell seems to consist of a mantra-type song about the effect one wishes to obtain (e.g. a song with a theme of sleep and slumbering for Lúthien’s sleep spell) and wrapping that around with some form of deeper enchantment to provide the power.

Elven “natural” magic

Apart from the major works created by the Elves – the Rings of Power, the Silmarils and the Palantíri, they also used a good amount of lesser magic. There were, for example, the gold and silver lamps that never seem to dim or require fuel, magical rope, Boromir’s boat that survived the Falls of Rauros and Elven cloaks, to name but a few.

– Elven cloaks

The Elven cloaks given to the Fellowship had a clear magical ability in the eyes of Men: they rendered the wearers nigh on invisible. The cloaks seem to gain this function by the Elves imbuing them with the essence of the colours and textures of Lórien – the land that they loved:

“Leaf and branch, water and stone: they have the hue and beauty of all these things under the twilight of Lorien that we love; for we put the thought of all that we love into what we make. Yet they are garments, not armour, and they will not turn shaft or blade. But they should serve you well: they are light to wear, and warm enough or cool enough at need. And you will find them a great aid in keeping out of the sight of unfriendly eyes, whether you walk among the stones or the trees. ” (LotR, FotR)

The Three Elven Rings

“The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e., ‘change’ viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance – this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching ‘magic’, a motive more easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron … such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible. (Letter #131)

– Holding back decay

The Three Elven Rings were the first of the Rings of Power to be created, and even though they were infused with the darkness of the Morgoth Element, they were made solely by Celebrimbor without the aid of Sauron (unlike the Rings of the Dwarves and Men). With these Rings the Elves hoped to create understanding, making, and healing. Tolkien wrote about the Three that:

“those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world.”

“after the fall of Sauron their power was ever at work, and where they abode there mirth also dwelt, and all things were unstained by the griefs of time.”

And as Elrond said in the Council of Elrond:

“They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow.
…
But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten.” (LotR, FotR)

The original desires of the Elves were obviously effective at least in the lands of Rivendell and Lothlórien:

“For a while the hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey and of the perils that lay ahead; but such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.” (LotR, FotR)

While the seasons turned and fell in the Elven realms, they were muted, and days in the enchanted enclaves passed as months in the outer world. There even seemed to be a slight blurring of time, at least in Lothlórien, where Aragorn once appeared to Frodo’s eyes “clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair”.

– Healing

Associated with everything else was a healing effect, beyond that of the people within the realms themselves:

“Thus it was that I came to Caras Galadhon and found you but lately gone. I tarried there in the ageless time of that land where days bring healing not decay. Healing I found…” (LotR, TTT)

– Realms of beauty

The Elves’ main motive in creating the Rings was to preserve the memory of the beauty of the olden days. They wanted to maintain enchanted enclaves of peace where time seemed to stand still and decay was restrained, a Middle-earth analogy of the bliss of the West. The Elves:

“wanted to have their cake and eat it: to live in the mortal historical Middle-earth because they had become fond of it (and perhaps because they there had the advantages of a superior caste), and to so tried to stop its change and history, stop its growth, keep it as a pleasuance, even largely a desert, where they could be ‘artists’ – and they were overburdened with sadness and nostalgic regret.” (Letter #154)

– Elrond and the flooding of the Bruinen

We have at least one example of active use of the Rings – Elrond (and Gandalf) creating a flood in the Bruinen and washing away the Nazgûl:

“Elrond commanded it,” answered Gandalf. The river of this valley is under his power, and it will rise in anger when he has great need to bar the ford. As soon as the captain of the Ringwraiths rode into the water the flood was released. If I may say so, I added a few touches of my own (LotR, FotR)

This, however, is actually a more complicated situation that might at first be assumed. How Elrond and Gandalf brought forth the flood was not explained, and there are actually two factors to consider – firstly, how the flood was raised, and secondly, how the flood was released at exactly the right time.

So, how was the flood raised? Did the water respond immediately to his command, or had Elrond raised the flood beforehand and kept it held back further upstream until it was needed?

And how was the flood timed so immaculately? There are several possibilities here, probably all connected. We can assume that Vilya had a protective influence over the boundaries of Rivendell, in comparison to that of Nenya and Lothlórien, and Elrond would thus have known that a force of evil was approaching. It is likely that Elrond would also have been able to mind-speak with Glorfindel, and it is always a possibility that he had some form of scrying device, akin to Galadriel’s mirror, with which to watch events unfolding.

Conclusions

Elven magic was both more and less than what we normally think of as magic. Galadriel herself told Frodo and Sam that she did not see her considerable gifts as “magic”, but to others, the powers of the Eldar did indeed seem wondrous and mystical.

Magic was simply another part of their world, as natural to them as eating or breathing. It was used to heal, to speak to one another silently, over distances near and far. It was used to weave ropes, protect boats, and produce cloaks that allowed the wearer to become almost invisible. It was even used by Lúthien in great songs able to lull Morgoth himself.

Magic indeed, to all those who looked upon the Elves with awe and wonder.

References

JRR Tolkien:
– “Osanwe-kenta”
– “Lord of the Rings” – “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Two Towers”, “The Return of the King”
– “Unfinished Tales”
– “Book of Lost Tales II”
– “The Silmarillion”
– “The Lays of Beleriand”

Humphrey Carpenter
– “The Letters of JRR Tolkien”

Bibliography

JRR Tolkien:
– “Morgoth’s Ring”
– http://www.istad.org/tolkien/healingStudy.html#selfhealing (20th September, 2005)

by atalante_star
Art by Alan Lee (3,5); Anke Eissmann (1,2) and Lidia Postma (4)