Magic

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Ted Nasmith - Nazgûl at the Walls

"For this is what your folk would call magic. I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy"

― Galadriel, The Mirror of Galadriel

Although magic in Middle-earth was not explicitly defined by Tolkien, it was a term used by the Hobbits to describe processes and abilities of objects which could not be explained outside of their limited lore and knowledge. For Elves and Wizards, what others might call magic was not something special or different from the natural world, just part of it that was not immediately visible, leading to more common categorization of things as Seen or Unseen. The Seen aspects of a thing or person are only part of it. Through the power of the One Ring, Frodo Baggins at times saw powerful Elves, such as the High-elf Glorfindel, in their true level of power and radiance that extends into the Unseen.

The effects which could be described as magical were of different natures:

Divine magic

The Ainur as supernatural beings or angelic beings could shape the world in terms according to their natures. Melkor, later Morgoth, had great power but he could only seem to mar or corrupt what his brethren had wrought.

Sauron, a lieutenant of Morgoth, was a powerful Maia (lesser Ainu) who used his powers to manipulate his slaves and objects. However, these acts of corruption, putting his will and power into other things and people lessened him as it did his master before him. "Evil is fissiparous. But itself barren," which basically means that evil forces in Middle-earth divided their power into what they made. So with each creation or corruption, they themselves were lessened because parts of their power now existed outside of themselves. It was not an unlimited supply. Even the Ainur who resided in Aman had limits. For example, Yavanna could not remake the light of the Two Trees. The only hope for them to be restored would be reclaim the light captured of them in the Silmarils.

Some Maiar, like Sauron, had power nearly the equal of a Vala even Olórin feared him. Whatever lore he shared with the Elves, such as the making of the Rings of Power in Eregion, would have unlocked their own understanding of how to craft the rings with their own innate abilities, which is how the master-smith Celebrimbor was able to create the Three Rings in secret. But the rings that Annatar had a hand in were corrupted and bound to his own power. Any power that Sauron's slaves or servants had was sourced in him. Servants like the Black Númenóreans and the Men who became Nazgûl used this power as sorcery. For example, if Frodo's heart had been pierced with the Morgul-knife, he would have been a wraith and under the Ringwraith's command as they are under Sauron's.

The Istari, the Maiar who came to Middle-earth in the diminished form of men, were tasked to help guide the Free peoples against Sauron. The nature of the Istari was not known to all, and they were known as wise old men. They were called Wizards. Properly, Men using what might be seen as magic, even for good, are not termed Wizards.

In Tolkien's mythology, this term is specifically only used for the Order of the Istari, who are of angelic origin. The word "wizard is a translation of Quenya istar (Sindarin ithron); one of the members of an 'order' (as they called it), claiming to posess, and exhibiting, eminent knowledge of the history and nature of the World."

A member of the race of Men wielding magical powers would be referred to as a sorcerer, whether for good or evil. However, according to Tolkien's letter 155, the concept of magic in his world did not come from 'lore' or spells, and Men did not have magic. By this definition, lore like knowing the language of an animal, would not be considered magical in Middle-earth, merely knowledgable. But, it might look like magic to one who did not understand the knowledge.

Elven magic

The Elves were not supernatural beings and although knew the powers of the Ainur, they did not comprehend the concept of "magic" as used by mortals. The Elves were taught arts and crafts by the Valar in Valinor and could put dedication and love in every thing they wrought. Due to their immortality, Elven smiths could reach high levels of experience in craft and lore.

As mentioned, the Rings of Power were such "magical" objects that would seem supernatural to the regular people; they gave powers of manipulation of the word and invisibility. Other Elven artifacts were the Palantíri or the Lamps of the Noldor, as well as the Mirror of Galadriel. Some simpler artifacts were the river-boats of the Galadhrim and the elven ropes, which seemed to have will on their own.

Dark magic

Sindarin has two words for dark magic: morgul and guldur, although it is not defined clearly, the element "gul" literally means "lore" or "knowledge". It refers to the divine magic of Sauron used for evil, which could be taught to his followers, such as the powers of the Ringwraiths. Black Númenóreans who entered his service learned dark lore from him and became Sorcerers.

Sauron himself was also known as Necromancer which indicated that he had power over spirits. The Witch-king of Angmar had the power to summon the Barrow-wights to the Barrow-downs.

Tolkien also uses the word "Sorcery" and "Sorcerer" in negative context. Sorcery is perhaps the equivalent of the dark magic.

Dwarven magic

The constructions of Dwarves had significant properties which might be seen as magical. An example could be the Doors of Durin which opened by themselves upon saying the word "mellon", without visible machinery or other assistance. However, what appeared magical could also be the technology of Dwarven ingenuity and craftsmanship. The Elven Door was created by the Dwarven craftsman Narvi and inscribed by the Elf-lord Celebrimbor with letters and signs fashioned in ithildin.

Although the Sindarin word for friend (mellon) did open the doors from the outside, where Celebrimbor's inscription could be seen under the light of the moon and stars, from inside, the door needed to be shoved open by two Dwarves or a very strong single Dwarf. If it was a magic door, and not just a magic inscription which was crafted by a Noldo of great skill, the password should work from the inside as well. However, they had a reason for this: "in this way a single person (and so any intruder or person trying to escape) could not get out without permission." So, whether it was a magic Dwarven door or a magic Elven inscription is open for debate.

Another clever Dwarven door is seen in The Hobbit. The Back Door of the Lonely Mountain was a hidden, seamless door which had a keyhole that would only be revealed on Durin's Day. The key lines that may infer an enchantment on the door are:

"A gleam of light came straight through the opening into the bay and fell on the smooth rock-face. The old thrush . . . gave a sudden trill There was a loud crack. A flake of rock split from the wall and fell. A hole appeared suddenly about three feet from the ground."

It is not that something, which was unnoticed, could suddenly be seen, like a link between the Seen and Unseen. This appears to be what Tolkien might refer to as magia because there is a crack and a flake of rock falls off the wall. One would assume this happened every year, and somehow a flake of rock appears back in place after each Durin's Day and then physically breaks off again.

Inspiration

J.R.R. Tolkien discussed the operations and moral dimensions of magic in Letter 155 of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Actually, this "letter" is an unsent part of a draft of Letter 154 which may not have been sent because of lingering questions regarding magic in Tolkien's mind (a note at the end of the draft asked about the magic used by the Númenóreans in making swords). One on hand, it seems to say magic in Middle-earth is an innate ability set of the Ainur and Firstborn, to the exclusion of other peoples, but on the other, there are traces in Middle-earth of special weapons that are said to have been crafted by Men, such as the dagger wielded by Merry which stabbed the Witch-king.

The area of discussion here is the difference between magia and goeteia, with magia usually noted as good and goeteia bad. He wrote, "neither is, in this tale, good or bad (per se), but only by motive or purpose or use. Both sides use both, but with different motives." The evil motive was to use it to dominate free will, for example, the Enemy used his magia to "bulldoze" both people and things and used his goeteia to terrify and subjugate. The Elves and Gandalf sparingly used magia for specific beneficial purposes (like burning pine cones to toss at the Wargs), and their goetic effects were "entirely artistic and not intended to deceive: they never deceive Elves (but may deceive or bewilder unaware Men)." For Elves, the differences was as clear to them as the difference to us between art (fiction, painting, and sculpture), and life.

At the end of the draft noted as Letter 155, he wrote "a difference between the use of 'magic' in this story [The Lord of the Rings] is that it is not to be come by by 'lore' or spells; but it is an inherent power not possessed or attainable by Men as such." While Aragorn's healing ability may have been regarded as magical, or a blend of magic with medicine, Aragorn is not a pure 'Man' but a distant descendant of Lúthien's line.

However, since this letter draft was unsent, he seemed undecided on the total exclusion of Men from, at least, crafting with the power to imbue a weapon against an enemy.

External links

• Essay on magic in Middle-earth by Steuard Jensen
• Principles of Tolkien's Magic by John H. Kim
• Magic In The Third Age at Finduilas's J.R.R. Tolkien Page
• Magic in Middle-earth at tolkien.cro.net