This week, I want to keep unloading my Tolkien-related thoughts, turning from last week\u2019s character study to a look at the way \u2018magic\u2019 and spiritual power work in Tolkien\u2019s legendarium and in particular to how contests between fundamentally magical beings in Middle-earth are decided<\/strong>. This is a topic that I think even the best adaptations have generally failed to grasp, representing (as Peter Jackson does) contests between supernatural beings as involving fireballs and telekinetic shoves. Rings of Power<\/em> likewise seems, in its depiction of Gandalf, committed to magic that is very open, flashy and kinetic (and sometimes wielded by beings who ought not have it, reflective of a misunderstanding of where supernatural power comes from<\/em> in Middle-earth).<\/p>\n So I want to lay out my reading of how all of this functions. While Tolkien\u2019s magic system is often described as a \u2018soft\u2019 system (or even not a system at all), as if it had few rules or boundaries, I would argue that in fact we can perceive the basic patterns for how Tolkien understands supernatural power to exert itself in his legendarium and how supernatural being compete in strength.<\/p>\n Once again I should note we are not entirely departing from the craft of the historian here. After all, we frequently read the writings of past societies looking to understand how they viewed the world and part of that is often understanding how they understood the metaphysical (that is, supernatural) nature of their world: how do they imagine things like curses and gods and magic work? We\u2019re effectively performing the same analysis, but on Tolkien\u2019s writings, with the aim of trying to suss out how he imagines \u2018magic\u2019 works in his constructed \u2018secondary<\/a>\u2018 world.<\/p>\n Our starting point is something Treebeard says to the Gandalf as the Fellowship passed Orthanc on their way home, at the end of the story: \u201cYou have proved mightiest, and all your labours have gone well.\u201d (RotK<\/em>, 287). It is a striking statement and it picks up something Gandalf said at the Council of Elrond, \u201cThere are many powers in the world, for good or for evil. Some are greater than I am. Against some I have not yet been measured. But my time is coming\u201d (FotR<\/em>, 266). Treebeard is observing that the measuring has now been taken and Gandalf has \u201cproved mightiest.\u201d But measured against whom?<\/p>\n At first, one might think that Treebeard is merely commenting on Gandalf\u2019s clear superiority in strength over Saruman, but this won\u2019t do: Gandalf spoke to Treebeard after breaking Saruman\u2019s staff in The Two Towers<\/em> (TT, 226), so Gandalf\u2019s victory there is no new information for Treebeard to observe with this statement. And in any case, that would merely make Gandalf mightier<\/em>. Nor will it do to simply dismiss Treebeard as speaking empty words: for his slow pace, he is ancient and has seen many ages of the world and many powers as one of the oldest beings in Middle-earth and what is more, no one corrects<\/em> him in that moment, despite quite a few of \u2018the wise\u2019 being present.<\/p>\n No, I would argue that what Treebeard is saying is that Gandalf has, at the end of his many labours, been measured against and \u201cproved\u201d mightier not merely than Saruman or the Witch King but mightier than Sauron<\/em> and thus the \u201cmightiest\u201d creature in Middle-earth. And no one corrects him<\/em> \u2013 because there is nothing to correct. It is a revealing reading! Although Gandalf and Sauron never met face-to-face, never appear to contest directly, it imagines Gandalf to have been, in a very real sense, in contest with each other not only in the physical (\u2018Seen\u2019) world, but also in the spiritual (\u2018Unseen\u2019) world, which is, as we\u2019ll see, the more important one.<\/p>\n But how can Gandalf have proved mightier than Sauron, a being he never meets in person?<\/p>\n But first, as always, if you want to help support this project you can do so on Patreon<\/a>! And if you want updates whenever a new post appears, you can click below for email updates or follow me on Twitter (@BretDevereaux) and Bluesky (@bretdevereaux.bsky.social) and (less frequently) Mastodon (@bretdevereaux@historians.social) for updates when posts go live and my general musings; I have largely shifted over to Bluesky (I maintain some de minimis<\/em> presence on Twitter), given that it has become a much better place for historical discussion than Twitter.<\/p>\n Before we dive in, I think we need to distinguish here between three different kinds of power in Tolkien\u2019s writings that we might call \u2018magic,\u2019 though in each case, Tolkien himself might object. I am going to term them as craft-magic, spiritual power and then a subset of spiritual power, dark magic. We can begin with craft-magic: Elves and Dwarves sometimes produce objects or effects which are marvelous out of their deep knowledge and connection to parts of Arda. Bread that is wondrously nourishing, doors that open on their own at a word, swords that glow blue in the presence of orcs and so on. These are not magic per se<\/em> \u2013 they do not really involve a supernatural<\/em> power \u2013 but rather understood in Tolkien as something more like technology: wondrous, magical-seeming<\/em> results borne of the tremendous skill and deep knowledge of the crafters. We are setting this sort of \u2018craft-magic\u2019 aside for now, except to note that it is unlike<\/em> the other two forms of \u2018magic\u2019 we\u2019re looking at, as it is not spiritual or supernatural at all.<\/p>\n By contrast, the Ainur \u2013 that is, the greater Valar and lesser Maiar (of which Sauron and the wizards are examples) \u2013 have access to what I am going to term spiritual power<\/em>, because they are angelic, supernatural beings. Having been involved in the Song of Eru and the very creation of Arda, these beings are able to a degree to reshape Arda around themselves. This is the sort of \u2018magic\u2019 \u2013 spiritual power \u2013 that we\u2019ll be focused on here<\/strong>. Like all \u2018magic\u2019 in Tolkien, such power is an expression of the primacy of the Unseen over the Seen and in a sense as a result such spiritual power does not effect<\/em> or perform<\/em> but rather reveals<\/em>: the true, Unseen nature of the world is revealed<\/em> by the exertion of a supernatural being and that revelation reshapes physical reality (the Seen) which is necessarily less<\/em> real and less<\/em> fundamental than the Unseen.<\/p>\n As an aside, note those moments where Gandalf\u2019s manner suddenly changes and a character glimpses, however briefly, his true being as an angelic Maia of tremendous power. It is not that Gandalf makes himself seem<\/em> bigger or older or wiser (nor is it that Saruman makes himself seem<\/em> like a coiled snake, ready to strike, TT, <\/em>219), but rather that in those moments characters who normally can only observe the Seen world momentarily glimpse the deeper truth of the Unseen world.<\/p>\n Denethor looked indeed much more like a great wizard than Gandalf did, more kingly, beautiful, and powerful; and older. Yet by a sense other than sight<\/strong>, Pippin perceived that Gandalf had the greater power and the deeper wisdom, and a majesty that was veiled. And he was older, far older. (RotK, 30, emphasis mine)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This spiritual power also has a subset, which we might term \u2018dark magic:\u2019 certain non-Ainur are able to wield magic that is not craft-magic and is seemingly invariably evil. The Mouth of Sauron \u201clearned great sorcery,\u201d for instance (RotK<\/em> 182), and the Witch King can make his sword ignite and command Barrow-wights. Such \u2018dark magic\u2019 is actually spiritual power, one step removed: what these mortal magic users command is actually the disseminated remains of Morgoth\u2019s spiritual power<\/a>, diffused through Middle-earth. What these evil magic users have learned, in essence, is how to manipulate elements of this \u2018Morgoth-stuff\u2019 to produce magical-seeming effects; because the \u2018stuff\u2019 is of Morgoth, the effects and their users are generally evil.<\/p>\n As an aside, I think the power of the Rings introduces some complexity into this question. The One Ring is very clearly an extension and focusing of Sauron\u2019s own spiritual power and perhaps to some degree also his knowledge of \u2018dark magic,\u2019 and the fact that the Seven and the Nine, in which Sauron had a hand, tend to lead their holders to bad ends suggests to me they too had some element of either Sauron\u2019s or Morgoth\u2019s power in them. But it is unclear to me if the Three rings are similarly tainted: on the one hand, they are free of Sauron\u2019s influence in the absence of the One Ring, but on the other hand, they fail when the One Ring is unmade, suggesting that some essential part of their design drew on the same source as it did, which is fundamentally Sauron\u2019s spiritual power. Yet they do not seem to corrupt their wearers on their own, which might suggest they are close \u2013 or at least closer<\/em> \u2013 to pure \u2018craft-magic.\u2019 My own suspicion is that in their design, drawn from the Seven and the Nine, there is some part of Sauron\u2019s spiritual power reflected in them (included unintentionally by Celebrimbor), but that they are mostly \u2018craft-magic,\u2019 but I do not think this reading is at all required by the text. As an aside, it is striking that in the Lord of the Rings<\/em>, the one instance we see that we might read as an elf doing magic<\/em> rather than just craft-magic \u2013 Elrond flooding the Ford, comes from Elrond, bearer of Vilya and thus may have been an extension of his ring\u2019s power.<\/p>\n In any case, we\u2019re interested here in spiritual power<\/strong><\/em>, the sort of magic Ainur like Gandalf, Sauron, Durin\u2019s Bane and Saruman can wield \u2013 and which some of Sauron\u2019s lieutenants can wield either as a delegated power from Sauron or as an extension of \u2018dark magic\u2019s\u2019 manipulation of \u2018Morgoth-stuff.\u2019<\/p>\n While Tolkien is sometimes slotted into \u2018soft\u2019 magic systems or even no system at all, I want to argue here that spiritual power follows a clear pattern in Tolkien. What makes it tricky to assess as a \u2018magic system\u2019 is instead that spiritual power works at a very profound level<\/em>, making it easy to mistake the most important uses of it as \u2018chance\u2019 or \u2018happenstance\u2019 when in fact we are observing the surface emanations of something much deeper. But in most cases \u2013 arguably all of the, \u2013 this spiritual power does follow a system<\/em>, if we are attentive enough to detect it. Naturally, the fellow we see work the most of this sort of \u2018magic\u2019 is Gandalf and so upon Gandalf we shall focus, as he confronts and defeats other spiritually powerful beings.<\/p>\n We want to start by grounding our understanding in moments that are obviously<\/em> expressions of spiritual, supernatural power: the obvious magic. That will help us set the \u2018ground rules\u2019 by which we assess some of the less obvious instances.<\/p>\n I can think of a few core examples of this sort of \u2018obvious magic\u2019 that we see first-hand in the text. Gandalf twice conjures fire (FotR<\/em>, 347, 357) with an invocation, although this is an interesting example as it is the only time Gandalf uses another language (Sindarin) to do so, rather than doing so in the \u2018plain\u2019 (English standing in for Westron) language of the text; as we\u2019ll see, I have my suspicions as to why. Gandalf\u2019s confrontation with the Balrog is likewise a clear instance of supernatural power, a confrontation between to Maiar in which Gandalf breaks the Bridge of Khazad-d\u00fbm (FotR<\/em>, 392). He also describes opposing Durin\u2019s Bane \u2013 though he doesn\u2019t know it yet \u2013 with a \u201cshutting spell\u201d that is answered by a \u201ccounter-spell\u201d which he answers by a \u201cword of Command\u201d (FotR<\/em>, 388) though we get this described to us rather than see it. The other very clear example is Gandalf\u2019s breaking of Saruman\u2019s staff (TT<\/em>, 222). If we put these events together, we might begin to understand how Tolkien expresses spiritual power and in so doing begin to detect more subtle instances of its expression.<\/p>\n The first thing to note is that in every case there is a clear verbal invocation<\/strong>. Speaking<\/em> seems to be, if not required, a normal part of expressing supernatural power, particularly larger expressions of such power (more than, for instance, a flash of light). But the form of that invocation too is interesting. Whereas \u2018magic words\u2019 are common in a lot of fantasy fiction, only one \u2018spell\u2019 is spoken not in \u2018plain language:\u2019 the conjuring of fire. On Caradhras, Gandalf ignites wet wood under heavy wind with something called a \u2018word of command\u2019 \u2013 a phrase Gandalf uses again later \u2013 in Sindarin, naur an edraith ammen<\/em>, literally, \u201cfire for saving us<\/a>\u201d (FotR, 347). Later, against the wolves, Gandalf uses a longer, more specific version of the same \u2018spell:\u2019 \u201cNaur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth!\u201d <\/em>which we might render, \u201cFire for saving us! Fire against the wolf-host!\u201d (FotR<\/em>, 357). This is, to my recollection, the only time Gandalf invokes like this in Sindarin and I suspect the reason is precisely that this is fire<\/em> magic and thus involves Gandalf\u2019s carefully hidden Elven ring, Narya the Ring of Fire.<\/p>\n We do, by the by, get told about one other \u2018spell\u2019 invocation delivered in a language other than Westron and it is the spell upon the One Ring itself, which Gandalf notes, \u201cFor in the day that Sauron first put on the One, Celebrimbor, maker of the Three, was aware of him, and from afar he heard him speak these words<\/strong>, and so his evil purposes were revealed\u201d (FotR<\/em>, 304, emphasis mine). Gandalf goes on to recite those precise words shortly thereafter: Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul<\/em>, \u201cOne Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.\u201d And invoking the words produces an immediate<\/em> supernatural result locally (the sky darkens), as if the One Ring responds to them in a way it does not respond to their translation<\/strong>. That suggests to me that the Rings might require invocation in a specific language, the language of their creation, to function properly.<\/p>\n Our two other invocations are delivered in \u2018English\u2019 (English for Westron) and take a form I want to note: they are plain language assertions, in the present tense, about the state of the world<\/strong>. Gandalf\u2019s spell to block the Balrog and eventually collapse the bridge is quite simple, \u201cYou cannot pass!\u201d (FotR<\/em>, 392), repeated four times. Of course this comes embedded in a larger speech:<\/p>\n \u2018You cannot pass,\u2019 he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. \u2018I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Ud\u00fbn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Note that the orcs, lacking any kind of spiritual power capable of withstanding Gandalf in this moment where he unveils his power, stop immediately, but the Balrog presses forward, leading Gandalf, after a brief clash, to repeat his invocation, \u2018You cannot pass!\u2019 one last time. Then Gandalf strikes the bridge with his staff and both his staff and the bridge break, leading the Balrog to tumble down. Which is to say Gandalf told the Balrog something about the true nature of the world \u2013 that it could not pass<\/em> \u2013 and and Gandalf was right<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n We see the exact same construction mirrored with Saruman. For all of the exchanges of words, Gandalf does not stop Saruman\u2019s effort to use his voice (which I suspect is as much an exercise of craft-magic as any) but only at the end engages in a direct supernatural confrontation:<\/p>\n He raised his hand, and spoke slowly in a clear cold voice. \u2018Saruman, your staff is broken.\u2019 There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman\u2019s hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf\u2019s feet. (TT<\/em>, 222).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Note that Gandalf does not order<\/em> the staff to break, nor does he say it will<\/em> break or bids to let<\/em> it break. He simply declares that it is broken<\/em> just as he declares that the Balrog cannot pass<\/em>. These are present tense statements asserting a reality rooted in the Unseen world<\/strong> which then express themselves through the Seen world. Saruman\u2019s staff is broken<\/em> because he has broken with the will of Eru which was always the true source of his power. We had actually spent several pages seeing<\/em> that reality as Saruman tries but fails in using his Voice to win over one listener after another that \u201cthe power of his voice was waning\u201d (TT<\/em>, 224). Gandalf, invoking that fundamental reality of the Unseen, spiritual world makes it visible, manifest in the Seen physical world: he declares that the staff is broken<\/em> and it conforms.<\/p>\n Doubling back for a moment, I think we can also say that our non-Westron invocations actually follow this formula, with a bit of a grammatical quirk. In formal English (which represents Westron), speakers cannot \u2018gap\u2019 (that is, drop) the verb \u2018to be\u2019 \u2013 though in informal English folks do all of the time (think \u201che a fool\u201d for \u201che is<\/em> a fool\u201d) \u2013 but in many other languages you can<\/em> and regularly do<\/em> \u2018gap\u2019 simple present tense forms of the verb to be, especially in poetry. I am not an expert in Tolkien\u2019s linguistics, but this is common enough, for instance, in Latin \u2013 especially in poetry \u2013 and of course famously throws many Latin students who meet a sentence composed entirely of nouns and adjectives, searching for a verb in vain only to be told to \u2018supply est<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n I think in the same way, we can understand naur an edraith ammen<\/em>, \u201cfire for saving us\u201d and Ash nazg durbatuluk<\/em> \u201cOne Ring to rule them,\u201d simple descriptions of an object, to be \u2018gapping\u2019 a form of the verb \u2018to be.\u2019 The temptation would be to supply it in the optative, \u201clet there be\u201d but I think, given the above example, we ought to actually supply it in the present indicative \u2013 and indeed, there\u2019s nothing stopping us, which renders the meaning of the invocations as, \u201c[There is] fire for saving us\u201d and \u201c[There is] One Ring to Rule them.\u201d And that is, in practice, the implication of both statements: they are describing something and so by \u2018magic\u2019 willing it into existence: fire for saving or a ring for ruling.<\/p>\n In short, then, we have our pattern for \u2018magic\u2019 \u2013 for exertions of true supernatural power in its most powerful and direct forms: characters exert their spiritual power through plain language assertions about the current state of the world<\/strong> \u2013 the spiritual power \u2013 works, the world alters itself to accommodate their statement, to make it<\/em> true<\/em><\/strong> or perhaps more correctly, given the present-tense nature of the construction and the profundity of the statements, we might even say to make it always have been true, because what is being made \u2018true\u2019 is really a \u2018truth\u2019 derived from the more fundamental, more real reality of the Unseen. And because the Unseen is more profound and fundamental than the Seen, when its nature is revealed the Seen world, as if snapping to a reality that has already existed<\/em> immediately conforms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Gandalf declares \u201cYou cannot pass!\u201d and indeed, it cannot. He declares there is fire<\/em> and instantly there is fire. Sauron announces there is One Ring which will rule and bind the others and there is such a Ring<\/em>, though note that there indeed has been such a ring for moments at least (for he is only in that moment placing it on his finger), yet it is the invocation that makes that Unseen reality real<\/em> to Celebrimbor in the Seen world. And of course, Gandalf declares, \u201cYour staff is broken\u201d and, indeed, it is \u2013 and in the Unseen sense, perhaps has been for some time.<\/p>\n The Seen world conforms.<\/p>\n As an aside, because it fits nowhere else: it is also clear that these expresses of spiritual power seem generally to require a focusing object to be fully effective. Of course we see this in the staves of the wizards, but equally in Sauron\u2019s spell upon the One Ring and \u2013 if my supposition above is correct \u2013 Gandalf\u2019s use of Narya to focus his command of fire. Interesting that while both times Gandalf uses the naur an edraith ammen<\/em> he holds a branch aloft, but only in the first case (FotR<\/em> 347) does he make use of his staff. I wonder if, unseen to the book\u2019s narrator, he is holding that stick aloft and tossing it (FotR<\/em> 357) with his ring-bearing<\/em> hand. In either case, that the object contains a portion of the spiritual power of its individual and its breaking matters is clear in both the unmaking of the ring and the breaking of wizard staves \u2013 Gandalf\u2019s at the bridge and Saruman\u2019s at Orthanc \u2013 and of course Gandalf\u2019s care to make sure he still had his staff when he went to confront Th\u00e9oden (TT<\/em> 137). Of course if we understand Gandalf\u2019s staff may be a part of him<\/em> as much as the One Ring is a part of Sauron, we may equally understand his reluctance to lay it aside. So while we never get quite as clear a picture on the role of these focusing objects, I think it is a fair supposition that they matter quite a bit.<\/p>\n With our formula in mind, I think we can begin to detect moments in which supernatural power is expressed a bit more subtly or perhaps we might say more profoundly<\/em>, which makes it a bit trickier to assess.<\/p>\n The smallest and first tricky example is Gandalf\u2019s arrival at Meduseld. It seems clear some expression of spiritual power is intended here: \u201cHe raised his staff. There was a roll of thunder. The sunlight was blotted out from the eastern windows; the whole hall became suddenly dark as night. The fire faded to sullen embers\u201d (TT<\/em>, 140). But the nature of the magic is a lot less clear, particularly compared to the very clear and obvious power duel that Peter Jackson substitutes for this moment, complete with Saruman being thrown across a room miles away.<\/p>\n But I think we can make some sense of what is happening now that we have something of a model. For one, Gandalf is doing things with his staff<\/em> here, raising it at first and then later \u201che lifted his staff and pointed to a high window\u201d (TT<\/em>, 140). But there also ought to be words and we are looking not for commands in the imperative mood but rather plain language statements about the state of the Unseen world, realized in the Seen world.<\/p>\n And I think we get two. The first, which produces the roll of thunder, is directed at Gr\u00edma, \u201cI have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving-man till the lightning falls\u201d (TT<\/em>, 140). And I hear you say, \u201cbut that\u2019s a past tense<\/em> statement\u201d but in fact it is, if we can break out a bit more complicated grammar, a perfect tense<\/a><\/em> statement. Tolkien, of course, a philologist whose training included quite a bit of Greek will have known how the Greek perfect tense functions: it expresses a past tense action which has been completed but the results of which continue to the present \u2013 a past tense action which creates a present tense reality<\/em>. What Gandalf is saying is that the fact that he has passed through fire and death \u2013 and as we know, emerged as Gandalf the White, sent back with more power and an expanded remit by Eru Il\u00favatar \u2013 has created a present tense reality that he is not going to be tied up with Gr\u00edma.<\/p>\n What to me seals this as the invocation is that ending, \u201ctill the lightning falls\u201d because Gandalf then raises his staff and the very next thing that happens<\/strong><\/em> is \u201cThere was a roll of thunder\u201d (TT<\/em>, 140) and the light in the windows is blotted out, presumably by the coming storm heralded by the lightning (which will vanish shortly and equally magically). Gr\u00edma then moans that they ought to have forbidden Gandalf\u2019s staff (and so he is unable to trap Gandalf in their war of words) and then the lightning falls<\/strong><\/em>, \u201cthere was a flash as if lightning had cloven the roof. Then all was silent. Wormtongue sprawled on his face\u201d (TT<\/em> 140). Gandalf thus declares the Unseen reality \u2013 that unlike the Gandalf the Grey who had visited this court before, he, having passed through fire and death, is no longer the sort of Gandalf who will be held off by mere words, \u201ctill the lightning falls\u201d \u2013 and the Seen world conforms to the stated reality<\/strong><\/em>: Gr\u00edma retreats and the lightning does indeed fall.<\/p>\n The second instance fits our model even more cleanly, though it may just be the conclusion of the same expression of supernatural force:<\/p>\n \u2018Now Th\u00e9oden son of Thengel, will you hearken to me?\u2019 said Gandalf. \u2018Do you ask for help?\u2019 He lifted his staff <\/strong>and pointed to a high window. There the darkness seemed to clear, and through the opening could be seen, high and fair, a patch of shining sky. \u2018Not all is dark<\/strong>. Take courage, Lord of the Mark; for better help you will not find.\u2019 (TT<\/em> 140, emphasis mine)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Here our sequencing is the complication. Our plain language statement of the Unseen reality is clear enough: \u201cNot all is dark\u201d as is the Seen world conforming to that statement, \u201cThere the darkness seemed to clear.\u201d Merely the order is tricky: the Seen world is conforming to the Unseen first, with the statement coming after. But I don\u2019t think this is an insurmountable problem, because remember that the \u2018magic user\u2019 is not creating a new reality but merely revealing<\/em> the Unseen reality, the more fundamental spiritual reality, which already exists.<\/p>\n Also, as an aside, because this fits nowhere else, Gandalf needs Th\u00e9oden to consent, to \u201cask for help\u201d (though he does so with actions \u2013 leaving his chair and going outside \u2013 rather than with words) in order to work his \u2018magic.\u2019 This, of course, is what separates Gandalf from Sauron or the fallen Saruman: he has not the will to dominate which is the root of all evil in Tolkien. He will <\/em>not force<\/em> Th\u00e9oden, he will merely show him the better path and bid he take it. Indeed, he will not force Gr\u00edma either: even once Gandalf reveals Gr\u00edma\u2019s treachery, he urges Th\u00e9oden to \u201cGive him a horse and let him go at once, wherever he chooses. By his choice you shall judge him,\u201d by which he means if Gr\u00edma rides to war with Th\u00e9oden he might be forgiven, but if \u2013 as he does \u2013 he flees to Saruman, then he is revealed in his choice<\/em>.<\/p>\n The other major confrontation between supernatural beings that we view directly is the confrontation between Gandalf and the Witch King beneath Minas Tirith\u2019s main gate. This is one of my favorite moments from the book and actually the entire reason I decided to write this nearly 7,000 word post was because I am still sore that Peter Jackson, for all of the quality of his adaptation, got this moment very wrong<\/em> (in the extended edition). Not only does he have Shadowfax rear up and quail before the Witch King, rather than being, \u201cShadowfax, who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a given image in Rath D\u00ednen\u201d (RotK<\/em>, 113) but he has Gandalf\u2019s staff shatter, as if Gandalf has lost \u2013 or even has nearly lost \u2013 this confrontation.<\/p>\n First, I would argue this is a misunderstanding because it can only be overweening, staggering hubris that the Witch King even imagines he has any shot<\/em> at winning this spiritual confrontation (though overweening arrogance is his great flaw, so it is in character). It\u2019s unclear to me if the Lord of the Nazg\u00fbl actually quite realizes what he is up against \u2013 he calls Gandalf \u201cOld fool!\u201d and one wonders if he has mistaken Gandalf for an aged lore-master and magic user rather than the far more powerful<\/em> Maia he is. But there is no doubt<\/em> in my mind that Gandalf would always be the stronger here. Recall Gandalf\u2019s statement to Gimli at their first re-meeting that, \u201cAnd so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord\u201d (TT<\/em>, 122). Note the change from the Gandalf who once demurred that \u201cAgainst some I have not yet been measured\u201d (FotR<\/em> 266) \u2013 this Gandalf knows<\/em> himself to be the most dangerous thing Gimli could meet, short of Sauron himself. The Witch King hasn\u2019t a hope of winning this confrontation.<\/p>\n But more to the point, he very clearly doesn\u2019t win this confrontation<\/em>. Instead, what we get is an expression of supernatural power, same as the others, in the same form:<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot enter here<\/strong>,\u2019 said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted<\/strong>. \u2018Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master. Go!\u2019 (RotK<\/em> 113).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And look what we have: a present tense plain language statement of the state of the world, in particular a clear declaration that it is the case that the Lord of the Nazg\u00fbl cannot, is incapable<\/em>, of entering. The WItch King, of course, dismisses this as words, mocks Gandalf, reveals his iron crown, raises his sword and with dark magic sets it alight (RotK<\/em>, 113). But you know what he doesn\u2019t do?<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t enter<\/strong>. Because he cannot.<\/p>\n Once again, I think it is worth stressing that Gandalf does not speak idly: when he is uncertain, he says so. If he thinks something is possible<\/em>, he says that too, using words like \u2018may\u2019 and \u2018hope.\u2019 But here he states a cold reality: the Lord of the Nazg\u00fbl cannot<\/em> enter here, the same way that Durin\u2019s Bane cannot<\/em> pass. A reality about the Unseen world is being expressed. And then, of course, the Seen world conforms to the deeper reality of the Unseen world.<\/p>\n And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin\u2019s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last [\u2026] the darkness was breaking too soon, before the date that his Master had set for it: fortune had betrayed him for the moment, and the world had turned against him; victory was slipping from his grasp even as he stretched out his hand to seize it [\u2026] King, Ringwraith, Lord of the Nazg\u00fbl, he had many weapons. He left the Gate and vanished. (RotK<\/em>, 113, 125) <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In understanding how spiritual power can express itself in Tolkien, I think this confrontation is the essential bridge. Because on the one hand it is, in structure, paradigmatic, complete with that clear, present-tense statement of the state of the Unseen reality. That this is such a confrontation is made clearer in how closely it mirrors Gandalf\u2019s clearly \u2018magical\u2019 confrontation with Durin\u2019s Bane on the Bridge of Khazad-d\u00fbm: \u201cYou cannot enter here\u201d neatly matching \u201cYou cannot pass,\u201d and if we missed it, in both cases the villain produces a flaming sword with which to challenge Gandalf (FotR<\/em> 392; RotK<\/em> 113). On the bridge, Gandalf and Durin\u2019s Bane are so close in power that both fall and so Gandalf staff breaks as he reaches the utmost of his power, but under the gate, the Witch King is not so near a peer (and Gandalf is now far stronger) and so the Witch King merely withdraws; Gandalf\u2019s staff does not break. But the structure of the supernatural confrontation and its fundamental nature as rooted in spiritual power remains.<\/p>\n What is revealing however in this moment is how that power is expressed<\/em>. Gandalf does not drive the Witch King from the gate with fireballs or curses or swordplay. Instead, the physical reality of the Seen world conforms to the spiritual reality of the Unseen world<\/strong>: the arrival of the Rohirrim prevents the Witch King from entering and so he \u201ccannot enter.\u201d Again, this mirrors the confrontation on the bridge: Gandalf declares the Balrog cannot pass and indeed he cannot, not because Gandalf is going to punch him out, but because the bridge will break beneath him if he tries. The victory in the spiritual contest is expressed not in direct, flashy confrontation, but in the truth of their vision of the world<\/em><\/strong>. Gandalf\u2019s victory in both cases is born out by the fact that his statement about the world was correct<\/em>, while the Balrog\u2019s unstated assumption and the Witch King\u2019s open mockery were incorrect<\/em>.<\/p>\n Of course, Gandalf is not uninvolved with the arrival of the Rohirrim, even if we might not imagine his participation to seem particularly \u2018magical.\u2019 Gandalf was very involved! He has \u2013 even if he didn\u2019t know it fully \u2013 been setting the terms for this very confrontation for weeks now, by pulling Th\u00e9oden from his depression, aiding him against Saruman, bringing Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to him (all of whom play crucial roles at Helm\u2019s Deep), all thereby ensuring that when the Witch King tries to enter \u201cunder the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed\u201d (RotK<\/em> 113) it would be the case that he \u201ccannot enter.\u201d The Witch King, arrogant and overconfident, does not recognize this reality in the Unseen world, but Gandalf \u2013 the wisest of the Maiar \u2013 perceives it, having efforted himself to bring it about. The \u2018spell\u2019 is thus the product of Gandalf\u2019s many labors, because as a fundamentally spiritual, angelic being, all of these labors too are expressions of spiritual power, all aimed at producing an Unseen reality, which Gandalf then describes, manifesting it into the Seen world.<\/p>\n And now our road, having gone ever ever one turns at last to home and our starting place: Treebeard\u2019s judgement on Gandalf, that he had \u201cproved mightiest,\u201d as if we had seen Gandalf engaged in some direct contest of wills and spiritual power with Sauron, like the confrontations we see between Gandalf and Durin\u2019s Bane, Saruman and the Witch King, and come out the stronger (RotK<\/em>, 287).<\/p>\n But, my dear reader, we have seen that. We have been reading that for the entire three books.<\/p>\n The remit of the Istari, the wizards, as the Elves understood it is described to us in the Silmarillion<\/em>, \u201cthat they were messengers sent by the Lords of the West [that is, the Valar] to contest the power of Sauron, if he should arise again, and to move Elves and Men and all living things of good will to valiant deeds\u201d (Sil<\/em>. 299). Only Gandalf stays fully true to this mission (though only Saruman, perhaps, fully failed it) and \u201cNow all these things were achieved for the most part<\/strong> by the counsel and vigilance of Mithrandir [=Gandalf]\u201d (Sil<\/em>. 304), so it is fair to say that in a sense Gandalf is, throughout the story, directly, personally contesting the will and power of Sauron.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve seen above, the line in these spiritual contests between \u2018magic\u2019 and \u2018labors\u2019 is not just blurry but functionally indistinct: Gandalf triumphs over the Witch King in a clear by-the-numbers spiritual contest of wills not by casting lightning bolt, but by having set in motion days and weeks before the movement in the hearts of men which would bring the Rohirrim to Minas Tirith, which is of course, perfectly fitting with his mission. Gandalf may not even have fully known that \u2013 in the plan of Eru Il\u00favatar \u2013 this is what he was doing, setting the stage for that very confrontation. Yet his actions first create a reality in the Unseen, in the hearts of people, which then at the critical moment manifests in the Seen world.<\/p>\n And of course, you can see where I am going with this. Gandalf has been working his \u2018spell\u2019 to defeat the evil of Sauron, at this point, for many years kindling in the hearts of Men and Elves the will and courage for valiant deeds most of all in setting Frodo upon his quest and in his counsel priming Frodo to make the crucial choice to spare Gollum (FotR<\/em> 85-6) and to bring Sam (FotR<\/em> 90-91), the decisions that in the end, though made by Frodo of his own free will, are the decisions that will cause the Quest to succeed where it might have failed at the very last. As we\u2019ve noted before, while the Seen world of Middle-earth is ruled by physics, its Unseen world is ruled by morality and the choice to do right can ripple through the Unseen world with a profundity that the Seen world lacks. After all, Gandalf himself notes, \u201cMy heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many \u2013 yours not least\u201d (FotR<\/em>, 86) and once again, Gandalf\u2019s deep sense of the Unseen reality is fundamentally correct: because<\/em> Bilbo and Frodo did the right thing and showed pity and mercy (the latter having been encouraged to do so by Gandalf), the Quest succeeds and evil is defeated. Of course that is just one of the many, many interventions Gandalf makes.<\/p>\n All we need is our invocation, our present-tense statement about the state of the Unseen world, as it manifests into the Seen world.<\/p>\n But Gandalf lifted up his arms and called once more in a clear voice. \u2018The realm of Sauron is ended!<\/strong>\u2018 said Gandalf. \u2018The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest.\u2019 And as the Captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. Enormous it reared above the world, and stretched out towards them a vast threatening hand, terrible but impotent: for even as it leaned over them, a great wind took it, and it was all blown away, and passed; and then a hush fell. (RotK, 252, emphasis mine)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And so we have our complete formula for a confrontation rooted in an expression of spiritual power. Gandalf declares that the \u201chour of doom\u201d is at hand, and so it is and then that \u201cthe realm of Sauron is ended!\u201d a truth that already exists<\/em> in the Unseen world but which now manifests even as the Captains gaze south into Mordor, the Unseen truth very literally becoming part of the Seen world as they see it<\/em>. And the spiritual power of Gandalf\u2019s statement, to which the world around him is rapidly conforming, is of course rooted \u2013 as was his victory over the Witch King \u2013 in Gandalf\u2019s many labors, a \u2018spell\u2019 many years in the making.<\/p>\n Treebeard is thus correct<\/em> when he observes to Gandalf that \u201cYou have proved mightiest, and all your labours have gone well\u201d (RotK<\/em>, 287). It is, of course, in line with a story that already sought to surprise the reader by having the Quest completed not by the Noble Knights (Boromir and Aragorn) but rather by the smallest and weakest creatures, the hobbits, that Gandalf\u2019s great power is revealed not in his physical might or by throwing fireballs or commanding armies, but rather in his wise counsel, in his compassion and his pity: he has overwhelmed Sauron\u2019s power with goodness and in so doing, \u201cproved mightiest.\u201d<\/p>\n In his ability to move others to right action, to one good deed after another whose morality shaped the Unseen world<\/a> until at last the grand magic of Doing The Right Thing bears out in unmaking the very \u201crealm of Sauron.\u201d<\/p>\n Because it was always<\/em> the Unseen world, shaped by hearts rather than armies, which mattered the most.<\/p>\nMagic in Middle-earth<\/h2>\n
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Obvious Magic<\/h2>\n
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Notably, this moment, where Saruman hurls a fireball and Gandalf blocks it with magic, doesn\u2019t happen. Supernatural beings do not generally fight this way in Tolkien, at least not in fights we witness first hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTricky Magic in the Golden House<\/h2>\n
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Underneath the Gate of Minas Tirith<\/h2>\n
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I didn\u2019t grab screenshots, but Rings of Power is equally blunt with \u2018Gandalf\u2019s magic, having him summon sand tornadoes, cause trees to bloom instantly and explode and so on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nYou Have Proved Mightest<\/h2>\n
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\u2018Stand, Men of the West! Stand and wait! This is the hour of doom<\/strong>.\u2019
And even as he spoke the earth rocked beneath their feet [\u2026]<\/p>\n