The origins of Magic in Middle-earth and Earth

The nature of magic in Middle-earth, as the story is retold by J.R.R. Tolkien and Iron Crown
Enterprises Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP) game, may be summarized as the partaking as
a singer of the Music of the Ainur or Ainulindal. With this music the Ainur, who later took
the corporeal forms of the Valar and Maiar, created Arda the World. The Supreme Being, or
creator god in Tolkiens recount of the mythical prehistory of the world, is Eru Ilvatar. If the
Ainur, who were created by Eru as the children of his thought, are seen as the heavenly Choir,
Eru himself is the Great Conductor. Thus the act of creation is a magical act performed by the
gods (i.e. Ainur), which all magic both high and low tries to emulate. Magic is the
prerogative of the immortal inhabitants of Arda, the Valar, Maiar and Elves, whos home lies
in Valinor of the Undying Lands. When returning to Middle-earth the Elves brought magical
knowledge and lore with them, as taught to them by the
Valar and Maiar. Thus, knowledge of magic had also become
the possession and even birthright amongst some men of
Middle-earth, through Elvish intervention.
Most prominently the High Men, or Nmenreans, had
come to master the magical arts through their communion
and racial intermingling with the Elves. Athough not
immortal themselves, the Nmenreans once lived for
several centuries with perfect health, resembling how the
Bible depicts the first Men in Genesis before sin sealed their lives with the 120 years limit. As
their royal and Elvish bloodlines became watered-down and spoiled through intercourse with
the middle and low men of Middle-earth, their race also dwindled and their longevity
shortened. After the fall of Nmenr the remaining faithful settled permanently in NorthWestern Endor and created the twin kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor, and later became the
Dnedain during the Third Age. Still, these high men and descendents of the ancient
Nmenreans live much longer
compared to the other mannish
races, and they also possess
knowledge of magic, astrology and
alchemy, mostly used for good and
noble ends. They have also
continued their cooperation with the
Elves, especially in Lindon and
Rivendell, until T.A. 1640.
Together with the Elves and the
Ishtari (Wizards), it is mainly the
Dnedain who possess knowledge
of divine and good magic, although
some of that knowledge has spilled
over also to other cohabitant
mannish races in a much lesser
degree, such as the Dunlendings
and the Northmen of Rhovanion,
besides the rural and urban
common men of Eriador and
Gondor. This type of magic may be divided into either two (MERP) or three (Rolemaster)
categories or realms, that of Essence (MERP/RM), Channeling (MERP/RM) and Mentalism
(RM). Knowledge of Essence produce Mages while that of Channeling produce Animists or

Clerics. The Dunlending clans I imagine, being drawn on the Gallic culture, do have their
own Animists which is the equivalent of Druids. The magical lore of the Druids are drawn
from earlier sources than that of the Nmenreans but I imagine that they learned this from
the Elves as well, perhaps from the Silvan or Wood-elves, the least noble group of Elves who
never left for Aman. The Northmen I imagine possess the little that they know of magic from
both the Dwarves (to whom they indebt much of their culture and knowledge) and the Woodelves of Mirkwood.
Dwarves are not a particular magical race per se but they seem to have some knowledge of
magic and alchemy to enhance and enchant their technology and mechanical innovations.
Here I also imagine that this may be the result of early cooperation between the Elves and
Dwarves during the First and Second Ages. For example, the great West-gate or Doors of
Durin of Khazad-dm was constructed in cooperation between Dwarves and Noldor Elves;
the two doors when closed could only be opened magically by uttering the pass-word Mellon
(S: Friend). I imagine that this particular magic was the especial contribution of the Elves.
The Dwarves being mostly tellurgic or chthonically inclined, have no natural understanding
for magic and apparantly scoff at spells and such things; the logic is that they only possess
knowledge of magic and alchemy that was taught to them at close hand from the Sindar Elves
during the Years of the Trees, and later from
the Noldor, and perhaps through some direct
early divine intervention from the Vala Aul
who created the Dwarves and gave the Seven
Fathers some possession of magical and
alchemical knowledge connected to forging,
mining, metallurgy, etc.
When it comes to the Easterlings and in
particular the Southrons, it is obvious when
we consider Tolkiens own words and ICEs
Middle-earth Series, that they largely possess
knowledge of evil or dark magic, known as
sorcery. They have obviously come under the
shadow of Sauron, and before that of
Morgoth. In the same manner, the unfaithful
or Black Nmereans pay tribute to the Dark
Lord and practice a twisted and evil form of
Elvish magic and alchemy. Now Morgoth (or Melkor as he was known before his open
rebellion against Eru), the greatest amongst the Ainur, was the originator of disharmony in the
Ainulindal as he sang his own song out of tune with the rest of the Ainur. This became the
origin of evil magic, or the act of creation with evil or harmful intentions. Melkor, and later
Sauron, manipulated and influenced the Elves, such as making them forge the Rings of Power
for his own ends. (Some Elves were captured by Melkors minions and tormented beyond
recognition; thus was the Orcs created.) In reading the ICEs campaign module The Court of
Ardor in Southern Middle-earth (Stock # ME 2500) we are told that the Elves of Mmakan,
having good intentions (as they always have), became manupulated by Melkor to develop a
dark form of elemental magic, and soon became the 19 Lords of the Court of Ardor. They
even developed a deck of magical cards with the aid of Melkor himself which they called
The Cards of Arna, which directly reflects the 22 Trumps of the Tarot Major Arcana as we
know it. (Im planning to write a separate post on the Cards of Arna and compare them with
the 22 Tarot Trumphs.)

My take on this subject of sorcery is that as Melkor before him, the Maiar Sauron uses magic
to corrupt the men, and even the Elves. He used magic (which also has a divine origin as any
magic performed by a Maiar) to bind the Black Nmenreans to his leash. When anyone,
especially a fainthearted character, uses magic in Middle-earth by the time of T.A. 1640, when
Sauron appears at Dol Guldur as the Necromancer, that person catches the gaze of the evil eye
of Sauron. Even through good magical deeds, the spell caster lights up on the astral realm
of shadow and becomes the target of Saurons magical manipulation instead of receiving the
aid of the Valar and Maiar; Sauron is after all the Lord of Middle-earth from a spiritual
perspective and magic performed there can easily sway towards the Shadow of Mordor. Elves
and other Maiar are somewhat protected through their strong will and spirit (in MERP & RM
game terms a high value of Presence or PR). However, even the mightiest amongst the Ishtari,
Saruman the White, did eventually fall under the Shadow of Sauron (althought in T.A. 1640
that is still a well guarded secret). It is only the absense of the One Ring of Power which
prevents Sauron to become the actual Lord of Middle-earth and the ruler of all Kings,
something that Saruman craves for himself. When the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins finds the One
Ring in T.A. 2941 it gradually becomes activated which quickens Saurons spirit and makes
him more powerful than ever. This explains why the practice of magic is so scarce amongst
men at the closure of the Third Age
and more common in T.A. 1640 as
the One Ring still hides at the bottom
of the great river Anduin. Thus, the
Elves are both the transmittors of
good and evil magic in Middle-earth,
in the latter case through the
manipulations of Sauron.
There exists a interesting parallell to
our own world in traditionalist
hermeticism (recounted by Julius
Evola) which reflects that process of
Middle-earth. (Tolkien obviously
was in rapport with the Traditionalist
Perennial School.) As the Elves are
the transmittors of the divine magic
to men so there exists a tradition which states that a semi-spiritual race of Hyperboreans
transmitted the esoteric tradition to mankind. These Hyperboreans inhabited the northern parts
of Europe (hyperboreus literarily means beyond the north), much like the Elves of Eriador.
They even founded the mythical civilization of Atlantis, which emulates Nmenor (or perhaps
Valinor even). Through inbreeding with humans the divine bloodlines of the Hyperboreans
were transmitted through Man, but in the process corrupting the purity of the Hyperborean
race which eventually lead to the cataclysm of Atlantis (in a similar vein as Nmenor was
flooded). In this view the fair races of North and Central Europe most of all embody the spirit
of the Hyperboreans, and conversely the southern dark skinned races most of all are
considered to be drawn to more chthonic influences, a concept which may seem quite racist to
the modern mind. But lets be honest, in Middle-earth the noble Nmenorians (who are under
the most Elven influence) are fair skinned, while the swarthy Southrons and Easterlings are
under Saurons dominion (not an entirely political correct notion either, which may be excused
by it being a saga and thus a metaphore).

In Middle-earth being a mythical prehistory of our World, the notion of ancient occurances,
races and cultures of Middle-earth later affecting earthly cultures and races follows naturally.
Thus, following the rationale of this parallell world theory and Middle-earth and Earth
eventually becoming merged, and the mythical existance of Arda becoming manifest in our
world, it stands as obvious that the actual identity of the mysterious Hyperboreans are non
other than the Elves of Arda. These noble and almost semi-spiritual (or at least otherworldly)
creatures transmitted the magical, astrological and alchemical, i.e. esoteric lore, to the
Nmenorians or High Men. These later became the spiritual impetous to the Minoan and
Greek civilizations, later Hellenistic and Roman, which by and large was the origin to the
European civilization proper. In a similar vein, the magical, astrological and alchemical
tradition of the Nmenreans later emerged in our world as the hermetic tradition, and all of
the other sister traditions centered
around Alexandria, such as the
Pythagorean, Neo-Platonic, Gnostic,
Qabalistic, etc. Elven magic in
Ardor, I imagine, was the originator
of much of the magical traditions of
the Far Harad, which later spilled
over into the Oriental esoteric
traditions such as Yoga, Tantra,
Daoism, pre-Islamic Arabic magic,
etc.
The really intersting and unique
thing with ICEs description of the
magic of the Court of Ardor is that it
very closely approximates the
hermetic tradition of the elements
and the Tarot (the Cards of Arna), not
described anywhere else in the
MERP rules. In my view, the
Mmakan area is the equivalent of
Earths Chaldea or Mesopotamia,
one of the founding places of the Chaldean magical, astrological and alchemical traditions
which later emerged as the hermetic tradition in Hellenistic Alexandria. The really interesting
thing with the hermetic tradition is that it is very closely related in its essence with the tantric
and yogic traditions of India; in a similar vein I imagine that the magic of the five elements
and that of the Arna (Tarot) has a very strong and open presence in Mmakan, not so much
obvious and practiced in the open by the Elves and men in Eriador and Gondor. However, as
the Court of Ardor is described by ICE as formulating as early as in the closing years of the
First Age, and under the influence of Melkor, it constitutes a very old form of magic and
probably reflects Elven magic (corrupted or not) in general, which is elemental based
precisely as in the ancient (and later) form of Greek magic and alchemy. And the Elven
culture is of course the spiritual origin of the Minoan and Greek civilizations, which heavily
influenced the Nmenreans, etc.