Tolkien and Alchemy

[Fox of the Oaks]

For those interested, this article seems to convey some very good insights on a number of areas. Still reading through it, but wanted to share it.

http://www.sharronrose.com/SharronTolkien1.htm

In the winds of the wild,
Whytefox.

[dvawlqos]

Good find, and I do think she's right about us being on the cusp of ... something. It is kind of interesting that there have been pretty obivous choke points in history. A big crisis comes and afterwards the world is a different place. I think the best and most obvious example is the second world war. If there were ever a war between beneficial and maleficient forces, I'd say it was the world war, which ended forever the notion that ethnic cleansing and colonialism were acceptable ideas. The American Revolution ended pretty much forever the notion of Divine Right of Kings. The fall of Rome I think was also the end of an era. I don't know what the War in the Mesopotamian Region will change, but it will change something.

[treegod]

I've just read a book called the Individuated Hobbit, a Jungian look at the The Lord of the Rings. Jung had an interest in alchemy to, so that makes for an interesting Triad

I'll have a look at it when I can. Thanks for the link.

[DaRC]

Of course Tolkien himself would have been (most probably) appalled by all this!

The American Revolution ended pretty much forever the notion of Divine Right of Kings.

Hmmm I think you mean the English Civil War, the French Revolution & the Age of Enlightenment....

[Fox of the Oaks]

Yes perhaps, but he also recognised the deeper meanings in story, even if they lacked factual accuracy.

[Fox of the Oaks]

I have found some interesting perspectives, ideas and inspirations in the article regardless.

[DaRC]

True - the article has interesting points and considerations. I don't think Tolkien quite understood the power of his creation, which he did tend to view as stories and secondary to his academical work.

My wife was very frustrated reading LoTR which she found almost sketch like in many aspects - but this is it's power in that it has acted as inspiration to other cultural creatives.

[Fox of the Oaks]

Yeah I agree with you DaRC.
I enjoy Tolkien perhaps more for his literary skill, and his ability to speak from what seems another time, and familiar place (ancestrally perhaps). I know he viewed his work as mythopoetry, and there has since been all sorts of interpretations and extensions to his work, which is fine by me, since he has basically opened up a whole genre, and revived something from our European past.

[Mika]

Nice to find this thread here I'm reading a book called "Where the shadows lie" by the author Pia Skogemann, a jungian analyst. It's very easy to read, it flows and it's really interesting. You can find it in Amazon.co.uk, I recommend it.

[Mika]

I actually have been keeping an article on Tolkien and the environment. The article is not mine, the name of the author is at the end.

Tolkien and the Environment


"A thing is about to happen which has not happened
since the Elder Days: the Ents are going to wake up
and find that they are strong."

The world that J. R. R. Tolkien describes in 'The Lord
of the Rings' is a world where Nature has a great
power, great enough even to face and fight the Enemy.
Environment in 'The Lord of the Rings' is a key to
every different adventure and it is as present as any
other main character. Landscapes, lakes, mountains and
trees all have their own names in the different
languages of Middle-earth, and some even revered by
nearby peoples.

In the eternal struggle between good and evil, Nature
is on the side of good. The different realms of
Middle-earth fight against Mordor, a dark deserted
place where no green thing grows. One of the strongest
and most unexpected enemies Sauron finds is the Shire,
a green land whose inhabitants dwell in peace and
happiness. There is a great power in the Shire, as
Gandalf says in 'The Fellowship of the Ring', though
what exactly that power is we do not know. However, it
is certain that the Shire's calmness, and the way its
inhabitants respect and work with the environment, is
a strength more powerful than bravery or pride.

Nature is not just seen as important to hobbits, for
if we look at the Elven Realms we find no less
admiration and respect for it. The Elves, one of the
highest beings in Middle-earth, have a deep link with
their environment. Greenwood the Great, or Mirkwood as
was known after Sauron came to Dol Guldur, largest of
the woods of Middle-earth; Rivendell, the dwelling of
Elrond where houses, bridges and roads were made to
fit and blend in with Nature; and Lothlórien, the
fairest place in Middle-earth. Indeed in the Golden
Wood, the elves' close relationship with Nature
reaches its peak, for the Galadhrim live actually in
the trees, huge golden trees called 'mellyrn'. It is
even said that Lothlórien is reminiscent of the garden
of the Vala Lórien in Valinor. Valinor, of course,
also has a deep connection with Nature, with its two
most beloved and revered things having been two trees,
Laurelin and Telperion, which shed both golden and
silver light that bathed and lit the beauty of the
land.

But what about Dwarves and Men? Dwarves are more drawn
to stoneworking and smithcraft than the joy of Nature,
and not all Men seem too concerned about it either.
Stone cities such as Minas Tirith or Osgiliath show us
the distance between humans and Nature, but yet it is
true that the people of Rohan do show somewhat more of
a connection, but still in no way as much Elves or
Hobbits. But there are indeed fair places among the
dwellings of men, such as Ithilien or the plains of
Rohan. Indeed, if we look closer, while Minas Tirith
is built of stone, the most sacred thing that lies
within the city is a tree, the White Tree of Gondor,
seed of Nimloth of Númenor, descended from Telperion
of Valinor.

Another race of Middle-earth that is deeply related to
Nature are the Eldest of beings of Middle-earth, the
Ents, the shepherds of the Trees. These are wonderful
living things, walking, talking trees who protect the
forests of Middle-earth, peaceful and wise, not very
drawn to adventures or wars, and as much alike to
hobbits than to any other being in that aspect. But as
kind and quiet as the Ents may be, if they are roused
they can be terrible and they will fight fearlessly to
protect the trees and forests. So it was in the War of
the Ring, where the least expected stroke that fell on
Saruman was given by the Ents who flooded Isengard and
revenged their dead kin, trees that Saruman had fallen
and thrown into the fires of Isengard.

But not everything could manage to endure the evilness
of Mordor, even when its Lord was destroyed. The
beauty and the peace of the Shire was damaged by
Saruman, and trees fell and rivers polluted, but even
here Nature wins again, for what was the gift of
Galadriel to Sam? A tiny seed, not very useful it
seemed to the hobbit for the long and perilous journey
ahead, but it was that seed that gave life again to
the Shire. And what was once was green and full of
life started to become so once again.

Tolkien disliked allegories and did not want his work
compared to any real topic of his time. We won't now
compare Sauron and Saruman with the rise of industry
and modern technologies, but we can learn a lesson
from Tolkien's work - respect for Nature and for
living things, for they are all older than we are and
they have endured more than we will all ever endure.

And to quote Professor Tolkien: "Every trees has its
enemy, few have an advocate. In all my works I take
the part of trees against all their enemies". Now, if
only we would all play the part of an advocate for
Nature, maybe we would regain a glimpse of the Shire
or Lothlórien in our own woods.

Researched and written by Annúnagar

[Fox of the Oaks]

Now, if
only we would all play the part of an advocate for
Nature, maybe we would regain a glimpse of the Shire
or Lothlórien in our own woods.

Excellent.
That part I especially like!

[Bricklayer]

I was taught that its is a metaphor for the galactic alignment on earth. The lord of the rings...the silmarillion is different.

[Wolf Dreamer]

I find it interesting that Tolkein was a catholic and yet the mythology of the Silmarilion is pantheistic. I love the creation myth of the Silmarilion and find it resonates strongly for me. It seems to fill the void that the Celts left by either not having a creation myth or its having been lost to us. I loved this article and it has deepened by appreciation for Tolkein, which was already deep.

[DaRC]

I find it interesting that Tolkein was a catholic and yet the mythology of the Silmarilion is pantheistic.

Hmmm others have accused it of following Catholicism - Eru Iluvatar is God and the Ainar are the saints etc.... However, there is perhaps a deeper truth; that Catholicism is, at heart, a mixing of monotheistic christianity with Roman pantheism and in particular the cult of Sol Invictus.