Unbeknownst to many people, J.R.R. Tolkien embedded the secrets of alchemy into his Lord of the Rings Trilogy. As a mystical scholar, I will outline and examine some of the themes I noticed while reading or watching The Lord of the Rings: The Four Ages, the Secret Fire, Magic as both Art and Power, the Music of the Spheres, Death and Immortality, the Rings of Power, and Gollum. I will also outline the similarities between Tolkien’s cosmology, Shamanism and Gnosticism.
The Four Ages
Tolkien divides the history of Middle Earth into four ages, of which The Lord of the Rings Trilogy takes place at the end of the Third Age. In ancient Greece, Egypt, and India, the alchemists and astrologers divided the 26,000-year-long precession of the equinoxes into four ages of 6,500 years each. These ages were called the Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages and correspond to the four fixed signs of the Zodiac: Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo, and Taurus. These ages also have a degenerative quality as we move from the splendour of the Golden Age, where humanity is fully aligned with spiritual principles, through to the darkness of the Iron Age, marked by war and suffering. According to Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings was a mythological retelling of the history of ancient Europe 6,500 years ago, precisely when the Bronze Age (Third Age) ended, and the Iron Age (Fourth Age) began. In The Two Towers film, Saruman describes the shift from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age when he exclaims that "The old world will burn in the fires of industry. The forests will fall, and a new order will rise. We will drive the machine of war through the sword and the spear and the iron fist of the orc. We have only to remove those who oppose us" (Jackson, 2002). This perfectly sums up the Iron Age, which is described in alchemical lore as an age of conflict and turmoil where humans increasingly lose touch with their spiritual nature and focus instead on achieving power in the material world. All recorded human history took place during the Iron Age, which is why our history is primarily the history of war.
The Secret Fire
In The Fellowship of the Ring, when Gandalf confronts the Balrog in Moria, Gandalf states that he is "a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor" (Tolkien, 2004, p.330). In alchemy, the Secret Fire is a term for the universal spirit residing within all living things. The universal spirit is love and has the same nature as the Philosopher's Stone (spiritual enlightenment), which is why the ancients said that the transformation of the human being could only be achieved through love. Gandalf and the other wizards of Middle Earth represent the Hermetic Brotherhood of Alchemy, whose task is to ensure that humanity resists the forces of darkness and keeps the Secret Fire burning within their hearts pure and uncontaminated, thereby fulfilling the Great Work. In addition, the reference to the “flame of Anor” (Anor being Elvish for Sun) is likely a reference to the ancient Religion of the Sun, practised by many ancient cultures worldwide. Ancient people did not venerate the physical sun but the spiritual source of light and life behind it. As stated by Lara Atwood, “The sun, like everything, was also seen to exist in higher dimensions as not only the source of matter, but also of spirit – being the source of the eternal self of every living thing, arising from it like sparks of light" (Atwood, 2021, p.338). In The Silmarillion, it is said that when Iluvatar and the Ainur created the world through the art of music, the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the world. Ancient peoples believed the sun was the physical manifestation of a central, invisible Sun – the Secret Fire –the spiritual source of all light and creation in the universe.
Magic: Art
When people think of magic, it is spells and witchcraft that immediately come to mind, but this is only partially correct. In their 2004 article, Tolkien at the End of Time: Alchemical Secrets of The Lord of the Rings, Jay Weidner and Sharron Rose define magic in its essential form as “the communion and resonance with and phenomenal display of a spiritual power, energy or force. At its root it is a pure unsullied creative force" (Weidner & Rose, 2004). In Tolkien’s universe, as in our own, magic manifests in two forms: Art and Power. Tolkien defined Art as a sub-creation that helps develop one’s innate powers and talents for the purpose of spiritual fulfilment and growth. According to the French alchemist Fulcanelli, the artist is “the imitator of Nature and of the divine Great Work, with the help of the secret fire and the universal spirit to separate in his little world the luminous, clear, crystalline parts from the dark, coarse and dense parts" (Fulcanelli, 2016, p.14). During the Third Century CE, the Neoplatonists who lived in the Roman Empire believed that the soul was able to express itself through art and imagination. Indeed, alchemy and art have often gone together, with many of the initiations, explanations, and rituals of alchemy being embedded into many great works of art. Notable alchemical works span from the Gothic Cathedrals and Fairy Tales to the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Dark Crystal.
Magic: Power
In contrast, Tolkien defined the second form of magic, Power, as “all use of exterior plans or devices (apparatus) instead of developments of the inherent inner powers or talents or even the use of these talents with the corrupted motive of dominating: bulldozing the real world or coercing other wills" (Tolkien, 2013, p.xiii). In alchemical lore, there is the constant theme of the alchemist being diverted from the path of enlightenment and love towards attaining power and dominion over the Earth and other beings. Because we are all given the gift of free will, and as we gain knowledge and understanding of the essence of the forces of the universe, there is always the lure of darkness and a time of testing where the alchemist must choose whether to align himself with the forces of universal harmony and beauty or to give in to the lower impulses of hatred, lust, and greed. As stated by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, “Now it is with men as with this tree. The more it wants to rise into the heights and the light, the more determinedly do its roots strive earthwards, downwards, into the darkness, into the depths – into evil" (Nietzsche, 1969, p.69). Ultimately, we all have the capacity for good and evil, and it is characters like Galadriel, Gandalf, and Aragorn that are there to remind us that we must open our hearts and walk the Path of the Light, not because it is always easy, but because we know deep down that it is right.
The Music of the Spheres
In The Silmarillion, Iluvatar creates Middle Earth through the Music of the Ainur, which is Tolkien’s equivalent of the Music of the Spheres described by the Ancient Mystery Schools. In accordance with the Law of Correspondence, Greek initiates like Pythagoras and Plato believed that by understanding the art of music, one could understand all aspects of nature: “As above, so below.” According to David Day, “The Music of the Spheres was a sublimely harmonious system of a cosmos guided by a supreme intelligence that was preordained and eternal...this grand theme has inspired composers and artists as an expression of celestial harmony and a sense of order in the universe" (Day, 2016, p.25). Note that the supreme intelligence is an organizing principle of harmony underlying the universe and not an anthropomorphic deity. The alchemists believed music was a harmonic language in that each sound had a corresponding essence/vibratory frequency that brought thought into manifestation. Known as the Language of the Birds, this sacred language was based on the phonetic law and was focused on sound and meaning rather than spelling. Fulcanelli stated that this language teaches the mystery of things and unveils the most hidden truths. In Healing Sounds: The Power of Harmonics, Jonathan Goldman states, "There are legends that before there was a spoken language of words, there was a harmonic language. This language allowed humankind to communicate with all the creations of nature" (Goldman, 2002, p.53). This would certainly help explain why many describe music as the universal language that can express a person’s deepest feelings and emotions where conventional words fail. Indeed, Tolkien would have encountered the Language of the Birds in his studies as a philologist and incorporated this knowledge into his writings.
Death and Immortality
One of the overarching themes contained within The Lord of the Rings is the issue of death and immortality, which is embodied in the fates of Elves and Men. The fate of the Elves is to be immortal and remain in the world until the end of the cycle of the ages, while the fate of Men is to die and leave the circles of the world. The Ancient Egyptians believed that when their pharaoh died, he was reborn with Osiris in the Orion Constellation and thereby achieved immortality by passing through death. As stated by Jay Weidner and Vincent Bridges, “Thus, by being reborn as a star in Osiris’s company, the pharaoh reenacted on a local level the original creation of the universe" (Weidner & Bridges, 2003, p.423). During the War of Wrath that ends the First Age, Earendil passes through the Door of Night into the Void, where he is placed in the sky to watch over Middle Earth and guide the destinies of Men. Indeed, Tolkien describes the mortality of men, not as a curse but as a crucial gift that gives humanity a unique and powerful position in the cycles of creation, which even the Valar and Elves envy. As stated by Achilles in the 2004 film Troy, “The gods envy us. They envy us because we are mortal - because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again" (Petersen, 2004). In the end, Tolkien states that Iluvatar has dictated that Men will take part in the Second Music of the Ainur, while for the Elves and other races of Middle Earth, he has not revealed his intentions.
The Rings of Power
During the Second Age, the High Elves of Eregion forged the Rings of Power under the guidance of Celebrimbor: Three for the Elves, Seven for the Dwarves, and Nine for the Race of Men. The Elvish rings were the most powerful and corresponded to the elements of Fire, Water, and Air, or Mind, Soul, and Spirit. According to Manly P. Hall, “The ring has long been regarded as the symbol of attainment, perfection, and immortality – the last because the circlet of precious metal had neither beginning nor end" (Hall, 2007, p.273-74). While the lesser rings were created to preserve beauty in the world, Sauron forged a master ring in Mordor to control the others by pouring his cruelty, malice and will to dominate all life into it. This is consistent with the Law of Imprinting, a frequent theme in alchemical and fantasy lore. In the case of Sauron, the One Ring gave him the power to control the lesser rings, read the minds of anyone who used them, and bind them to his will. It also gave the wearer the power of invisibility, which parallels a story told by Plato in The Republic about a shepherd who uses a magic ring to gain the throne of Lydia. However, Sauron had to allow part of his residual energy to pass into the One Ring, which meant that if the ring were destroyed, his own being would diminish. This he never contemplated or feared due to the ring’s strength and power, which mastered anyone who used it: it was beyond the strength of anyone to cast it away or neglect it.
Gollum
Before Bilbo and Frodo acquired the One Ring in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it was owned by the covetous creature Gollum, whose name and nature are likely a reference to the Golem of Jewish lore. According to legend, the Rabbi of Prague, Judah Loew, created the Golem from clay and ceremonial magic to defend Jewish ghettos from persecution by Christians in the sixteenth century. Since then, the Golem has been identified as a metaphor for the relationship between humanity and machinery. In 1961, Professor Norbert Weiner of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote, "the machine is the modern counterpart of the Golem of the Rabbi of Prague" (Sherwin, 2001, p.126). Tolkien also equated the One Ring with the Machine and possibly foresaw modern technocrats advocating transhumanism, the position that humans should be merged with technology to enhance bodily and mental functions. As Jay Weidner has pointed out, this artificial immortality destroys the true potential of humanity, which lies in the ultimate reunion with divine consciousness. Bilbo found that while the ring prolonged his lifespan, old age swiftly caught up with him once he gave it to Frodo, while Gollum was practically consumed by it. Many alchemists attempted to prolong their physical lifespan by searching for the Elixir of Immortality that would stave off physical death. But as pointed out by Chinese alchemists, “only those who forgo worldly achievement can ascend to immortality without passing through death" (Rice, 2018, p.31). Indeed, Richard C. Cook points out that, “materialism will never succeed in stamping out spiritual aspiration, because at bottom man is a spiritual being" (Cook, 2010, p.62). The triumph of the human spirit over the forces of materialism was celebrated and taught in the Mystery Schools of Antiquity, which were committed to fostering the spiritual potential of humanity through consecration to nature.
Shamanism
Shamans and indigenous peoples believe that there are three worlds: the Upper World, Middle World and Lower World. This is very similar to Tolkien’s cosmology in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. According to Alberto Villoldo, these three worlds “aren’t physical places, but rather archetypal and energetic domains" (Villoldo, 2017). The Upper World is the domain of our future and spirit, while the Lower World is the domain of our past and soul. The Middle World is the everyday world where we raise our families and navigate physical life. As we have seen, as the Four Ages unfold, humanity begins to focus more and more on the physical realm and gradually loses touch with the more subtle realms of spirit. This is also a central theme of Tolkien’s mythology in The Lord of the Rings, who states that during the Fourth Age, “the earlier ages were often called the Elder Days" (Tolkien, 2004, p.1082). By that time, legendary beings like Elves and Dwarves had disappeared from the landscape of Middle Earth, leaving the Fourth Age to be ruled by Men. Whether Tolkien believed that these beings existed or not is less important than the fact that they appeared in the stories and mythologies of the peoples of Northern Europe. Ancient Europeans believed that they lived in the middle of the world and that the earth was surrounded by an encircling sea, just like Tolkien’s world before the sinking of Numenor (Atlantis) during the Second Age. As stated by Peter Sawyer, “In mythical terms it meant the difference between the world protected by the gods, and those worlds that were dominated by the enemies of the gods and man" (Sawyer, 2001, p.211). Peter Sawyer says that these enemies lived far to the east and north, just like Sauron and Morgoth did in Middle Earth.
Gnosticism
Although Tolkien was a devout Catholic, there are uncanny similarities in The Silmarillion with Gnosticism in his description of the cosmology of Middle Earth. In Tolkien’s mythology, the primal powers that create the universe are part of a hierarchical system: Iluvatar, who corresponds with what the alchemists call “The All” or “the One”, is at the top, followed by the Valar and Maiar, which correspond to the Aeons (gods and goddesses) and angels, respectively. In addition, there is the figure of Melkor, who ultimately falls through arrogance and corrupts the Great Work of creation to suit his own needs, just as the Demiurge does in Gnosticism. The Gnostics viewed the Demiurge as a pseudo-deity who claimed to be the creator of the material universe and demanded slavish obedience from his creatures. Tolkien said that evil could not create; it could only corrupt and twist what good has created. According to Gnostic scholar John Lamb Lash, this is what the Demiurge and his minions, the Archons, do: “They cannot originate anything, they can only imitate, and they must effectuate their copycat activity with subterfuge and stealth, lest its true nature be detected" (Lash, 2006, p.115). In Gnostic literature, it is repeatedly stated that humanity is superior to the Archons because they lack love and goodness – attributes considered innate to humanity. The Gnostics stated that if the Archons possessed these attributes, evil would not have come into existence. And this, in essence, is the beauty of Tolkien’s message. That even though the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against us, and it appears that evil will prevail, somehow, someway, the forces of good ultimately triumph.
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