Given that Gandalf is an extraordinarily powerful being on his own, it may come as a surprise that he needs his staff inThe Lord of the Rings. It’s typical for a wizard to carry some sort of magical tool in fantasy fiction. The wizards inHarry Potteralmost always need wands to operate, and the wizards inLOTRseem to all carry staves. However, in the case of wizards inHarry Potter, they’re essentially just human beings with magical abilities, whilethe wizards inLOTRare god-like beings sent by even more powerfulgod-like beings, the Valar, to watch over Middle-earth.
The term “Maia” is singular, while “Maiar” refers to the plural group. The same goes for Vala and Valar.
Gandalf, Saruman, and the otherwizards of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world are part of a species called Maiar. Specifically, the wizards were froma group of Maia called the Istari. Unlike the Valar, who have a finite number, there’s an unknown quantity of Maiar inThe Lord of the Ringsuniverse. Sauron is also a Maia, which may add to the confusion of how exactly their powers and abilities work. InThe Rings of Powerseason 2, Sauron is shown tossing people around with his mind, while Gandalf often fights with a sword in the movies, creating some confusion.
Gandalf’s Staff Helps To Channel His Innate Magical Power
The Staff Wouldn’t Give A Normal Person Magical Powers, But It Enhances Gandalf
Gandalf possesses innate magical power inThe Lord of the Rings, but the staff helps to channel that power. This is the baseline idea, though J.R.R. Tolkien is rather vague and doesn’t explain his magic very particularly. For instance, inThe Two Towersbook,Saruman has his staff shattered by Gandalf, and he’s described as essentially being a powerless man afterward. As Gandalf the Grey, Gandalf wields a wooden staff, while Gandalf the White has a seemingly upgraded weapon given to him by Galadriel.
Gandalf and Saruman’s fight scene fromThe Fellowship of the Ringisn’t in the books, demonstrating how Peter Jackson interprets wizard magic.
As Gandalf becomes the White Wizard, his power and wisdom increase greatly, with the staff being a visual representation of this ascendance. Sothe staff seems to be a magical object in and of itself, though a mortal person wouldn’t be able to wield magicif they held it. It’s crucial that the user is also a significantly powerful magical being. As for wizards wielding magic in Tolkien’s world, it’s not really their main purpose, as contradictory as that may sound.
9 Rings Of Power Clues That Confirmed The Stranger Was Gandalf All Along
The Rings of Power season 2 has finally confirmed The Stranger to be Gandalf, but the series had been laying out clues since its first episode.
The Lord Of The Rings' Wizards Don’t Have Access To Their Full Maiar Powers
The Istari Were Sent To Guide Middle-earth Against Sauron
The Valar sent the Istari to Middle-earth to help Men defeat Sauron, but not do it for them.
While Gandalf is an extraordinarily powerful being, his interference in the Third Age is mitigated by a restriction on his powers. The Valar sent the Istari to Middle-earth to help Men defeat Sauron, but not do it for them.Gandalf and the other Istar are present to advise and counsel, not to directly fight Sauron as Maiar, which is a huge part of why Saruman’s treachery is so terrible. The rules of magic are vague inThe Lord of the Rings, but there are important reasons for how everything factors into Tolkien’s stories.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
