Because Gandalf is an extraordinarily powerful being on his own, it may come as a surprise that he needs to be stuck in The Lord of the Rings. It is typical for a wizard to wield some sort of magical tool in fantasy fiction. The witches in Harry Potter Almost always need wands to work, and the wizards in LOTR It seems that everyone wears poles. However, in the case of wizards in Harry PotterThey are essentially just people with magical abilities, though The witches in LOTR Are god-like beings sent by even more powerful God-like beings, the ValarTo watch over Middle-earth.
Gandalf, Saruman and the others Wizards of JRR Tolkien’s world are part of a species called Maiar. Specifically, the wizards are from a group of Maya called the Istari. Unlike the Valar, who have a finite number, there is an unknown quantity of Maiar in it The Lord of the Rings Universe. Sauron is also a Maia, which can add to the confusion of how exactly their powers and abilities work. in The rings of power In season 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 channel his innate magical power
The staff would not give a normal person magical powers, but it enhances Gandalf
Gandalf possesses an innate magical power in The Lord of the RingsBut the staff helps to channel that power. This is the baseline idea, although JRR Tolkien is quite vague and doesn’t explain his magic very specifically. For example, in The two towers book, Saruman had his staff shattered by Gandalf, and he is described as essentially a powerless man afterwards. As Gandalf the Grey, Gandalf wields a wooden staff, while Gandalf the White has a seemingly upgraded weapon given to him by Galadriel.
When Gandalf becomes the White Wizard, his power and wisdom increase greatly, with the staff being a visual representation of this ascension. So The staff seems to be a magical object in and of itself, although a mortal man would not be able to cast magic If they kept it. It is crucial that the user is also a powerful magical being. As for wizards wielding magic in Tolkien’s world, that’s not really their main purpose, as contradictory as that might sound.
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The wizards of The Lord of the Rings do not have access to their full Maiar powers
The Istari were sent to lead Middle-earth against Sauron
The Valar sent the Istari to Middle-earth to help humans defeat Sauron, but not to 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 humans defeat Sauron, but not to do it for them. Gandalf and the other Istar are present to advise and advocate, not to directly fight Sauron like MaiarWhich is a huge part of why Saruman’s Treachery is so terrible. The rules of magic are vague The Lord of the RingsBut there are important reasons for how everything factors into Tolkien’s stories.