#mirror of galadriel

[autistook]

February 14th/15th - The Mirror of Galadriel

“Many things I can command the Mirror to reveal,” she answered, “and to some I can show what they desire to see. But the Mirror will also show things unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things which we wish to behold. What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, I cannot tell. For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which is it that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell. Do you wish to look?”

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Mirror of Galadriel by Galina Egorenkova

[tolkienillustrations]

The Mirror of Galadriel by Ruth Sanderson

[dailymtgflavortext]

"Your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company is true."

-Mirror of Galadriel

[theworldsoftolkein]

Loth Lorien by Serena Malyon

[something-something-goodomens]

How diffrently would LOTR have gone if Frodo had looked into the mirror of Galadriel and just seen trans girl frodo.

[usssnarfblat]

X

[almostlookedhuman]

[morgulscribe]

Lorien Is Protected By Song

In this quote, Galadriel talks about the various defenses of Lorien, leading up to her admission that she possesses the Ring of Adamant:

"'I know what it was that you last saw,' she said; 'for that is also in my mind. Do not be afraid! But do not think that only by singing amid the trees, nor even by the slender arrows of elven-bows, is this land of Lothlórien maintained and defended against its Enemy." --The Mirror of Galadriel, Fellowship of the Ring, p. 409

The line 'singing amid the trees' probably goes unnoticed by most readers; after all, that is what elves do: sing a lot. However, this reference to singing comes in a list of Lorien's defenses, not in a list of the various ways that elves entertain themselves in the forest. So this implies that these songs are not ordinary "Tra la lally, welcome to the valley" songs, but rather Songs of Power. Notice that Galadriel lists the singing first and then uses the words "nor even" when referring to the "slender arrows of the elven-bows," implying that the songs have the greater power when compared to ordinary martial strength.

There are two opinions among Tolkien fans regarding Galadriel's powers. One argument states that, while Galadriel possesses much inner strength, wisdom, and foresight, she is an ordinary elf, and most of her magic powers come from Nenya. The counter argument states that Galadriel has much innate power as a daughter of the Noldor, and even without Nenya, she would be a force to be reckoned with. After all, she is the sister of Finrod Felagund, who had no ring of power when he used a song "of changing and of shifting shape" to disguise himself and his companions as orcs, or when he fought against Sauron in a duel of song, sorcery, and shapeshifting.

Most likely, the "singing amid the trees" referenced in this chapter are some Girdle of Melian type enchantments, which Galadriel would have learned from Melian herself. I believe it can be argued that Galadriel used her own native power here, a power which was amplified by Nenya.

I also feel that there is an implication that the voices of other elves are bolstering the magic defenses around Lorien. Perhaps Galadriel has a group of pupils to whom she has taught the art of Songs of Power, much like how she herself was taught by Melian.

[theclod3215]

“What will I see?”

“Even the wisest cannot tell. For the mirror shows many things. Things that were, things that are, and some things... that have not yet come to pass.”

[silhouette-cosplay]

✨Lady of Light✨

This is one of my favourite Galadriel shoots EVER (and just plain shoots tbh). I have never felt more ethereal than in these photos, and I am forever grateful that @lizabetroberts was able and willing to fit me into her packed New England shoot schedule! She is such a gem to work with and she brought this otherworldly quality that was absolutely magical. ✨

(Also my makeup and wig were just cooperating so well that day—blessings from the Valar!)

Costume/crown made by me!

Photos by @lizabetroberts

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Mirror of Galadriel by Kasia Zielinska (Kafis)

[tolkienillustrations]

The Mirror of Galadriel by Alan Lee

[cilil]

I've now been laughing at the "fair count" (see this post by @lemoneyshipz; credit for the counting goes to Febbb__ from weibo) - as in which Tolkien characters have been described as fair in the book and how many times - for two days straight... buuut how about we, the fans, get our own opinions in too?

(I excluded the groups of people to get as many characters on this as Tumblr lets me)

((Still couldn't fit them all, so honorable mentions go to Thingol, Celegorm and Indis))

(((Edit for clarity: The selection of characters is based on the list as seen in the post I'm referring to. To my understanding it in turn is counting mentions in the Silmarillion (aka "the book" for us Silm fans). See also the tags)))

[theworldsoftolkein]

[galadrielspeaks]