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The Pantheon of the Ancient Order of Elves In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is, named Ilúvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him. In this Music the World was begun; for Ilúvatar made visible the song of the Ainur, and they beheld it as a light in the darkness. And many among them became enamored of its beauty, and of its history, which they saw beginning and unfolding as in a vision. Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä. Then those of the Ainur who desired it arose and entered into the World at the beginning of Time; and it was their task to achieve it, and by their labors to fulfill the vision which they had seen. Long they labored in the regions of Eä, which are vast beyond the thought of Elves and Men, until in the time appointed was made Arda, the Kingdom of Earth. Then they put on the raiment of Earth and descended into it, and dwelt therein. Terms: Eru (Q. "the only") Ilúvatar (Q. "father of everything") fey term (Corellon Larethian). Was the one being in existence in the beginning of time. Creator of the Ainur and Eä, he is what Men refer to as God. The Ainur (Q. "the holy", sing. Ainu) are the very first creatures who were created by Eru before Eä. They are the Maiar and the Valar. Arda: 'Realm (of Manwë). In the language of the Elder Days, 'Arda' signified the World and all that is in it. Arda was created through the Music of the Ainur to be a dwelling place for the Children of Ilúvatar (that is, Elves and Men). Children of Ilúvatar: The two Speaking Peoples fated in the Music of the Ainur, Elves and Men. Eä: The universe, which was brought into existence when Ilúvatar spoke the word 'Eä!’ 'Be!’ Fea: Spirit. *See Elvish Philosophy of Death and Incarnation. The Fëanturi: The Fëanturi, masters of spirits, are brethren, and they are called most often by the elves as Mandos and Lórien. The Great Music: The great song of the Ainur at the beginning of time, in which the world was created. The Timeless Halls: The dwelling of Eru Iluvatar. The dwelling place of Iluvatar, beyond the confines of the universe, where the Ainur were given being, and where the Valar and Maiar dwelt before their descent into Arda. The Valar (Va’Lar) The fourteen powerful spirits who took physical form and entered Arda after its creation to give order to the world. Like the Elves, those Valar who chose to enter the World at its beginning are bound to it until it reaches its destined end; they may not return to the Timeless Halls of Iluvatar. As spirits, the Valar have no fixed physical form, although they often took the shapes of the Children of Ilúvatar. They could, though, assume any form they chose, or cast aside their shape altogether and travel formless and invisible through Arda. Valinor: The land of the Valar Of the Valar (Archangels) The Great among these spirits the Elves name the Valar, the Powers of Arda also known as The Powers that be and Men have often called them gods. The Lords of the Valar are seven. Manwë: He is dearest to Ilúvatar and understands most clearly his purposes. He was appointed to be, in the fullness of time, the first of all Kings: lord of the realm of Arda and ruler of all that dwell therein. In Arda his delight is in the winds and the clouds, and in all the regions of the air, from the heights to the depths, from the utmost borders of the Veil of Arda to the breezes that blow in the grass. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. Ulmo: other names- Deep Sashelas. Ulmo is the Lord of Waters. He is alone. He dwells nowhere long, but moves, as he will in all the deep waters about the Earth or under the Earth. He is next in might to Manwë, and before Valinor was made he was closest to him in friendship; but thereafter he went seldom to the councils of the Valar, unless great matters were in debate. For he kept all Arda in thought, and he has no need of any resting-place. Moreover he does not love to walk upon land, and will seldom clothe himself in a body after the manner of his peers. If the Children of Eru beheld him they were filled with a great dread; for the arising of the King of the Sea was terrible, as a mounting wave that strides to the land, with dark helm foam-crested and raiment of mail shimmering from silver down into shadows of green. Aulë: Aulë has might little less than Ulmo. His lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made. In the beginning he wrought much in fellowship with Manwë and Ulmo; and the fashioning of all lands was his labour. He is a smith and a master of all crafts, and he delights in works of skill, however small, as much as in the mighty building of old. His are the gems that lie deep in the Earth and the gold that is fair in the hand, no less than the walls of the mountains and the basins of the sea. The elves that became great craftsmen learned most of him, and he was ever their friend. He inspires those who wish to be great craftsmen. Oromë: other names-Rillifane Rallathil He is a mighty lord. If he is less strong than Tulkas, he is more dreadful in anger; whereas Tulkas laughs ever, in sport or in war, and laughed in the battles before the Elves were born. Oromë loved the lands of elves and men, and he left them unwillingly and came last to Valinor; and often of old he passed back east over the mountains and returned with his host to the hills and the plains. He is a hunter of monsters and fell beasts, and he delights in horses and in hounds; and all trees he loves, for which reason he is called Aldaron, and by the Sindar Tauron, the Lord of Forests. Nahar is the name of his horse, white in the sun, and shining silver at night. The Valaróma is the name of his great horn, the sound of which is like the upgoing of the Sun in scarlet, or the sheer lightning cleaving the clouds. Above all the horns of his host it was heard in the woods that Yavanna brought forth in Valinor; for there Oromë would train his folk and his beasts for the pursuit of the evil creatures. (The Fëanturi: The Fëanturi, masters of spirits, are brethren, and they are called most often by the elves as Mandos and Lórien). Námo: other names- Labelas Enorath The elder dwells in Mandos, which is westward in Valinor. He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead, and the summoner of the spirits of the slain. He forgets nothing; and he knows all things that shall be, save only those that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar. He is the Doomsman of the Valar; but he pronounces his dooms and his judgements only at the bidding of Manwë. Irmo who dwells in Lórien: Irmo the younger is the master of visions and dreams. In Lórien are his gardens in the land of the Valar, and they are the fairest of all places in the world, filled with many spirits. Tulkas: other names-Tethrin Veralde’. Greatest in strength and deeds of prowess is Tulkas, who is surnamed Astaldo, the Valiant. He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless. His hair and beard are golden, and his flesh ruddy; his weapons are his hands. He has little heed for either the past or the future, and is of no avail as a counselor, but is a hardy friend. He often appears to inspire those who wish to become Bladesingers. The Queens of the Valar (called the Valier) are seven. Varda: other names- Sehanine With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Ilúvatar lives still in her face. In light are her power and her joy. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears. She hears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places. Of all the Great Ones who dwell in this world the Elves hold Varda most in reverence and love. Elbereth they name her, and they call upon her name out of the shadows of the world’s darkest places. Nonetheless Ulmo loves both Elves and Men, and never abandoned them, not even when they lay under the wrath of the Valar. At times he will come unseen to the shores of the world. Passing far inland up firths of the sea, and there make music upon his great horns, the Ulumúri, that are wrought of white shell; and those to whom that music comes hear it ever after in their hearts, and longing for the sea never leaves them again. But mostly Ulmo speaks to those who dwell in among the elves with voices that are heard only as the music of water. For all seas, lakes, rivers, fountains and springs are in his government; so that the Elves say that the spirit of Ulmo runs in all the veins of the world. Thus news comes to Ulmo, even in the deeps, of all the needs and griefs of Arda, which otherwise would be hidden from Manwë. Yavanna: The spouse of Aulë is Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the small and secret things in the mold. In reverence Yavanna is next to Varda among the Queens of the Valar. In the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes. Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven crowned with the Sun. And from all its branches there spilled golden dew upon the barren earth, and it grew green with corn. But the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwë spoke in its leaves. Kementári, Queen of the Earth, she is surnamed in the Eldarin tongue. Nienna: other names-Naralis Analor. Sister of the Fëanturi; she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered. So great was her sorrow, as the Music unfolded, that her song turned to lamentation long before its end, and the sound of mourning was woven into the themes of the World before it began. But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope. Her halls are west of West, upon the borders of the world; and she comes seldom to the city of Valimar where all is glad. She goes rather to the halls of Mandos, which are near to her own; and all those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom. She brings the knowledge of healing to all who listen to her sorrowful song. The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the world. Estë: other names-Naralis Analor. Estë the gentle, healer of hurts and of weariness, is his spouse. Grey is her raiment; and rest is her gift. She walks not by day, but sleeps upon an island in the tree-shadowed lake of Lórellin. From the fountains of Irmo and Estë all those who dwell in Valinor draw refreshment; and often the Valar come themselves to Lórien and there find repose and easing of the burden of Arda. Vairë: other names-Melina Taralen. She is the Weaver and is Námo’s spouse, who weaves all things that have ever been in Time into her storied webs and the halls of Mandos that ever widen as the ages pass are clothed with them. Her songs and stories are most cherished by the elves and come with great power to induce joy or even sadness by all those who listen. Vána: other names-Hanali Celanil. The spouse of Oromë, Vána the Ever-young; she is the younger sister of Yavanna. All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming. She sing to life beautiful gardens and waterfalls. She is the barer of romance, love and all things beautiful. Nessa: The sister of Oromë, and spouse to Tulkas she also is lithe and fleetfooted. Deer she loves, and they follow her train wherever she goes in the wild; but she can outrun them, swift as an arrow with the wind in her hair. In dancing she delights, and she dances in Valimar on lawns of never-fading green. Of the Maiar With the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree. These are the Maiar, the people of the Valar, and their servants and helpers their number is not known to the Elves and few have names in any of the tongues of the Children of Ilúvatar; for though it is otherwise in Aman. The Maiar have seldom appeared in form visible to Elves and Men. Chief among the Maiar of Valinor whose names are remembered in the histories of the Elder Days. Ilmarë: The handmaid of Varda and Eönwë, the banner-bearer and herald of Manwë, whose might in arms is surpassed by none in Arda. Ossë: Ossë is a vassal of Ulmo, and he is master of the seas that wash the shores of Middle-earth. He does not go in the deeps, but loves the coasts and the isles, and rejoices in the winds of Manwë; for in storm he delights, and laughs amid the roaring of the waves. His spouse is Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, whose hair lies spread through all water under sky. All creatures she loves that live in the salt streams, and all weeds that grow there; to her mariners cry, for she can lay calm upon the waves, restraining the wildness of Ossë. Uinen: The Lady of the Seas, spouse to Ossë, whose hair lies spread through all water under sky. All creatures she loves that live in the salt streams, and all weeds that grow there; to her mariners cry, for she can lay calm upon the waves, restraining the wildness of Ossë. Melian: was the name of a Maia who served both Vána and Estë she dwelt long in Lórien. Olórin: Though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the prompting of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and took pity on their sorrows; and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness. He too dwelt in Lorien, but his ways took him often to the house of Nienna, and of her he learned pity and patience. Elvish Philosophy of Death and Incarnation The fate of the Elves: The Elves see themselves as two different parts: the Fëa (spirit) and the Hroa (body). The two parts are not bound to each other, but without the Hroa, the Fea is powerless, and with no spirit, the body is dead and will soon dissolve. The life span of the Elves is by nature the same as that of the world (although they are often called immortal, which is a totally different thing). But the Elves call the world "Arda Sahta", the Marred World. Within its borders, nothing can be uninfluenced by the dark powers, and Elves and Men, who are made of Arda's matter, are all likely to suffer in some way. Thus the Elvish Fëa tend to "consume" the Hroa, until all that is left of it is a vague shape and it is indeed indestructible. Also, the Elves may die of grief or wounds (but not by disease) and then the Fëa will leave the Hroa. Then the "houseless" Fëa will be summoned to the Halls of Mandos, and it may go there of its own free will. Most Fëa do this, but those who have been influenced by evil and are corrupt often dread the punishment they will receive in Mandos and stay in Middle-earth, trying to take over some other Hroa that already contains a Fëa. Those who follow the summons may, if they wish, be incarnated in a newborn body, identical to the previous. The others stay in Mandos until the end of the world. For the Elves are bound to the world, and cannot leave it. All Fëa, whatever way they choose, must wait in Mandos for a time; how long depends on the individual. If the Fëa has done evil in its previous life it must often wait longer until allowed to return to life. But sometimes it has to stay for good. An Elf reborn is in all ways a child again, and does not remember its previous life until its experience and knowledge has grown. Then its life becomes double rich, since it has experienced two lives. Solstice holidays Winter Solstice-Yenearsira Spring Festival-Sheelala Vernal Equinox-Ehtele'mele Autumnal Equinox-Yavieba Summer Solstace-Faradome The Elven Wedding A feast is used to celebrate the union of all elves. We normally have a Rehearsal Dinner one or two days before the wedding and then a Reception after the ceremony Elders come to give the honored couple many gifts at the feast. It is also customary for the father or honorary person of the bride to lay her hand in the groom's hand. To show it's a public declaration of their consent to the union, a symbolic way of saying, "I give you to this man." This is something equivalent to wedding invitations that edanea may use. There is singing and dancing. Poems are recited at the weddings. Elves usually wed once. Through the passage of time they may be parted for any reason they are always bounded to each other. Those who would afterwards become wedded might choose one another early in youth, even as children. Unless they desire soon to be married and are of fitting age, the betrothal awaits the judgment of the parents of either party. In due time the betrothal is announced at a meeting of the two houses concerned and the betrothed exchange silver rings one to another. According to the laws of the Temple of Eru Iluvatar this betrothal is bounded, standing for at least one year, and it often stands longer. During this time it could be revoked by a public return of the rings, the rings then molten and not again used for a betrothal. Such is the law, but the right of revoking is seldom used, for we elves do not traverse lightly in such a choice. We are not easily deceived by our own kind; our spirits being masters of our bodies, we are seldom swayed by the desires of the body only, but are by nature continent and steadfast. After the betrothal it is the part of the betrothed to appoint the time of their wedding, after at least one year has passed. Then at a feast, again shared by the two houses, the marriage is celebrated. At the end of the feast the betrothed stands forth, and the mother of the bride and the father of the bridegroom joins the hands of the pair and blesses them. For this blessing there is a solemn form, but no mortal will hear it. The parents name the Varda in witness by the mother and Manwë by the father; and moreover that the name of Eru is spoken (this is seldom done at any other time). The betrothed then receive each others silver rings and in exchange they offer each other slender rings of gold, which are worn upon the index of the right hand. It is a custom that the bride's mother should give to the bridegroom a jewel upon a chain or collar; and the bridegroom's father should give a like gift to the bride. These gifts are sometimes given before the feast. These ceremonies are not rites necessary to marriage; they are only a gracious mode by which the love of the parents are manifested, and the union is recognized which would join not only the betrothed but also their two houses together. It is the act of bodily union that achieves the marriage, and after which an indissoluble bond is complete. In times of strife elves may even have informal unions. This is rarely done but in the case of war.