JRR Tolkien's implicitly positive attitude to magical methods and practices in the modern world
Over at my Inklings blog, and by reference to The Notion Club Papers; I suggest that JRR Tolkien implicitly displayed a (perhaps) surprisingly positive attitude to that approach deployed by the British tradition of Christian White Magical Societies.
Something I was surprised to learn recently was the influence Tolkien likely had from Steiner. Particularly the concepts of Ahriman (Saruman) lucifer (Sauron) and “the Christ” (Gandalf) making a balanced trinity
@Tom Edmund - I would not expect any "influence" at all from Steiner; but more likely an independent convergence on some basic truths.
There is something in the scheme you describe, but also Tolkien was explicitly aware of the progression of evil in a person, changing its form. So, Saruman began as Ahrimanic, but ended being almost wholly negative/destructive in his dominant evil - i.e. Sorathic in Steiner's scheme.
The original Lucifer-equivalent, Morgoth, went even further in this direction. https://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/2011/08/morgoth-versus-sauron-tolkien-on-nature.html
Something I was surprised to learn recently was the influence Tolkien likely had from Steiner. Particularly the concepts of Ahriman (Saruman) lucifer (Sauron) and “the Christ” (Gandalf) making a balanced trinity
ReplyDelete@Tom Edmund - I would not expect any "influence" at all from Steiner; but more likely an independent convergence on some basic truths.
ReplyDeleteThere is something in the scheme you describe, but also Tolkien was explicitly aware of the progression of evil in a person, changing its form. So, Saruman began as Ahrimanic, but ended being almost wholly negative/destructive in his dominant evil - i.e. Sorathic in Steiner's scheme.
https://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/search?q=saruman+sorathic
The original Lucifer-equivalent, Morgoth, went even further in this direction. https://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/2011/08/morgoth-versus-sauron-tolkien-on-nature.html