If you are reading this page, you probably want to know a little about who we are and what we believe. Though the answers to these seemingly simple questions are quite complex, the short answer is that we are a group of people who resonate with the archetypes contained within the body of work treating of “Middle-earth”, and written by English author J.R.R. Tolkien; known collectively as the Legendarium. We know in our hearts that these are documents of Spiritual Truth, and we base our Path upon this. The Silmarillion is our sacred text. Where elements necessary to a Spiritual path are missing (because of the death of the author, and his idiosyncratic mode of composition) we have identified congruent elements from other sources. However, since our objective is to always remain compatible with the source documents, we must reject anything that is too divergent or blatantly contradictory to the established concepts and values contained in those documents. Such things are rejected not because we believe that our way is the only way, but rather because we strive to maintain the structural integrity of our Mythos – much as do those who follow the Path of Ásatrú, or nearly every tribal religion.
Care is taken to show respect for the mythologies and ways of other cultures that we may find inspiring or congruent with the Eldarin perspective, as detailed by JRR Tolkien's extensive works and essays on the subject.
Among those who profess an interest in the life-ways of the Eldar and in Tolkien's works in general, there are three main perspectives operative when an attempt is made to relate Tolkien’s lore to the lore of other cultures:
- The belief that Tolkien's work was fiction based on existing lore or mythologies.
- The belief that Tolkien was describing literal events.
- The belief that Tolkien's work was based on factual, but not always verifiable, events. In a sense, something like historical fiction or a dream-journal.
Here I will use the Alfar (commonly translated as ‘Elves’) from Norse mythology compared to the Quendi as a way to illustrate this:
From perspective #1, we can say that the Alfar inspired Tolkien's Quendi.
From perspective #2, some may construe that the Alfar ARE the Quendi.
The third (and we have found, most useful) perspective is one which incorporates a little of both #1 and #2....That the Alfar are "echoes" of the Quendi, vestiges of memory preserved in mythic form. Or one may say that the Alfar are the faded Elves that Tolkien speaks of. This final perspective is one that operates in Tië eldaliéva on a collective level.
Within Tië eldaliéva we are in the midst of creating and forging an archetypal Tolkienist Spirituality, and we have decided that there shall be (as in Heathenry) an emphasis upon staying true to the Legendarium. UPG (Unverified Personal Gnosis) is encouraged here, but it is usually only incorporated when many of us experience the same thing independently. And even then, it is nearly always found to be supported by references in the Legendarium.
As mentioned, we use certain shamanic methods (Olórmë) to communicate with the Valar themselves, and thus by a combination of logic and intuition is our collective Gnosis verified. Nothing has been “invented” in the usual sense of the word. (Re-)Discovered and put into practical form, yes. Invented, no.
Finally, a word needs to be said about the term “Elves”. When we use that word here, we mean the Quendi—the beings described in the Legendarium. We do not mean fairies or other elementals, though those beings certainly exist in our experience; still less the images portrayed in popular culture, such as the “Drow”, and so forth (in particular, the Quendi did not have ‘pointy-ears’). Tolkien himself was at pains to distance the Quendi from more recent folklore:
"I now deeply regret having used ‘Elves’, though this is a word in ancestry and original meaning suitable enough. But the disastrous debasement of this word, in which Shakespeare played an unforgiveable part, has really overloaded it with regrettable tones, which are too much to overcome….My difficulty has been that, since I have tried to present a kind of legendary [sic] and history of a 'forgotten epoch', all the specific terms were in a foreign language, and no precise equivalents exist in English..." – From Letter #151
If the Quendi could speak to us today, they might say something like this:
We are the Firstborn. We are the People of the Stars. We are a constant presence upon Arda guiding and nurturing the Earth, the Sea, and the Sky. Through cycles we come, and make our presence known to the Secondborn (Mankind) to turn them from the tainted courses of the Dark One—and then the Fading begins again. We are the students of the Valar and Maiar. We are the teachers of these same wisdoms to Man.
Long ago we faded when the last lieutenant of the Enemy (cursed be its name) was thrown down from its tower, and Mankind was given the inherited chance to guide the Earth on their own. They lost the wisdom, and we have returned like the Istari to reveal hope in despair, and light in darkness. Until the World fails we are bound to return, thus we are ever-renewing and our spirits immortal.
We are the Eldalië and this—this is our Tië (Path).
Aiya and welcome to Tië eldaliéva!
{Most text written in 2007 by Aikanar, Lomelindo and Llefyn. The “Charge of Tië eldaliéva” (above) was devised in 2006 by Lomion. We gratefully acknowledge the input of the other Founders and Friends in the production of this Statement.}
