Does the Lord of the Rings promote Magic?

While I wait for more feedback on my latest short story Intent to Join (which is viewable on wattpad at the moment), I wrote a small thought piece after seeing people ask why some people give Tolkien and C. S. Lewis a pass on magic, but not other authors. This is my theory on the answer by looking at the One Ring

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If there is one thing people like to play with the most in storytelling, I'd wager it is magic. It's a fascinating subject, but if not handled properly, can lead to questionable morals. And as we cannot discuss magic in storytelling without bringing up Tolkien, whom many authors credit for inspiration, it would be good to analyze what his thoughts were.

Tolkien can be a bit confusing since he appears to use magic everywhere. It's even acknowledged in the Fellowship of the Ring when the hobbits meet with some elves. In this case, it's probably best to say he applied it to whatever could not be comprehended from a purely human and real world perspective. However, if we consider the reasons why magic is evil (grasping, evil source, and possession), then we can reason that he did indeed consider that magic to be evil. And this is all exemplified by the One Ring.

Grasping

To assume the One Ring only makes its wearer invisible is a critical misunderstanding. Instead, it was an amplifier. This is how everyone saw it and responded to it. Everyone who wanted the Ring was grasping for power. Even it's crafting was for the thirst of power. That is why it was given to the weak for safe-keeping.

Recall that Sauron was not invisible when he wore the Ring, but he became more powerful. Hobbits, on the other hand, were described as naturally good at hiding, so invisibility is an amplification of that power. So rather than just an invisibility tool, it's rather an amplifier.

Power source
To assume the One Ring is simply a tool that can be used and mastered by anyone would make the Lord of the Rings books confusing. Why not simply give it to the noblest and purest of heart?

Gandalf gives a brief statement that he could not accept the Ring even though he would initially desire to use it for good. He warned that with the Ring he would become possibly even worse than Sauron. And yet it is said he also bears one of the other rings while being a powerful wizard. To us, those would be two characteristics of magic and power. Why the discrimination? The answer is that his sources of power were good, but the Ring was forged by evil and was evil itself.

Possession

Recall that the Ring is not just a Ring, but it was in fact Sauron. The magic part of the magic ring is arguably that it was Sauron. Sauron had poured his essence into the Ring. Therefore anyone who used the Ring was actually using Sauron for power. When considering the idea that Sauron was essentially the devil, this is the textbook case of magic. And at the same time, the longer one had the Ring, the more susceptible to evil they became. We can even argue the character of Gollum to be a case of possession rather than split personality, but that's would be a separate debate.


Conclusion

Tolkien may have a variety of magic in his books, but he does present the core ideas of magic as evil. Grasping for power is evil; Power sourced from evil is also evil, even if the intent is good; It is evil to allow possession by evil. These ideas are perfectly portrayed in the One Ring as it is not only a symbol of evil, but also of magic.

J. D. Nyle


Disclaimer: My knowledge of Lord of the Rings comes mostly from watching the films and reading the books and attending a class on the subject. I am not Christopher Tolkien or Stephen Colbert and must defer to their expertise if they say otherwise.