“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 enamoured 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.
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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 labours to fulfil the vision which they had seen. Long they laboured 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.”
J.R.R. Tolkien; Valaquenta
(Read excerpt online)
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Image by Enano Akd
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Introduction
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The [fourteen (14)] of the Ainur who put on the raiment of Earth, and descended into it, are collectively known as “the Valar“, (or “the Powers”). The Valar form the aggregate Consciousness, and Energy Matrix fundamentally manifesting the 3D expression, and evolution of Earth, and they may be consciously experienced as literal, albeit non-physical beings. (They also have the capacity to express themselves using anthropomorphic bodies, and have done so with both Elves, and Humankind.) Within the Legendarium‘s account of Elven life, and culture, Elven spirituality arises from the Elves’ inherent, seamless, and permanent personal relationships with the Valar. Consequently, walking the Elven Spiritual Path (E.S.P.) begins by establishing direct, personal relationships with the Valar.
Relationships: Valar, Elves, Humankind, and the Critical Role of Choice
Elves are Ilúvatar’s Firstborn, created akin to the Ainur; as such, He generated their bodily expressions as direct extensions of the planet, ergo of the Valar. Physically being direct extensions of the Valar, Elves also have automatic, and profound personal relationships with the Powers. Contrastingly, Humankind are Ilúvatar’s Secondborn, also created akin to the Ainur, however, like most 2nd children, humans have been given more elbow room than our elder, spiritual siblings. The upside is that we are not irrevocably bound to this world; the downside is that we tend not to live for very long, and we do not automatically have such relationships with the Valar–we must choose to enter into, and grow those relationships in order to practically experience the resonance, and dynamics of nascent Elven spirituality.
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By making that choice, humans may have a like, and poignantly unique experience of Elven spirituality via the sympathetic resonance with the Valar, the Ainur, and the Maiar that is the Natural outcome of those relationships. (Once the choice is made to explore relationship with the Valar, to actually connect with them, the “Tengwar” prove to be invaluable tools for facilitating, supporting, and sustaining that connection.)
Tengwar as Psychic Bridges
Through ritual, and meditation, traveler’s upon the Elven Spiritual Path may establish direct connection with each of the Valar. Each ritual begins by calling the Valar into a ceremonial sphere, by pairs, according to their interpersonal relationships with each other. Tolkien established Quenya as the language of the High Elves; they use it to communicate with the Valar. Tengwar are the letters of the Elven script used to write Quenya; hence, we apply the Tengwar as psychic, interdimensional bridges to the Valar enabling bilateral transmission of thought, Energy, information, and communication between (the physical, and non-physical; specifically between) the contemporary world, and the Blessed Realm. The below Tengwar-Valar correspondences may also be used to facilitate such contact, leading to such communication, via meditation..
Experience, and Explore–Taking Your First Steps on the Elven Spiritual Path
Understand, it’s a simple process of Elven magical evocation, (inviting the Powers toward ones’Elf), eschewing invocation, (inviting the Powers into ones’Elf); i.e. you’re inviting the Valar to be with you, augmenting your inviolable Relationship with Spirit within you, similar to the way a Christian may invite Lord Yésus, (using external aids like a cross, a candle, or the historical fish symbol to facilitate a felt sense of resonance with Him), or a practitioner of the Old Religion may likewise invite a member of a pagan pantheon to join her, or him in communion with Holy Spirit. (Christians may not regard that method of spiritual alignment with Yésus as “magical”, nevertheless, that’s the fundamental Nature of it.) Anyone who is able to view the Tengwar, (with either external, or internal eyes), and apply the below How-to steps may connect with the Valar, and uniquely walk the Elven Spiritual Path.
The How-to:
(1) Mental focus on the Tengwar as expressions of Divine Light, (i.e. visualize them them a letters written in Light, rather than a graphic images on your screen), combined with
(2) your intention to affect psychic bridges to the respective Valar, by which Conscious interaction, and viable communication with them may be experienced, (i.e. a good analogy for setting the right intention is the way you set your intention when you’re going on a date; positive anticipation, [without the prissiness–unless you’ve just got to go there]), and
(3) intoning the Tengwar names, (i.e. actually expressing their syllables in sustained, controlled, tones) are the fundamentals;
practicing those fundamentals leads to mastery in the ability to connect, and consciously interact with the Valar.
Steps 1, and 2 are all you really need to begin to establish sympathetic resonance with the Valar; if your intention is simply to establish a Light bridge to them, place one of your hands on your heart, (the right one is optimal) to ensure your heart, and brain are both connected, and that you’re acting from Love, rather than ego-infused intellect. You may regard each set of Tengwar-Valar associations as a “key”. Just breathe deeply, and rhythmically as you so meditate upon the respective key, or keys, focus on Love rather than any discomforting thought, or sensation, as well as the names of the respective Valar, (you may add their Qualities too), and pay attention to the felt sense of your internal, and external spatial awareness. The Valar will honor that, and meet you where you are.
Sound grounds–intoning the above set of Tengwar names cements the connections; doing so generates, and holds massive space for the deepest interactions with the Valar. When you formally learn our ritual process, you become familiar with the ceremonial musical intervals E.S.P. uses for the Tengwar names; generally, to begin, think of the notes for the word “female” in the song, “Do-Re-Mi” from the musical, “Sound of Music“. “Do, (a deer, a fe-male deer)...”; apply that interval to Ró-men; Ar-da; For-men; Nú-men; Ó-rë; Vil-ya; and Hyar-men.] Or, you may simply sing their names, and or respective directions* using whatever intervals arise from your heart, whilst directing your attention inwardly toward your heart, and outwardly toward the West–the Valar are not respecters of persons, they equally Love, and are ready to support all Children of Iluvatar, and the Song of your heart’s Music is a perfectly fine place to start walking with them upon this Path!
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What do you do After Connecting With the Valar?
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Let’s say you’re religiously inclined–toward Buddhism, in particular; how would you behave if you were sitting with the Dalai Lama, having a private audience with His Holiness, for as long as you’d like to talk with, listen to, and learn from him? Let’s say you’re a guitarist; how would you behave if you were sitting with the person who’s a mashup of the 1000 greatest guitarists of all time, having an exclusive, private master class for as long as you’d like to talk with, listen to, and learn from her, or him? Let’s say you’re a blacksmith; how would you behave if you were sitting with the smith who taught Elves the skills they needed to output their exquisite metalworking, and the Rings of Power, for as long as you’d like to talk with, listen to, and learn from him [Aule]? Let’s say you’re a florist, or a horticulturist; how would you behave if you were sitting with one the whose Song generates all those plants, for as long as you’d like to talk with, listen to, and learn from her [Yavanna]? You’d probably speak little, listen a lot, and show the level of respect that informs your teacher that it’s worth her, or his time to be with you.
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Relax. Keep it simple. Make Friends with, and get to know the Valar. We’ll teach you, and assist you in progressively deepening your relationships with them. That’s why we’re here; learning what we’re presented via this page is like learning how to open a refrigerator as a toddler–it can seem there’s a long way to go before you’re able to connect, and we have an highly-structured, [15-years to date] time-tested, and reliable, natural system of regular meditations, and rituals by which you may learn to do so. We’ve established Yána eldaliéva as a container for you to have access to it, so you may progressively apply it toward personal spiritual growth, and to so growing with others who are likewise motivated to get to know the Valar, and to both explore, and Be their highest S’Elves. Let’s start here:
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A rule of thumb to have a tight grip on, throughout your Elven Journey, is to take baby steps. Initially, ask simple question(s) requiring, “Yes”, “No” answer(s), and allow yours’Elf time to attentively listen for the answer(s)–the WHOLE answer. How may you “hear” them? The Valar will communicate with you along the path of least resistance, the most efficient way for you to get the full drift of what they may wish to share with you. That may be through clairvoyance, if that’s one of your psychic strong suits; it may be through heart’s felt sense, if empathy is one of your psychic strong suits; it may come through a visceral felt sense, if your gut’s felt sense tends to highly impress upon, and inform your perceptions; it may be through clairaudience, e.g. you may be able to intuitively hear them speaking to, and lucidly communicating with you. All of the above ways of experiencing the Valar are are possible, all of them may be developed, and all of them are worthy of being explored; balance of them is a possible skill set to be desired. Gradually, your capacity to perceive more will grow, as will your capacity to receive more from the Valar.
Be careful. Becoming attuned to the Elven Spiritual Path entails mystically connecting with the Blessed Realm, and deepening, and growing in your capacity to do so; however, the Elven Journey, when blended with cockiness, pride, youthful folly, desire for power, desire for acknowledgment, or any other motivation wherein fear, and/or ego is in the driver’s seat may unintentionally bring you in close proximity to the Perilous Realm. (Suffice it for me to say you really don’t wanna go there; returning from the s’Elf harm you’d thereby incur could literally require decades of your life!) Always, fear not, stay humble, and don’t act a fool; if you’re humble, sincere, and willing to grow slowly–remember, it takes fifty (50) years for Elves come of age–then, Love will hold, lead, and sustain you, all along the Way.
Be, and stay of good heart, peaceful mind, (behave responsibly with respect to COVID-19), and enjoy your Adventure! May the stars safely guide you, ensure your steps are awash with Love’s Light, and keep you in the Valar line of Sight throughout your Elven Journey.
Laita,
Tárainimë Alyras
Director of Music Ministry, July 2020
* For T-e rituals, intoning the directions is done the same way; however, with “Mi”, and “Or”, sing only the first tone.
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References
LaSala, J. (2017) Meet the Valar! (And the Foundations of Middle-earth). The Silmarillion Primer. Retrieved from https://www.tor.com/2017/10/18/meet-the-valar-and-the-foundations-of-middle-earth/ [Author]
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1977) The Silmarillion /Boston : Houghton Mifflin
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.Copyright by Tië eldaliéva 2020. All rights reserved.