The Powers of the Istari (Wizards) | Tolkien Explained

We’ll highlight not only how the wizards were bound to their physical bodies, but also the instances where we get glimpses of their power.

Hit subscribe - and the bell!

To purchase artist work, check out these amazing artists!

Wizards - the Istari - Ivan Cavini
radagastm - tolmancotton
Gandalf vs Witch King - Angus McBride
gandalf-returns-to-hobbiton - John Howe
Across_Middle-earth_-_Amon_Hen - Ralph_Damiani
Manwe Sulimo - Christina Kraus
Aule_the_Destroyer – Ted Nasmith
Valar orome - kuliszu
Manwe - nahar
Gandalf - Anke Eissmann
Breath of Arda - Manwe - Christina Kraus
the_blue_wizards - turnermohan
valar yavanna - kuliszu
la-radagast - tom-romain
Wizards - the Istari - Ivan Cavini
Eru and the Gods Singing the First Song of Creation - Kip Rasmussen
The_Arrival_of_Gandalf - Darrell_Sweet
rafael-damiani-
the_blue_wizard - aegeri
ralph-damiani-alatar-and-pallando - ralphdamiani
manwe - felix-englund
Gandalf - JG Jones
Gandalf and Faramir - Catherine Karina Chmiel
Gandalf - aegeri
gandalf_and_theoden - tolmancotton
ralph-damiani-glorfindels-arrival-review - ralphdamiani
Saruman - Catherine Karina Chmiel
Gandalf - skullbastard
Cirdan - alystraea
GandalfTheGrey - John Howe
sketchesSaruman - John Howe
Gandalf and the Balrog - Matthew Stewart
Gandalf Balrog - Felix Englund
Saruman Meets His Fate - Elrodimus Flash
rafael-damiani-bluewizards - ralphdamiani
Gandalf and Faramir - Anke Eissmann
Gandalf the Grey - Elrodimus Flash
Radagast - Ivan Cavini
The_Shores_of_Valinor - Ted Nasmith
Gandalf-and-the-Witch-King - Ted Nasmith
gandalf_the grey - Jerry Vanderstelt
Gandalf - John Howe
Cirdan Lord of the Falathrim - Peet
glorfindel_with_elrond_and_gandalf - alystraea
Gandalf_Rides_to_Minas_Tirith - Ted Nasmith
The_Stranger_in_the_Forest - Ted Nasmith
Radagast - Steve Airola
Gandalf in Archives Minas Tirith - Matthew Stewart
3 wizards - Felix Englund
Gandalf and Gwaihir - Ivan Cavini
Gandalf and Balrog - John Howe
Gandalf - aegeri
ainur-wizard-valier-yavanna - David greset
Gandalf the White - Steve Airola
radagast - rafael-damiani
GwaihirRescuesGandalf - John Howe
Gandalf_Escapes_Upon_Gwaihir - Ted Nasmith
Saruman Palantir - Steve Airola
Weathertop - Alan_Lee
Radagast the Brown - Peet
radagast_aiwendil - aegeri
valar vana - kuliszu
valar mandos - kuliszu
valar este - kuliszu
Eru and the Gods Singing the First Song of Creation - Kip Rasmussen
The_Blue_Wizards_Journeying_East - Ted Nasmith
Radagast - tolmancotton
radagast-a - Soni Weasel
gandalf_the_white - bembiann
Gandalf and the Witch King Ride - Kip Rasmussen
Fire_on_Weathertop - Ted Nasmith
Riders_at_The_Ford - Ted Nasmith
Gandalf book Mazarbul - Matthew Stewart
the_bridge_of_khazad_dum____gandalf_vs_balrog - kuliszu
Gandalf and Balrog - JG Jones
the_fellowship_in_hollin - kuliszu
Fellowship vs Wargs - Catherine Karina Chmiel
IMG_1611
Gandalf and Frodo - Ivan Cavini
the-young-bilbo - sara-morello
Gandalf-A+Light+in+the+Dark - Matthew Stewart
Gandalf2 - Catherine Karina Chmiel
gandalf2 - John Howe
Gandalf and Frodo in Rivendell - Anke Eissmann
GandalfFallsWithTheBalrog - John Howe
Amon Hen - John Howe
Across_Middle-earth Amon_Hen - Ralph_Damiani
Nazgul_at_the_Walls - Ted Nasmith
gandalf-frodo – Soni Weasel
Gandalf Frodo and the Ring - Elrodimus Flash
Gandalf_and_Thorin - Ted Nasmith
saruman_with_the_palantir - kuliszu
saruman_of_many_colours - tolmancotton
Saruman-Beren Key of Orthanc - LOTRO
saruman_in_orthanc - anotherstranger_me
Aule Crafting the Dwarves – Peter Xavier Price
Helms_Deep - John Howe
Orc at Isengard - Elrodimus Flash
The-Uruk-hai - John Howe
Saruman and Palantir - Angus McBride
shadow-of-war-sauron - wardenlight-studio
Saruman - Steve Airola
Pursuit_in_Rohan - Ted Nasmith
Three Hunters - JG Jones
Isengard - Ivan Cavini
The Pyre of Denethor - Anke Eissmann

#lordoftherings #silmarillion #tolkien

[LordOfTheLore]

One is never late to a Nerd of the Rings video.. Nor is he early! He arrives precisely when he needs to!

[patrickb]

Lol Gandalf was played so well in the movies that 95% of his art is drawn as Ian McKellen.

[ForFrodoOfficial]

Tolkien Wizards in one line :
" Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you. I'm trying to help you. "

[swordmonkey]

I always enjoy when new or casual fans realize that Gandalf, The Balrog and Sauron are of the same kind: Maiar.

[RubusCalculum]

one interesting thing Ive always loved is when Saruman is killed it says a mist like a man rises from his body and looks west then a wind from the west blows it away. Which represents Saruman’s spirit being rejected by the valar

[blinky]

I always loved that Olorin/Gandalf was considered the wisest of the Maiar, and he was the one who didn't want to go. He was afraid of Sauron, and unsure of his abilities. In the end though, it was his wisdom and tempered nature that allowed him to reject the allure of power, and allowed him to guide the forces of Good to victory. He was the one Istari who completed the quest that they were sent forth to perform. I don't think there will ever be another writer quite like Tolkien.

[valentinkambushev]

I love the moments in the movies when Gandalf uses his deep and scary voice. I often refer to it as his "Maiar voice".

[sethleoric]

Love how in most fantasy settings, wizards are beings or people who took an interest in magic and stuff, but in Lotr they are straight up basically angels.

[ryanwalker]

There is and interview with Mckellen and Lee, where they talk about how they played their characters, and what's the approach to playing a character who isn't human. They both show excellent understanding of the differences between Gandalf and Saurman. Ian says he plays Gandalf as mostly human. He accepts his human like form that gets weary and has many of the limitations of a physical body. Lee theorized that Saruman resents his physical form, that such a powerful entity should have to endure mortal limitations and interact with lesser beings. So he decided to play him with a more inhuman air. It was truly perfect casting for Ian to get Gandalf and Christopher (who wanted Gandalf) to be told you'd make a better Saruman. Plus with what we know about the power of the 'Voice of Saruman' I can't think of a better voice for pulling that off.

[breearbor]

the fire metaphors in the legendarium are so interesting. on the one hand, fire is associated with light, warmth, and creation. on the other it's associated with terror and destruction. it's associated with Eru (the "secret fire") but also with Sauron. the ring is created and destroyed by fire. the balrog and Gandalf use the opposing sides of fire magic against each other. fire lights the beacons between Gondor and Rohan; but fire also nearly kills Faramir. the great eye is wrapped in flame--but the stars Sam sees in the sky that bring him hope are also great balls of flame. fire is power itself, and it can be good or bad based on who wields it and how they treat it.

[anotherhuman]

One of my favorite things about LotR is how when Tolkien reaches his creative limits (wide limits indeed), he blends them so cleanly with the limits of the reader's own knowledge. The Wizards' abilities are a perfect example of this. They're a shadowy mix of conventional "magic" and spell systems, chemistry, technology, and other "secret crafts" that our world just doesn't have parallels for. What I'm saying is, even though Tolkien can't really go into detail on things like that, which are just beyond our real-world understanding, he blends it so well with a tantalizing air of mystery that it's almost satisfying in itself.

[elessartelcontar]

I imagine that Sauron might have taken a while to realize what the Wizards were, but after the did he probably wondered who they were specifically. When he got ahold of Saruman I imagine he was like "Ah Curumo! It's been a while. You work for me now". He never bothered with Radagast so much, but when Gandalf battled him with his mind, I wonder if he was "OLORIN? REALLY? You dare to face me student of Nienna?" and 10 seconds later he figured out that it was precisely Olorin who had been thwarting his plans all along.

[carmenjohnson]

I love how Gandolf is written. Clearly he’s powerful, but they don’t go into such extreme detail that you literally know exactly how powerful he is.

[emailjough]

I think the real question we're all wondering about is this: Could Gandalf actually have turned Sam into a toad?

[valentinkambushev]

I think that Valar should forbid Aulë from having servants. The guy is such a poor judge of character that he almost caused the end of Middle Earth.

[toppolthecat]

3:54 man I am awed by how respectfully Grima killed Saruman. Brings tears to my eyes.

[Jimjiss]

The video on Wizards arrived exactly when it needed to. 🧙

[venkelos]

I do wish there had been more of a showing of a "good" Saruman, to make his eventual fall actually feel more tragic, but then sources tell us he was bitter, and angry, practically from the beginning, when Cirdan gave Gandalf his ring, and Galadriel sought to give Gandalf leadership of the White Council. He might've been bad even in the east, before we knew anything of his actions, and we don't really get scenes odmf his decency, even if marred by pride. It almost makes me wonder if Aule and Yavanna were actually a happy couple? He created Dwarves, and Yavanna, panicking for what these beings might do with axes, to stoke fires of hearth and forge, asked for Eru to create the Ents to protect her forests. Ayle chose Saruman, and even as he was then, Yavanna feared, and begged they take her Radagast with them. Granted, the Smith had a poor track record; he taught Sauron, and Sauron fell. He taught Feanor (alleged), and Feanor created the Silmarils, which then caused several conflicts, and he refused to part with to literally change the world. His knowledge went to Celebimbor, through Sauron, and we get the Rings of Power, which cause more conflicts. Had he not also made chains to bijd Morgoth, I might question everything he had a hand in, though I know he, at least, is not malevolent. I wonder why such a skilled craftsman couldn't see the obvious flaws in his tool (Saruman), while even his own loving wife seemed concerned every time he made another new thing.

[JDB]

I’m glad you describe hunger as a human emotion. My wife complains that I won’t tell her what I’m feeling. I tell her that I feel hungry all the time.

[warpdriveby]

We are told explicitly in the first two chapters of the Silmarilion, that all the Ainur (no distinction other than "power level" actually sets Valar apart from Maiar) can clothe themselves in forms of their choosing. More importantly to this discussion, they can walk Arda UNCLAD. In this form, even the mightiest of the Noldor can't detect their presence. I think it's likely that Tolkien considered this in creating Radagast, and Iwendil was a master at moving about while remaining almost impossible to detect. Most people infer that Saruman killed Radagast, or had him killed, but I can't find a passage that is even close to definitive on that subject. I think it possible that Radagast decided to do his best to protect his favourite ecosystems and members of them, and he just pieced out and tended to Mirkwood and or Fangorn. He may be visiting Bombadil, they'd probably find it easy to get along, but as fun an image as it is, there isn't a hint of suggestion that he is off with Tom and Goldberry. However, the familiarity that Gandalf, Elrond, and (I think) Glorfindel speak of Bombadil with suggests that Radagast is very likely to know and be known by old Tom.