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I think that the One Ring's power got its power from Sauron - that he basically put some of his power in it.

But where did the other Rings of Power get their powers from?

Wade
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    Actually Sauron made the other rings, right? So maybe he put a smaller bit of his power in them? – Paul D. Waite Jul 26 '21 at 20:49
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    @PaulD.Waite He did not make or help with the Elven rings (other than Celebrimbor using techniques learned from Sauron), and only contributed to the making of the Human/Dwarven rings, it is only said he put power into the One. – suchiuomizu Jul 26 '21 at 20:52
  • Destruction of the One Ring also seemed to cause the Three to diminish, so it seems implicit that the One Ring was powering all the other rings. – just_happen_to_know Jul 26 '21 at 20:59
  • I think there was some discussion in "Morgoth's Ring" that the rings got their power from the Morgoth element. In particu;ar this was concentrated in gold, which is what most of the rings were made of. – Clara Diaz Sanchez Jul 26 '21 at 21:05
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    Out of universe, the idea that Sauron could control the wearers of the other rings by adding his own power to his Ring is an example of the concept of sympathetic magic. Don't take that to mean that all the rings required a similar "charging" to work as intended. Remember that Elvin "magic" is closer to an understanding of how the world really works than it is an overt force that can be used to manipulate the world. The other rings might be no more magical, in some sense, than a computer. You just have to know how to use one. – chepner Jul 26 '21 at 21:20
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    I'm sure there's a good quote somewhere along the lines of Elves being confused about Men calling their stuff "magic". Like "we just made it like that so you can't be seen when you're wearing it, what's the big deal"? – OrangeDog Jul 26 '21 at 21:41
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    @Amarth There isn't an explanation to the degree of detail found in, say, Brandon Sanderson's work - but the nature of Elvish "magic", and the Three Rings, is explained to some degree in the introduction to the published Silmarillion (from one of Tolkien's letters). – cometaryorbit Jul 26 '21 at 23:18
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    @ClaraDiazSanchez This appears to have been true of Sauron's One Ring, and of other "magic" and "necromancy" practiced by Sauron, but not necessarily of the Three. The invisibility etc. of the other Rings of Power likely was - it is stated to be "more directly derived from Sauron" - but the Three do not confer invisibility and are called "unsullied". – cometaryorbit Jul 26 '21 at 23:21
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    @just_happen_to_know Sauron made the One Ring to control the others, including the Three, but the other Rings of Power were made first so their powers can't be directly derived from the One. – cometaryorbit Jul 26 '21 at 23:22
  • @cometaryorbit Sauron designed the entire craft of making rings, so that when he made the One it would be able to control the others. Essentially he back-doored ringmaking without Celebrimbor realising. – OrangeDog Jul 27 '21 at 08:26
  • I think there is a difference with the One. Sauron diminished himself by putting much of his own being into the Ring, and the Ring was thereafter "of Sauron" - it was inherently evil thing, with its own purpose and some degree of will, not a morally neutral tool. Celebrimbor doesn't seem to have done that, and the Three don't appear to influence their possessors as the One does. The Witch King's magic (and probably the invisibility powers of the non-Three Rings - but not their "preservation" power which is Elvish) likely derives from the "Morgoth-element of Arda" as explained in – cometaryorbit Jul 28 '21 at 00:43
  • (continued) Morgoth's Ring (HOME vol 10). This is to Tolkien wholly distinct from Elvish craft - though mortals call both "magic", not understanding the difference. (As Galadriel complains that the hobbits don't distinguish between the arts of the Elves and the deceits of the Enemy). – cometaryorbit Jul 28 '21 at 00:44
  • @OrangeDog - Yes, the passage expressing the Elven confusion you mention is from The Fellowship of the Ring, book 2, chapter 7, The Mirror of Galadriel: "'And you?’ [Galadriel] said, turning to Sam. ‘For this is what your folk would call magic, I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel. Did you not say that you wished to see Elf-magic?’ ‘I did,’ said Sam, trembling a little between fear and curiosity. ‘I’ll have a peep, Lady, if you’re willing.'" – Lesser son Feb 25 '22 at 02:00

1 Answers1

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TL;DR: At least for the Three, and probably the Seven and Nine: from the skill of the Elves that made them

Much about the Rings and the "backstory" of LOTR is explained in "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" at the end of the published Silmarillion.

All the Rings except the One were made by the Elves, though they used knowledge given by Sauron.

Therefore they hearkened to Sauron, and they learned of him many things, for his knowledge was great. In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before, and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power.

As for the Three specifically:

of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to possess them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world [...] Therefore the Three remained unsullied, for they were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them; yet they also were subject to the One.

So Sauron specifically was not directly involved in the creation of the Three, and their power cannot derive from his as the One's does.

It is never suggested that the Three affect the choices/will of their bearers as the One Ring clearly does all through LOTR, or that Celebrimbor put his "will and strength" into the Three as Sauron did into the One.

The Three are a particularly dramatic example of Elvish "craft" that is called "magic" by mortals.

The introduction to the published Silmarillion ("From a letter by J. R. R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman, 1951") states about this Elvish 'magic':

Their 'magic' is Art, delivered from many of its human limitations: more effortless, more quick, more complete (product, and vision in unflawed correspondence). And its object is Art not Power, sub-creation not domination and tyrannous reforming of Creation.

From that same letter:

The chief power of all the Rings alike was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance - this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor - thus approaching 'magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination.

On the Three specifically:

The Elves of Eregion made Three supremely beautiful and powerful rings, almost solely of their own imagination, and directed to the preservation of beauty: they did not confer invisibility.

EDIT to add more about the Seven and Nine in response to the OP's request in comments:

From the same letter:

And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron ('the Necromancer': so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of 'The Hobbit'): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible.

Unfortunately it is not entirely clear what "more directly derived from Sauron" means - do the Seven and Nine actually contain a bit of his being, or does it just mean that the powers are Sauron's design, or derived from Sauron's magic but not his personal essence? The reference to his title as "the Necromancer" may suggest the latter - that the invisibility/wraith-transformation powers come from Sauron's evil magic - but it is not stated exactly.

Of the Third Age and the Rings of Power states that the Three were the most powerful of the Elven-made Rings - "Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers" - which may also argue against the Seven and Nine containing Sauron's actual being/power.

cometaryorbit
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    Very well-thought-out! My only quibble (and it is a quibble, as it does not affect your conclusions) is that Sauron did have a part in the making of the lesser rings. It was only the Three that the "hand of Sauron had never touched". – Mark Olson Jul 27 '21 at 01:03
  • This is true, but I don't think it really contradicts what I said. The power of conferring invisibility (which the 7 and 9 had but not the 3) was "derived from Sauron"; the 3 were 'unsullied' both in that they lacked this, and in that Sauron never handled them - they were made after he left Eregion and he never captured them. But the invisibility power of the 7 and 9 being "derived from Sauron" doesn't require that they contained the power of Sauron himself -- an actual piece of Sauron's being -- as the One did. Sauron was "the Necromancer" and I think his magic is involved here. – cometaryorbit Jul 27 '21 at 06:15
  • However, I probably should have been clearer about the 7 and 9 in the answer. But I think the 3 are the best case to show that the power of "Rings of Power in general" isn't directly drawn from Sauron or the One. – cometaryorbit Jul 27 '21 at 06:17
  • None of this answers the question "Where do the Rings of Power get their powers from?". Which I believe can't be answered. – Amarth Jul 27 '21 at 07:10
  • Thank you for this great answer! Sadly I was more interested in the 7 and the 9 (perhaps I should have written that in the question). Any thoughts on that front? – Wade Jul 27 '21 at 07:19
  • @Amarth Perhaps I am understanding the question differently from you? I see the TL;DR answer as essentially being "They get their powers from the skill of the Elves that made them" - They have powers because they are great works of Elvish craft - it is the nature of Tolkien's Elves to produce works of art/craft that are 'magical' from mortal perspective. If you are interpreting the question as "energy source" in a 'physics' sense, yeah, then I suppose there is no answer. Although I'm not even sure the Rings ever are clearly used to do anything which is measurable in RL energy terms. – cometaryorbit Jul 27 '21 at 07:23
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    @Wade ok, I will edit in some more about that. Unfortunately the 7 and 9 are less clear: they are more influenced by Sauron than the 3, but not purely of Sauron like the One. I don't think they have any of Sauron's actual being in them, but I don't think that is actually completely excluded by the text the way it is for the 3. – cometaryorbit Jul 27 '21 at 07:25
  • In that case it is kind of a duplicate of https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/200363/could-gandalf-not-have-made-his-own-one-ring/200387#200387. – Amarth Jul 27 '21 at 07:51
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    @Amarth similar, but that question refers to the "put one's own essence into it" One Ring principle, not the "Elvish craft" nature the Three (and probably Seven and Nine) appear to have. Also, that question also deals with Gandalf's own skills (which do not really appear to run to "craft", except fireworks - he's not a Maia of Aule like Saruman/Curumo and Sauron). – cometaryorbit Jul 28 '21 at 00:39