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Maia are said to sense each other’s presence. I know Gandalf was in disguise but it just seems that he got into Dol Guldur then the dungeons then escaped a bit too easy. It might be possible that Sauron knew Gandalf had entered Dol Guldur but wasn't powerful enough to confront him yet.

So how did Gandalf accomplish such a feat without getting noticed?

Edlothiad
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user31546
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    “Maia are said to sense each others presence” — source? – Paul D. Waite Mar 05 '15 at 15:20
  • I have no source, when i say "maia are said to sense each other" i mean most book readers seem to adopt this rule. – user31546 Mar 05 '15 at 15:24
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    “most book readers seem to adopt this rule” — presumably they’re not just making it up; I assume the idea is mentioned somewhere in the text? – Paul D. Waite Mar 05 '15 at 15:25
  • I shall try to find i source :) – user31546 Mar 05 '15 at 15:29
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    Given that, in the book, Gandalf was the one who wanted to go through Moria and didn't seem to expect the Balrog before it appeared, I'd assume they do not. – Travis Christian Mar 05 '15 at 15:51
  • @TravisChristian ... I'm wondering if proximity had something to do with that, meaning I wonder if the Balrog wasn't actually in the Mines before, but was pulled into it after the fact to (hopefully) defeat Gandalf. Pure supposition on my part, though. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Mar 05 '15 at 17:30
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    @Paulster2 - the Balrog awoke again in the Mines and was Durin's Bane; this is well-established. –  Mar 05 '15 at 17:52
  • Gandalf was in Dol Guldur several times. You're probably asking this time when he met Thror? – Mithoron Mar 05 '15 at 18:09
  • Voting to re-open this one; it's answerable enough. –  Mar 05 '15 at 19:27
  • @DarthSatan ... I'd vote if I could ... getting there sooner or later :D Yes, it has been a while since I've read the books, so you are more than right about the Balrog. Thanks for the reminder. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Mar 05 '15 at 22:56

1 Answers1

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Whether or not Maiar can sense each other's presence is immaterial; even if they could, Sauron would not be able to sense Gandalf.

From the Istari material in Unfinished Tales we read:

...their emissaries were forbidden to reveal themselves in forms of majesty...

And:

...his joy, and his swift wrath, were veiled in garments grey as ash, so that only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within.

And:

...being sent back from death for a brief while was clothed then in white, and became a radiant flame (yet veiled still save in great need).

It should therefore be obvious that Gandalf's "angelic presence" (for want of a better term) was concealed, and it should likewise be obvious that this is as a result of the nature of the Istari.

The Istari, of course, are not Maiar as they would be in Valinor, but are instead incarnated in real Mannish bodies (hence the fact that they could be killed), and it's crucial to understand this difference.

And so hence the fact that Gandalf would not be detected (even if such detection were possible).

  • But they're not real Mannish bodies, in that they don't age. Gandalf had been in that incarnation for about 2000 years by the time of LotR. – Daniel Roseman Mar 05 '15 at 21:11
  • @DanielRoseman - see http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/55977/8719 please - they were real Mannish bodies. Also they do age, but slower, and the Istari essay explicitly says that's for a spiritual (not physical) reason. Saruman had black hair when he arrived in Middle-earth (Istari essay again). –  Mar 05 '15 at 21:41