Colours of the Istari

Alqualaure · 10-01-2003, 12:27 PM

I was just wondering if anyone can tell me the significance of the colours assigned to the Istari...? I've been pondering this one for quite some time.

Of course we know the colours associated with each wizard - "Gandalf the Grey/[White]", "Saruman the White", Radagast the Brown" - but do these colours mean anything? Gandalf the Grey becomes Gandalf the White after his fall in Moria, and Saruman refers to himself as "Saruman of Many Colours" during his meeting with Gandalf at Isengard.

Do these colours denote power of some kind? Was Gandalf's transformation from Grey to White some sort of... "promotion" (for lack of a better word!) I've searched and pondered, but cannot seem to find any reference to this.

Any thoughts?

Alqua

PS - As a sort of side note, in The Two Towers, when Gandalf first reappears to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, he says to them: "Yes, I am white now... Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been."

What could this mean?

10-01-2003, 12:27 PM	#1
Alqualaure Enting Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: South Carolina Posts: 62	Colours of the Istari I was just wondering if anyone can tell me the significance of the colours assigned to the Istari...? I've been pondering this one for quite some time. Of course we know the colours associated with each wizard - "Gandalf the Grey/[White]", "Saruman the White", Radagast the Brown" - but do these colours mean anything? Gandalf the Grey becomes Gandalf the White after his fall in Moria, and Saruman refers to himself as "Saruman of Many Colours" during his meeting with Gandalf at Isengard. Do these colours denote power of some kind? Was Gandalf's transformation from Grey to White some sort of... "promotion" (for lack of a better word!) I've searched and pondered, but cannot seem to find any reference to this. Any thoughts? Alqua PS - As a sort of side note, in The Two Towers, when Gandalf first reappears to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, he says to them: "Yes, I am white now... Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been." What could this mean? __________________ Ma il mio mistero e chiuso in me, il nome mio nessun sapra! No, no, sulla tua bocca lo diro' quando la luce splendera'! Ed il mio bacio scioglier?* il silenzio che ti fa mia! - from Turandot; Nessun dorma by Puccini

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