How did Arwen see it......
 

Well in ROTK...how did Arwen see the vision of her son, does she also have the gift of fore-sight.. Are each of the elvens inserted with special different powers? If so, what was Arwens? [img]smilies/confused.gif[/img]

Victoria, I would not believe too much from the movies, if I were you. I can't remember having read anything like that scene in the books.
As a matter of fact, much of the Arwen and Elrond related stuff from the movies are made up by PJ or by the script writers.

Most of what we know about Arwen (Tolkien's Arwen, that is - not Peter Jackson's) comes from Appendix A, The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen. It's definitely worth reading if you're interested in their story - one of my favorite passages (and the source for my forum nick [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ). We read that she apparently had some 'psychic' Elven abilities; at her first meeting with Aragorn, she predicted that her fate might be like that of Lúthien. Later, as Aragorn's betrothed, we are told: Since we read of other Elves being able to communicate telepathically, this was nothing unusual. As to the gift of foresight, not only Elves, some humans, especially the Númenóreans, also had it.

Anyone heard of other elves predicting things besides Elrond, Arwen, and Galadirel? I am sure there are some, but who?

No, that didn`t happen in the book. Though it did make a pretty good scene, didn`t it? I suspect Gil-galad and Cirdan could, and I bet all of the Valar could.

Yea it did,.. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Couldnt the lost seeing stones also see through time aswell as space??

The Palantiri could only transmit images and the thoughts of the other viewer (and then only with his approval).

All Elven mothers had the ability to, to a certain degree, to see the future of their children; therefore the name that a mother chose for her child was considered important, because it had significance to what the child would become.
This does not go for unborn or would-be children though, so there is no chance Arwen can see her future son in my opinion.

The Valar definately used telepathy (they did not have a language of their own and used Quenya when speaking with Elves) but I am unsure if this was a possiblity possessed by Elves.
Estelyn, which Elves would you say had the power of telepathy? I assume Galadriel had to a certain extent, but I believe that was rather Nenya than any innate power that she possessed.

Here's the passage from RotK, Chapter 'Many Partings', that tells about it: According to this passage, Celeborn, Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf were able to communicate telepathically - and Celeborn was not a Ring-bearer, so the ability was not limited to the Ring-bearers or caused by the rings.

Tolkien called this concept "Osanwe" and wrote about it in the publication "Osanwe-kenta". For those who would like to read more, I recommend the thread A review: JRRT's Osanwe-Kenta.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:43 PM January 22, 2004: Message edited by: Estelyn Telcontar ]

Prophecies
 

The example of Elven prophecy that springs immediately to my mind is from the appendices to The Lord of the Rings: There are numerous other examples; but this one serves to draw us still farther away from the more misleading aspects of the films.

Thanks Estelyn! I have been wondering about this and am glad to find some info about it. But I guess it is mostly limited to those Elves who have powerful spirits; perhaps that link you provided will shed light on that.

Oh, and yeah Squatter, had forgotten about Glorfindel.
Also we have from Arthedain Malbeth the Seer, who appears to be a somewhat unique prophet in Middle-earth.