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Originally Posted by Nerwen
Another example would be Hollin, where, according to Legolas, the stones still remember the Elves who once lived there.
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I'd like to work the other side of this one. Yes, Hollin is an example of a place where the stones have an echo of a people long gone. What might be interesting is that Legolas was able to read this, while to my knowledge no one else could.
Legolas also read Fangorn forest when he Gimli and Aragorn first came there. It was ancient, there were echoes of places far away where the hearts of the trees were black, and I believe he picked up echoes of the entmoot, hints that the forest was about to explode in wrath against Saruman.
The Fangorn example might not be best understood as reading echoes of occupants long gone, but the mood of the current occupants still living. Is he reading the land or is he reading its current people? Is there a major distinction between the two, or might both be an aspect of elven telepathy?
We have touched on elven telepathy before. We had Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond looking mind to mind just before the Rivendell and Lorien parties went their separate ways after Theoden's funeral. We had Galadriel testing the Fellowship. Galadriel also told Frodo that she knew all of Sauron's mind that pertained to the elves. This is impressive given how Saruman and Denethor came to grief through use of the Palantír.
Frodo also asked Galadriel how it was that when he put on the ring he couldn't read the minds of the other ring bearers. Her response was that he had not tried, that he should not try, that he would have to train himself before he could use that power. This sounds right, but how did she know he had not tried? How deep did she go in Frodo's mind? As with Sauron, does she know all of Frodo's mind that pertains to the elves?
In many fantasy books that deal with telepathy, there is an overt theme of the ethics of using the ability. There are things that are done, and things that are not. In Tolkien's works, if there are ethics, they aren't spoken of explicitly. The impression I get is that Galadriel wouldn't share things she learns this way unless it would be vital to her people or the West. However, I'm starting to get the impression that if knowledge is vital, the notion of mental privacy isn't high on her list of ethical principles?
I'd one other thought. When Frodo reaches the base of Mount Doom, he gets 'pushed.' He gets told to go on now, quickly, or it will be too late. I've always sort of assumed that this was Gandalf nudging him on. Now, I'm not so sure. Galadriel? She is the telepath with a mirror to see, while Gandalf is master of fire and light.
I've a few general observations and questions that others might comment on. Galadriel would be better at telepathy than most anyone else, much much better than the average elf? I suspect her ring would enhance her abilities, while her mirror might enhance her range? Still, she sensed a darkness in Fëanor long before either ring or mirror? She would be very good even without external aids?
I don't know that Legolas would be typical. He is son of a king and might be better at reading the land than others. Do others think his ability to read the land might be associated with elven telepathy, or might it be a unique specialized ability like Aragorn's healing and prophecy? Might telepathy be described as reading another's fëa, whether said fëa is linked to a body, a land, or possibly even enchanted items? Any examples of the last?
While Gandalf on occasion will use wizardly techniques such as gestures or words of power, can anyone think of an occasion where such methods have been associated with elven telepathy? I sort of assume Saruman and the other Istari use gestures and words, but this is an assumption. Are there examples of the use of gestures or words of power being used by anyone but Gandalf?