Sauron - Physical form in The War of the Ring or not?

[Manwe Sulimo]

I always thought that it meant that Sauron's spirit had returned to North-western Middle-earth and it was mustering the Orcs and the Nazgûl. Remember, the Maia spirits, after "death", wandered Arda before regaining physical form (Saruman, Gandalf, and Sauron). The Shadow had fallen over Dol Guldur and Mordor again, meaning that Sauron had returned. There was a quote somewhere (I think in Unfinished Tales) that Sauron's power had been tied to the Ring, and that without it could only be a shadow (meaning "shade", perhaps) of his former self.