Did Elves Use Magic?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

By the way, I'm not talking about magic like the Palantir or the 'magic' that Galadriel uses...I'm talking about that Harry Potter kind of magic where...well, the doors are simply sealed by magic

Originally Posted by Nerwen

What's the difference?

I am not sure if I understand this correctly either, but if the idea is of magic as a "science working on the basis of waving a wand and shouting certain words in certain order", then I certainly say: no. Even more in the case of Thranduil, who is a wood-elf, and thus even if it existed normally among other Elves, I would think him far from such "ordered" way of doing it.

But generally I think the Elves are sort of "above" that kind of "primitive magic", their "magic" is more subtle, even though it has a lot to do with words (very likely), the power is in the word itself, and it can be any word, it does not have to be almost-unpronounceable word (which is anyway just a "normal" word, only in some language which is unknown to the speaker and thus, is mysterious).

As it was said, the Elves used magic - from the point of view of the mortals, who are, after all, the assumed readers (and writer) of the Hobbit. But this "magic" was a completely mundane thing for them. It was closely related to art and I think it was only another, more powerful way to influence the world around themselves similar to the way humans do it (like carving sculptures etc.). The sentence about Thranduil's doors simply means that "they were kept closed by some way which could not be explained on the basis of Bilbo or the Dwarves' mundane experience". It does not mean that you had to say "alohomora" when opening them.

[Rumil]

On the other hand Legate there's Gandalf at the doors of Moria

I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves or Men or Orcs, that was ever used for such a purpose. I can still remember ten-score of them without searching in my mind

and

Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!
Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!

Notice that Gandalf touched the door with his staff, and repeated the spell in different orders speeds and volumes.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Yes, but as you can see, we are talking "password" here. It is not that Gandalf would be trying to remember whether professor Flitwick said it should be "alohomora" or "avada kedavra", it is trying to remember a password and experimenting with its intonation. Even the "Annon edhellen..." etc., even though it means (sorry for low knowledge of Elvish) something along the lines "Elven gate, open for me, Dwarven door, hear my words", it is not (given the logic of the text) an equivalent of Alohomora, but just another attempt of a password - apparently such a password existed somewhere at some time.

So not actual magic here. Even though I agree Gandalf IS of course meant to be a "wizard" and so close to the idea of wizards we usually have, but still, as it is said in the Silmarillion, UT or generally in places about the Istari, even the "wizard powers" of the Istari were not so much of a "magic" as we know it, but again some powers understood by the common folk as magical.

[mark12_30]

I'm tempted to say that elven "magic" simply is a result of their deeper understanding of the undercurrents of things that are.

Legolas can hear the stones in Hollin: "Deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us, but they are gone."

Perhaps if Legolas had thought to listen to the doors of Moria, they would have spoken to him too. I wonder if the inscription distracted him from it.

Or do only those stones speak that elves have wrought?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

That sounds actually quite good!

And as for who is able to hear that... I think it has something to do with the familiarity of the Elves with such things. A human sculptor who spends all his life with the stones can notice a lot more from them than some random person does, and Elves have centuries for that. And even Gimli, actually, when trying to figure out what kind of Gollum is following them from Moria, says:

Originally Posted by Lothlórien

"I hear nothing but the night speech of plant and stone."

It may be just poetic license, but maybe not. All the beings of Middle-Earth seem to be far closer to their world than humans usually are. Well, like I said, they have centuries for that; but they also seem to be a bit more perceptive and caring of things around them.