Why did Gandalf have a ring?

[narfforc]

I think the reason Cirdan still had the Ring was because he was at The Grey Havens, if for any reason the Elves had to escape, this would be the last line of resistance, Narya would then come into force as a kindler of courage. When Gandalf turned up Cirdan foresaw that it would be needed elswhere. In HoME 12 we are told this:

After receiving a vision of a white boat, shining in the air above him, sailing west

As we now perceive, this was a foretelling of the ship which after apprenticeship to Cirdan, and ever with his advice and help, Earendil built, and in which at last he reached the shores of Valinor. From that night onwards Cirdan received foresight touching all matters of importance, beyond the measure of all other Elves upon Middle-earth.

[Mänwe]

My take on the subject of the Ring in connection to Imperishable flame is in agreement to narfforc's.

1. The Flame Imperishable is with Iluvatar- it is the divine spark through which and by which he creates:

"'He {Melkor} had often gone into the void places seeking the Imperisahble Flame: for desire grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own, and it semed to him taht Iluvatar took no thought of the Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Iluvatar." The Silmarillion

2. The Flame Imperishable is also known as the Secret Fire.

3. Gandalf is a servant of the Secret Fire- a servant of Iluvatar serving light.

4. Anor means 'sun' in Sindarin and sun equals light. Gandalf is making a reinforcing statement ' wielder of the flame of Anor' - and saying that he is a servant of Iluvatar and wields the flame of light.

5. The light - which is creative because it comes from Iluvatar combats the dark which is destructive and comes from Morgoth and his succesors. Gandalf represents light and creation in this battle- the flame of Anor- the fire of creation- which contrast with the Balrog- the flame of Udun (Udun was the first stronghold of Morgoth) the fire of destruction.

[Boromir88]

An excellent argument Angry Hill Troll. To an extent I think you are right, obviously I did not consider those factors. For we are told this:

But Sauron could not discover them, for they were given into the hands of the Wise, who concealed them and never again used them openly while Sauron kept the Ruling Ring.~The Silmarillion; Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

So while Sauron had the Ring, they never used the Rings openly. Now what does "openly" mean. Because we know Galadriel has hidden her ring, for in Lothlorien Sam can not see it on her finger. But does that mean that they still did not use them? I think it's likely that Cirdan had used Narya because of this:

Of the Three Rings the Elves had preserved unsullied no open word was ever spoken among the Wise, and few even of the Eldar knew where they were bestowed. Yet after the fall of Sauron their power was ever at work, and where they abode there mirth also dwelt and all things were unstained by the griefs of time.~ibid

So the Rings were being used after Sauron's downfall.

Now I may have been wrong to think that Cirdan could have used the Ring to "rekindle people's hearts," because as you say there is a limitted amount of time to do this. Assuming Cirdan gave the Ring as soon as Gandalf arrived (which that's what it seems to me) he would not have had it in the wars against Angmar. But the question is what does "openly" mean while Sauron still had the One Ring in the second age? Does that mean that they kept it on the "down-low" and hid them, yet still were able to use them? Or does that mean they couldn't use them at all? For Cirdan was present in the Last Alliance, could he have used it again? I don't know, it's up to debate now. But, I think it's highly likely that Cirdan did use the One Ring AFTER Sauron lost the One Ring, whether he used it before, looks to be up to debate.

A side note that I find rather interesting, and how ironic this is. Tolkien's death was 1973, 9 Rings of men, 7 dwarven rings, 3 elven rings, the 1 ring...hmmm, how funny some stuff seems to work out. I'm sure a lot of you noticed this before, but I just thought about it recently.

[Angry Hill Troll]

Boromir, I still think it's more likely than not that Círdan didn't use Narya, but you've convinced me it's possible that he might have.

I guess it's one of those things we'll never really be 100% sure of.

Best wishes