“Each of us find signs, clues and hints from the universe in our environment that assists in our awakening, not just in the magic of Nature and our Kindred around us but also in novels, movies, games, and songs. But the Silmarillion nor any other elven literature is not what first awakened us nor kept these elves going in the dark times when we seemed so very alone in the world without any other kindred about us. What kept us going was our own vow and dedication to the Elven Way, and the fact that we would, when we were in doubt about our path and going through the Dark Night of the Soul, as it’s called, call to the spirits and ask them for a sign and they would reply most affirmatively that we should continue. And most often that sign would come in the form of our kindred contacting us again. Encouraging us even as they asked for our guidance and encouragement. It is you, beloved kindred, that have helped us to endure on the path all these long ages.”
Truth be told, we remember when the Silmarillion first came out; we were so excited to read it, thinking, erroneously as it turned out, that it would be another rousing good adventure story like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Alas, that wasn’t the case. And while we have referred to Tolkien’s world in some of our writing (see our three volumes of The Magical Elven Love Letters), certainly appreciate the Silmarillion and especially Tolkien’s efforts to create a complete world, and we gleaned what we could from it and reconsidered it from our own elven point of view (as we do all things, especially those things that speak of Elfin and Faerie and Magic in its various forms), it did not help shape our identity. Since it has been forty some years since we first read it, we wouldn’t even remember it hardly at all if it wasn’t for posts we see about it on Facebook fairly regularly and the idea that someone will soon film it and turn it into rousing good story.
There is a respected scholar of religious studies who recently offered the opinion in his research that if we hadn’t been inspired by the Silmarillion, then we Silver Elves wouldn’t have continued the work of our sisters of the Elf Queen’s Daughters (EQD) after they faded from the world in the late 70’s. But that is not factually accurate and has no foundation in reality at all. Nor is it true of many other elfin and elfae folk in our experience.
It is true that there are some elves, our kindred of the Elven Spiritual Path, who were greatly inspired by the Silmarillion and continue to be so. They have created a series of pagan-like elven ceremonies based upon that work. So, it is not our position that the Silmarillion has no influence upon the elfae at all. We merely assert that it wasn’t in any way primary to our thinking and certainly didn’t keep us steadfast upon the path after so many of our sisters of the EQD (who had initially awakened us) cast a glamour upon thems’elves and in effect disappeared from the world. Although, we still knew many of them and interacted with them over the years and still do to this day.
We Silver Elves are influenced by many sources and Tolkien and his works are surely just one source. We used to correspond with a wonderful elven couple in eastern Canada named Sky and Aran Silmaryn whose primary source in their awakening and elven life had been Gael Baudino’s book Strands of Sunlight, which is about Natil an elf in 1990’s Denver who finds humans who have had ancient Elven blood in their veins and awakens them to their elven nature. We had one of the founders of the Elenari tells us she had been awakened, in part, by Peter Gabriel song Solsbury Hill. We had a faerie friend who, besides being awakened by our manifestation as elves, found Bryan Ferry’s song Avalon especially inspiring, although she was also the one who turned us on to Charles DeLint’s novels. And it was our friend Feral Faun, who lived with us for a bit, who told us of Emma Bull’s great book, the War for the Oaks; and our elven brother Anadae who led us to The Realm of the Ring Lords by Laurence Gardner, The Dragon Legacy by Nicholas De Vere and Freda Warrington’s great book Elfland; and it was the faery Karyl, who had lived with us for years, who told us of the wonderful Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce, although we had previously read most of his novels.
Each of us find signs, clues and hints from the universe in our environment that assists in our awakening, not just in the magic of Nature and our Kindred around us but also in novels, movies, games, and songs. But the Silmarillion nor any other elven literature is not what first awakened us nor kept these elves going in the dark times when we seemed so very alone in the world without any other kindred about us. What kept us going was our own vow and dedication to the Elven Way (see our book The Elven Way: The Magical Path of the Shining Ones), and the fact that we would, when we were in doubt about our path and going through the Dark Night of the Soul, as it’s called, call to the spirits and ask them for a sign and they would reply most affirmatively that we should continue. And most often that sign would come in the form of our kindred contacting us again. Encouraging us even as they asked for our guidance and encouragement. It is you, beloved kindred, that have helped us to endure on the path all these long ages.
And that, we expect, is true of nearly all elfae folk. While we are inspired by this or that book, story or song, it is the knowledge, example and nurturing of each other that really keeps us going. Had the Silmarillion never been published, then surely something else would have come to inspire us. In fact, although we do love professor Tolkien and all his work, we found Brian Froud’s art and Alan Lee’s book Faeries that first came out in 1978 far more inspirational than the Silmarillion. We elfae folk awaken each other, and the growth of the modern Elven Awakening has occurred and continues to occur because we keep each other going. And while we love books, movies and other dramas about us, and we surely love elven and fae music, they merely reinforce our elfin culture and identity. They don’t form it, we do.
‘Te ata arae eli,’
(Arvyndase for ‘Be one among us’),
The Silver Elves
http://silverelves.angelfire.com
And please, do come to our website and enjoy reading sample pages and reader’s reviews of all our 45+ books (published prior to March 2019) on magic and enchantment and the elven way at: http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfbooks.html. Our newest Silver Elves books (beginning March 2019) may be found on this blog site at https://silverelves.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/magical-books-by-the-silver-elves-on-the-elven-way-magic-and-enchantment-elven-oracles-and-elven-lifestyle.
And you can find all 45+ of the Silver Elves books to purchase on The Elven Way on Amazon here:
US Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2
UK Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2
And to learn more about the Elven Way and magical path of the elves,
you may enjoy reading:
The Elven Way: The Magical Path of The Shining Ones
“The Elven Way passes beyond the fields of the known
into the forest of the unknown
illuminated by the glow of the elves.”
(From the cover below)
The Elven Way:
The Magical Path of The Shining Ones
Excerpt from Chapter One of —From The Elven Way: The Magical Path of The Shining Ones by The Silver Elves:
Awakening
“While we’ve often written that faery tales, both ancient and modern, view the faery folk as being ruled by monarchs, this idea is more a reflection of the lives of men and of the world that was and is than a true indication of the Realms of Elfin. This is not to say that there doesn’t exist a Hierarchy in Faery, but that it is important to understand that this Hierarchy is a natural one based on real development and merit and not in the least arbitrary or artificially constructed. All hierarchies, organizations and bureaucracies in the world are a pale attempt to recreate, or in many cases bypass or supersede, this natural hierarchy.”
“The hierarchy of Elfin is a spiritual hierarchy—the hierarchy of illuminated being, of s’elf development of magical maturity—and thus it is the power, of awakened consciousness and expanded and enlightened awareness. Besides the attempts of many to construct this hierarchy in the world, it is also reflected in Nature, where there are hierarchies of intelligence, of knowledge, of personality, beauty, strength, and so forth. While artificial hierarchies tend to be rather strictly structured and unyielding, these natural hierarchies, reflective of the true spiritual hierarchy, are varied and yielding. For instance, while there are general tendencies, we don’t all agree about who is most beautiful or most attractive. It is rather like the question, what is your favorite color? It depends on the individual. So, too, the natural hierarchies are, like the true inner hierarchy, dependent greatly on the individual and their own position in the Universe, their individual tendencies.”
“There is another way that the spiritual hierarchy tends to differ from all artificial hierarchies and even from the hierarchy of Nature. Artificial hierarchies tend to be pyramid schemes with one or a few people on the top and increasing numbers of individuals in various levels below with the greatest number on the bottom. This formula does not tend to change. The one at the top may change. Sometimes, but rarely one’s position on the hierarchy may change, but the structure tends to stay the same. In fact, that is its purpose to reinforce itself and maintain this structure.”
“On the other hand, while the spiritual hierarchy may have more on the bottom than the top at any particular point, the goal and purpose of this hierarchy is to get everyone at the top, to have everyone progress further and further into the realms of Elfin, the realms of radiant enlightenment.”
“We might think of it as a game. In the game of the material world the first ones to reach home win; everyone else is considered a loser. In the spiritual game, we gain points when each one reaches home and our ultimate goal is to get everyone home. Then and only then have we truly won the game.”
“We call it the Elven Way but we could call it the Faerie Way, the Fair Way, the Way of the Fae, the Way of the Shining Ones, or even the Way that begins in your Dreams and ends in the Life Magical.”
“They write of Elven Kingdoms
And Elvish Queendoms, too
And clans and mobs
And bands that throb
And all of this we do.
But most of all we’re family
From littlest to big
From wee folk
To the very great
In shiny velvet rig.
And in that magic family
Love does ever reign
Not queen, nor king or mighty chief
But affection never fain.
For friendship ever rules us
And loyalty sincere
And most of all abiding love
For all whom we hold dear.”
—From The Elven Way: The Magical Path of The Shining Ones by The Silver Elves
_____________________________________________________________________
A Gift For You!!!!!!
What Sort of Elf, Faerie or Other Are You?
What is Your Magical Tribe?
For years various kindred have asked us, the Silver Elves, to help them figure this out. Now we’ve created a questionnaire to help us do so and to help you learn about your people, your magical tribe. This is our gift to you (free). Simply follow this link below and the directions and we will help you with your own personal narrative about your magical tribe.
https://silverelves.wordpress.com/2019/08/14/what-kind-of-elf-fae-or-otherkin-are-you-what-is-your-tribe/
“When the world says be responsible, what they mean is just obey, but the pixies smile and tell us that we should stay and play. It’s not that we’re not serious, our magic has intent, but to the dark spells of the world we will not deign relent. And we are most determined upon the Elven Path, where light informs the darkness, and work just makes us laugh.”
—The Silver Elves
Our Magical Elven Love Letters (see volume 1, volume 2, and volume 3 , are now available on Amazon, with a compilation of hundreds of letters we have sent to our Otherkin since 1979. Each of these three books is a collection of letters with dominate themes of what it means to be an elf and the elven way of life, the Shinning Ones, Elven magic and elven culture. These letters were written by The Silver Elves to encourage elves to awaken to their Elfin nature, to be true to their individual destiny, and to embrace their starry heritage. They are filled with Elven Philosophy and observe the world from the point of view of the Elves, which is often quite unique from how most people view and experience the world; and their unique Elven Philosophy of Magic that is often similar and yet distinct from traditional theories and methods of magic.
The Magical Elven Love Letters, Volume 1
This book contains our very first Magical Elven Love Letters
and a few of our early internet letters.
“The way to Elfin is found on the path
That weaves through the Misty Forest
That lives between the Mountain of Vision
And the River of Reality”
― The Silver Elves,
From: The Magical Elven Love Letters, Volume 1
The Magical Elven Love Letters, Volume 2 is a continuation of our internet letters with a few early letters that were not in the first book. You can find samples of these letters on various sites all over the web, for they were some of our most popular letters and have been copied and spread around frequently. It is not necessary to read Volume 1 before reading and enjoying Volume 2. These letters give the reader an experiential understanding of what it is to be an elf and enter the realm of Faerie and Magick.
The Magical Elven Love Letters, Volume 3
This book is the continuation of our internet letters from before 2000 and the majority are letters we wrote in the process of our journey to relocate to Hawaii and also all the letters upon moving to paradise, with accounts of our encounters with the Menehuni and the unfolding magic of the isles. This volume 3 completes the trilogy.
Touch the tiny eleven star below, dear Kindred, for an Elven Blessing!
Tags: Elven Identity and Tolkien, Elven Movement and Tolkien, Silmarillion and the elven movement, Silmarillion and the Silver Elves, Tolkien's influence on elven groups
The Silver Elves Blog 
October 1, 2020 at 2:29 am |
[…] How Much Have We Silver Elves Been Influenced by Tolkien and the Silmarillion?https://silverelves.wordpress.com/2019/10/30/how-much-have-we-silver-elves-been-influenced-by-tolkie… […]
LikeLike