It came some time ago after I left the Shire, I think.’ ’It was only a dream,’ said Frodo, ’but suddenly it came back to me. Gandalf paused astonished and looked at him. ’You were walking backwards and forwards. During Frodo’s journey to Rivendell, he has a dream about Gandalf, only to find out later that his dream actually happened! (It was Gandalf’s captivity in Orthanc.) When he realizes the connection, Frodo says: But there’s one dream that some readers believe may have actually been caused by Gandalf himself. There are several instances of prophetic dreams in Lord of the Rings, and depending on your own point of view you may associate these dreams with Irmo, Manwe, Iluvatar, or some vague idea of Fate. Now, Tolkien might have just been trying to be poetic, but I think the mention of both visions and awaking imply that Gandalf did much of this early stealth work through dreams, which was Irmo’s area of expertise. In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Iluvatar, and took pity on their sorrows and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness. His description in The Silmarillion goes on to say:įor though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisom that he put into their hearts. Whether he formally served Irmo, or just occasionally gave advice (as seemed to be his style in Middle Earth), it’s clear that Irmo had some affect on Gandalf. And wise was Olorin, counsellor of Irmo: secret enemy of the secret evils of Melkor, for his bright visions drove away the imaginations of darkness.