: : Michael

: : Are you suggesting that time actually slowed in Lórien? I know
: : that things seemed to age slower within Lórien, and maybe
: : things seemed to be longer, but the power of Galadriel (great
: : it may be) cannot slow time itself. If you look at Appenix B
: : it clearly states that they spent a month in Lórien. I also
: : recall reading somewhere (Letters? Unfinshished Tales? I'm not
: : sure) that Tolkien specifically said that they spent a month is
: : Lórien, and that the Lady could not literally slow time. I
: : mean the sun and the moon are going to each pass thirty times
: : in thirty days, regardless of what the Lady does.

: The Rings of Power were created to hold back Time, according to Tolkien. And as far as the calendar entry in Appendix B goes, you're not taking into consideration that it marks the passage of time OUTSIDE of Lorien -- not the passage of time WITHIN Lorien. Appendix B is a mixture of the calendars of the Dunedain and the Shire.

: The book makes it pretty clear that the Fellowship only experienced a few days in Lothlorien. They did not witness the passing of the month that occurred outside of Lorien.

I was always under the impression that it simply stopped things from aging (at least not as quickly), rather than hold back time. This certainly seems more reasonable. It could be possible that they were under a similar "spell" as they were in the House of Tom Bombadil. It seemed that only a few days went by, but it really was a lot more, or vice versa for Tom's house.

Anyway, assuming that you are correct, how could elves slow down time. I mean do they have their own sun and their own moon? How else could "days" and "nights" happen? Unless they were just an illusion. It seems like something even the Valar couldn't accomplish. It just doesn't seem to correspond with other things. I feel my first paragraph's reason seems more reasonable. I believe Sam said he could only RECALL a few days in Lórien, and that he couldn't remember the others. I'll have to go back and look.

Jon