![]() ![]() ![]() These are Telperion and Laurelin, the Two Trees of Valinor, which brought light to the world before they were destroyed by Melkor and the spider giant Ungoliant. One of the standout references is the appearance of two trees placed opposite one another. There are also numerous references to the events of the First Age, and the times prior to it, throughout the sequence. It shows that, even though The Rings of Power has some stark differences between its story and that of Tolkien’s texts, the creators behind the show have rooted their story within the mythology of the Middle-Earth. While the concept may not be clearly laid out within the story of the show, nor specifically mentioned in the sequence itself, it is a deep cut for fans of Tolkien’s world and lore. It is even complete with a dark force weaving its way through the creation, disrupting what has the peace of the formation. It is a symbolic depiction of the Ainulindalë, Tolkien’s creation myth of Middle-Earth. The use of sound to create the shapes and symbols seen in the title sequence of The Rings of Power is a direct reference to the creation of Arda through the songs of Eru and the Ainur. In addition to his many dark deeds in the First Age of Middle-Earth, he is also responsible for the destruction of the Two Lamps and the Two Trees of Valinor, the latter of which was briefly shown in the opening of The Rings of Power. Melkor was one of the Ainur to travel into Arda, and he would eventually be renamed Morgoth and become the first Dark Lord of the world. That world was named Arda, and the Ainur became known as the Valar and the Maiar. Over the course of the time that followed, many of the Ainur would enter into the world they created. The dissonance of Melkor and several other Ainur he recruited to his songs, however, were responsible for the evil and dark things of the world. Through the songs of Eru and the Ainur, the land, seas, skies, and various creatures of the world were brought into existence. It is with this Great Song, the Music of the Ainur, that Eru and the Ainur created the world of Arda and the living things that inhabit it. They shift and adjust to the sound of the music, with various specific references to the lore of Arda able to be found within the shapes that are formed. Some of these shapes appear to be specifically taken from the various charts of Chladni Figures, while others are symbols and sigils that have been pulled from Tolkien’s overall lore of the land of Middle-Earth and its overall world of Arda. As the grandiose title theme, composed by Howard Shore, plays over the sequence, grains of sand are shown to be aligning and re-aligning to form different shapes and symbols. ![]() ![]() The title sequence of The Rings of Power employs this concept to great effect. Many of these natural designs have become known as Chladni Figures. The loose material would then fall into these lines, essentially re-aligning itself to form different shapes and patterns. They discovered that when a surface is covered with a fine material or liquid, certain vibrations and noises create nodal lines along that surface. The idea was first explored by the likes of the 17th and 18th-century scientists Robert Hooke and Ernst Chladni. First off, the shifting sand of the sequence is a notion taken directly from the concept of cymatics, which is the observation of how sound and vibrations can have a direct effect on the physicality of objects. ![]()
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