During the movies of the war of the ring we can see Gandalf, the white and gray, use magic only a handful of times. The time we see Gandalf use his full strength is during his battle with the Balrog of Moria, were he single handed defeats a Balrog. This is no small feat, whole armies have fought a Balrog and lost before. Thinking of what’s at stake if the war of the ring was lost, why doesn’t Gandalf  use that power more often. There are countless times where he could have changed the tide of a battle with his magic, but he doesn’t.

 

 

If we look at the times Gandalf uses his magic we can see that they are few and far between, and there’s a common theme in his use of magic. We can see him using it in his fight against Sauroman, the white wizard, which Gandalf loses, against the Balrog, which he wins. There are then two more times where we can see Gandalf use magic while saving Theoden, king of Rohan, from Sauromans curse, and to save Faramir from the nasguls. Can you see the common theme? Well to me it looks like Gandalf only uses magic agents other Maiar or other magical beings.  But why would he not use it for other good deeds? Well, that has to do with what the war of the ring is about.

 

 

Nows a good time for a quick recap of the lore in middle earth. The world of middle earth was created by the god Eru who created a “heaven” and populated them with Valar, godlike beings. Together with the Valar Eru sang a song of immense power and depth which created the world and universe of middle earth. He created the elves and men, as well as the free will that governs them. Envious of Erus power the strongest of the Valar, Morgoth, sang verses of evil and power, he corrupted the song and tried to bind Erus creation to his will. A long long time passed and the goods left the world of men and elves to themselves but left Maiar to help and guide them. Two of these Maiar are Gandalf and Sauron, one is the guardian of the song of Eru, the other a descendant of Morgoth.

With that recap, we can see that Gandalf follows the will of Eru while Sauron follows the will of Morgoth. This is what the war of the ring is about for Gandalf and Sauron, a battle for free will and the light of Eru against the power and domination of Morgoth. If Gandalf then fights for the free will of middle earth, then he cannot use the magic of Eru to oppose the free will of middle earth. That would defeat his purpose in middle earth. This is what Sauroman chose to do. He can however use it to fight the power and domination of other Maiar.  So Gandalf can fight Sauron, Sauroman and a Balrog, all other Maiar who chose Morgoth. But he cannot use his magic against the free creatures of the land, those who chose to be under the light of Eru.

For Gandalf the war of the ring is much bigger than a battle of supremacy, he would rather lose than go against his principles, to use the tricks of his enemy. He stands up for the free will and the light of Eru, this is a common theme in the lord of the rings. Gandalf and the other servants of Eru. This is the reason why Gandalf doesnt use his magic more often, and this is what the war of the ring is about.