Maiar of Varda, the Starkindler
Varda is the Vala associated with light and holiness and made the stars and constellations. She is the wife of Manwë and is counted among the Aratar, the eight most powerful Valar. She was one of the first to sense Melkor’s evil and rejected him early on, causing him to hate and fear her more than the other Valar. Her character and the elves’ reverence for her has drawn strong comparisons to the role of the Virgin Mary in Tolkien’s Catholic faith.
In the Silmarillion, Ilmarë is called the handmaiden of Varda and one of the leaders of the Maiar. Her name comes from an elvish root for starlight that is present in other names like Ilmen and Ilmarin, and in turn comes from the a Finnish word for air. Not many details are given about her, but in early versions of Tolkien’s works she was at one point the daughter of Varda and Manwë and called Erinti. At one stage she was also instead the sister of Salmar-Amillo and Omar-Noldorin, who were both associated with music, and the three of them left Valinor to live with the elves on the island of Tol Eressea. She was associated with love, beauty, and music in these stages, and was also called Lotesse as well as Akairis, which means bride. The second half of January was called Enrintion in honor of her.
The Maia Olorin, who later became known in Middle-earth as Gandalf and Mithrandir, was a servant of Varda and her husband. He was also a student of Nienna and spent time in the gardens of Lorien as well. When Varda and Manwë decided to send Olorin to Middle-earth as one of the Istari he was reluctant and didn’t feel ready. But they remarked that that was all the more reason for him to go, and indeed he was a key player in the downfall of Sauron and destruction of the One Ring.
In early works by Tolkien, the Maia Arien is described as a Maia of Varda, whereas in the Silmarillion she is called a Maia of Vana. Her initial association with Varda may have been due to the fact that Arien becomes the guardian of the sun, which is placed in the sky much like Varda’s stars. It’s also worth noting that, while Tolkien doesn’t usually specify what stars are “made of” it’s implied that there is a connection to fire. Before the existence of the Sun and the Moon as well as the Two Trees, the world was lit by two “lamps” which were lit by Varda. Both Arien and Olorin, who are two Maiar who are closely associated with fire, are connected to Varda.
In Tolkien’s early legendarium, before the Maia Tilion was created, we are introduced to Ilinsor. Ilinsor is described as a sylph, which is a type of air spirit, who loves snow and starlight and “aided Varda in many of her works.” This was at a point in Tolkien’s writings when the Maiar didn’t exist and the Valar were less angelic and more like Greco-Roman deities. In addition to the Valar having children (some of whom eventually became Maiar instead), there were many kinds of minor nature spirits such as sylphs, nymphs, mermaids, dryads, leprawns, pixies, brownies, sprites, fays, etc. Ilinsor was chosen to be the steersman of the Moon because of his familiarity of and association with the sky and starlight.
Finally, there was one point in Tolkien’s writings where Tulkas and Nessa had a son named Telimektar, whose name means something like Sky Warrior. He was also called Taimondo/Taimordo, which means Shepherd of the Sky. He had a long sword kept at his waist by a silver belt, and he fought alongside his father against Melkor from a young age. It was said that his face and weapons gleam like silver in the dark and he has diamonds on his sword sheath, which will glow red at the Great End. He was placed in the sky to watch over Melkor (and hence is the elvish explanation for the constellation Orion) and Varda gave him stars to mark his presence. His character and story were eventually dropped, and the elvish name for the constellation Orion instead became Menelmacar. A version of his name was given to the 28th King of Gondor, Telumehtar Umbardacil.
