The People of Vana, the Ever-Young
Vana was the younger sister of Yavanna who represents the beauty that can be found in the flora and fauna of nature. Vana doesn’t get much attention in the Silmarillion and is mostly mentioned in association with flowers.
But out of the few Maiar that are given names by Tolkien, two of the strongest/most significant are associated with Vana.
Arien, who became the guardian of the Sun after the death of the Two Trees, had previously watered Vana’s flowers with the golden dews of Laurelin. She was a spirit of fire who Melkor had been unable to corrupt to his service, and when the sun first appeared in the sky he dared not attack her and instead opted to conceal himself and his fortress(es) with thick clouds of shadow. Tolkien also emphasized that Tilion, the male guardian of the moon, was less powerful than Arien, and when he tried to approach her the moon was scorched.
Melian, who served both Vana and Este while in Valinor, was associated with songbirds and forests and was said to be very similar to Yavanna. Like Orome, Yavanna, and Ulmo, Melian was unable to completely abandon the rest of Arda when the Valar first retweeted to Aman, and she came often to the forests there, where she eventually fell in love with the elf Elwe, later named Thingol. After many years she and Thingol gathered his followers and founded the kingdom of Eglador, the first true elven kingdom in Arda. Following the return of Morgoth from Aman and the Flight of the Noldor, Melian used her powers to magically protect their kingdom, preventing anyone less powerful than her from entering, including the monster Ungoliant. She proved to be a strong, wise, and caring ruler of the newly renamed kingdom of Doriath, and was willing to aid outsiders in their struggles against evil. She became the mother of Luthien, and thus became a major figure in the quest for the Silmarils. Melian was also a friend and mentor to Galadriel.
Interestingly, both of these Maiar also happen to have a strong association with humans. Arien’s first journey across the sky was the signal for the awakening of men, and Tolkien says that it was for this reason she was of the most revered of the Maiar by men. Melian, meanwhile, is known for providing aid to Turin as well as his sister and mother, as well as to Beleg, although she also foresaw his death. When Hurin entered her land, Melian was able to use her powers to free him from Morgoth’s spells.
She was also the only Ainu who coupled with one of the Children of Illuvatar, passing her Maian blood on to both elves and men. Elrond, who married Celebrian the daughter of Melian’s friend Galadriel, was descended from her. Through Elrond’s brother Elros, who chose to live as a mortal man, she was an ancestor of the Kings and Queens of Numenor and their descendants. This included the Lords of Andunie, an offshoot of the Numenorean royal family through princess Silmarien. One of these lords, Elendil, became ancestor of the ruling families of Gondor and Arnor. The first Princes of Belfalas are described as being close kin of Elendil and therefore descended from Elros and, by extension, Melian. The Princes of Dol Amroth are a branch of the Princes of Belfalas, and Morwen Steelsheen of Belfalas married Thengel, the sixteenth King of Rohan. Thus, while Aragorn and Arwen and usually depicted as her most prominent descendants from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eomer, Eowyn, Boromir, and Faramir are also all distantly descended from her through the Princes of Belfalas, as is Lothiriel of Dol Amroth, the cousin of Boromir and Faramir who marries Eomer to become Queen of Rohan.
The power and significance of these Maiar of Vana, combined with Vana’s role in the creation of the Two Trees in Tolkien’s earlier stories, depict a Vala who is stronger and more prominent than is apparent from reading the few passages where Vana appears in Tolkien’s later works.
