Editing Rings of Power (section)

== Powers ==

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|+ Powers and effects of the Rings
|-
! Type of Ring !! Powers granted !! Effects on bearer
|-
| [[One Ring|Ruling Ring]] || Invisibility, extended lifespan, control, knowledge of all other Rings || Corruption to evil
|-
| Elven-Rings || To heal and preserve || Nostalgia, procrastination
|-
| Dwarf-Rings || To gain wealth || Greed, anger
|-
| [[Nazgûl|Rings for Men]] || Invisibility, extended lifespan, terror || Enslavement, fading to permanent invisibility
|}

The Rings of Power were made using the craft taught by Sauron to give their wearers "wealth and dominion over others". Each Ring enhances the "natural power" of its possessor, thus approaching its "magical aspect", which can be "easily corruptible to evil and lust of domination".<ref name="Letter 121" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=Letter #121 to [[George Allen & Unwin|Allen & Unwin]], 13 July 1949 }}</ref> Gandalf explains that a Ring of Power is self-serving and can "look after itself": the One Ring, in particular, can "slip off treacherously" to return to its master Sauron, betraying its bearer when an opportunity arrives.<ref name="Shadow of the Past" group=T/> As the Ruling Ring, the One enables a sufficiently powerful bearer to perceive what is done using the other rings and to govern the thoughts of their bearers.<ref name="Rings of Power and the Third Age" group=T/> To use the One Ring to its full extent, the bearer needs to be strong and train their will to the domination of others.<ref name="Fellowship 3" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 7 "The Mirror of Galadriel"}}</ref>

A mortal Man or Hobbit who takes possession of a Ring of Power can manifest its power, becoming [[invisibility|invisible]] and able to see things that are normally invisible, as the bearer is partly transported into the [[Spirit world (Spiritualism)|spirit world]].<ref name="Shadow of the Past" group=T/><ref name="Bassham 1"/><ref name="Letter 121" group=T/> However, they also "fade"; the Rings unnaturally extend their life-spans, but gradually transform them into permanently invisible [[Ghost|wraiths]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1988|loc="Of Gollum and the Ring"|p=78}}</ref><ref name="Shadow of the Past" group=T/><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 1 "Many Meetings"}}</ref> The Rings affect other beings differently. The Seven are used by their Dwarven bearers to increase their treasure hoards, but they do not gain invisibility, and Sauron was unable to bend the Dwarves to his will, instead only amplifying their greed and anger.<ref name="Rings of Power and the Third Age" group=T/> [[Tom Bombadil]], the only being unaffected by the power of the One Ring, could both see its wearer and remained visible when he wore it.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 1, ch. 7 "In the House of Tom Bombadil"}}</ref>

Unlike the other Rings, the main purpose of the Three is to "heal and preserve", as when Galadriel used Nenya to preserve her realm of Lothlórien over long periods.{{sfn|Bassham|Bronson|2013|pp=23–25}} The Elves made the Three Rings to [[Lothlórien#Time|try to halt the passage of time]], or as Tolkien had [[Elrond]] say, "to preserve all things unstained". This was seen most clearly in [[Lothlórien]], which was free of both evil and the passage of time.<ref name="Aldrich 1988">{{cite journal |last=Aldrich |first=Kevin |title=The Sense of Time in J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' |journal=[[Mythlore]] |date=1988 |volume=15 |issue=1 |location=article 1 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol15/iss1/1}}</ref><ref name="Brin 2008">{{cite book |last=Brin |first=David |title=Through Stranger Eyes: Reviews, Introductions, Tributes & Iconoclastic Essays |year=2008 |publisher=Nimble Books |isbn=978-1-934840-39-9 |page=37}}</ref>
The Three do not make their wearers invisible.<ref name="Fellowship 3" group=T/> The Three had other powers: Narya could rekindle hearts with its fire and inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and despair; Nenya had a secret power in its water that protected from evil; while Vilya healed and preserved wisdom in its element of air.<ref name="Rings of Power and the Third Age" group=T/>