The Rings of Power: What Is the Secret Fire in Lord of the Rings Canon?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6, “Where Is He?”.

The Secret Fire gets paid plenty of lip service in the latest episode of The Rings of Power Season 2 – but it’s only loosely defined, at best. So what is The Rings of Power‘s Secret Fire, according to The Lord of the Rings canon?

What Is the Secret Fire in The Rings of Power Season 2?

Tom Bombadil and the Stranger discuss the Secret Fire midway through The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6, with the latter eager to learn how to harness its power. So, what exactly is the Secret Fire? Don’t expect The Rings of Power to supply a detailed answer any time soon. Although J.R.R. Tolkien briefly references the Secret Fire in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, the scribe only fully explains the term in The Silmarillion, which Amazon MGM Studios doesn’t own the rights to. So, if you’re yet to crack open a copy of that weighty tome, just know that the Secret Fire (also known as the Flame Imperishable) is essentially the power of creation. Tolkien’s version of God, Eru Ilúvatar, used it – both directly and indirectly – to make the universe and all life within it.

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When does it come up in The Lord of the Rings proper? During Gandalf the Grey’s showdown with the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring. As the pair are squaring up on the bridge of Khazad-dûm, Gandalf declares himself a “servant of the Secret Fire.” So, assuming the Stranger is really Gandalf (and not another Istar), it appears that The Rings of Power Season 2 will show us the point in Middle-earth’s timeline when the Wizard’s self-described service began. You shouldn’t treat said origin story as part of Tolkien’s canon, though – in part because of Tom Bombadil’s involvement. While The Rings of Power explicitly links Tom and the Secret Fire, no such connection exists in any of Tolkien’s writings.

Is the Secret Fire the Same as the Flame of Anor?

During the aforementioned Balrog fight, Gandalf also identifies himself as a “wielder of the Flame of Anor” – is that yet another name for the Secret Fire? Nope. The Secret Fire and the Flame of Anor are different things; that’s why Gandalf distinguishes one from the other. That said, no one (outside of Tolkien himself) knows for sure what the Flame of Anor actually is. “Anor” is the Elves’ name for the sun, so Gandalf seems to be suggesting that (literally or metaphorically) he can channel the power of the sun itself!

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Gandalf could even have been hinting at the Ring of Power, Narya, in his possession. After all, Narya is the Ring of Fire, so it’s not a huge leap to associate it with the sun. Alternatively, the Grey Wizard was simply invoking the divine light associated with the forces of good – whether that’s the cosmic Secret Fire or basic sunlight – as a counterpoint to the Balrog’s more demonic brand of flame.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.