Before the Sun and Moon, two trees gave light to the Blessed Realm. But an evil act by the diabolical Morgoth destroys the trees and leaves the world in darkness. The symbolism could hardly be stronger. The devastation of Tolkien’s childhood countryside haunts this tale and all his works of fiction.

This Saturday (March 5 at 6pm ET (New York time)) Hall of Fire will be discussing Tolkien, nature and the environment as it appears in his works.

Tolkien, nature and the environment

Compare the green havens of Lorien, the Shire and Doriath with the desolation of Anfauglith and Mordor. Nature is much more then just background or scenery in the tales of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Not only do the trees have shepherds who protect them, but the entire forest goes to war, Tolkien even embodies what he felt was the true spirit of natural science in Tom Bombadil.

What symbolic position do trees have in the numenorean and elvish cultures? What happens to nature in places like Morgul Vale and Isengard that fall under the dominion of the dark lords? How do the Numenorean’s perception of the value of nature shift as the shadow falls on Numenor? How does evil target nature and how does nature fight back in Middle-earth?

What symbolic position do trees have in the Numenorean and elvish cultures? What happens to nature in places like Morgul Vale and Isengard that fall under the dominion of the dark lords?

How do the Numenorean’s perception of the value of nature shift as the shadow falls on Numenor?

How does evil target nature and how does nature fight back in Middle-earth?

Come share your thoughts with us on Saturday in what’s sure to be another great Hall of Fire discussion!

Some suggested reading:

The Council of Elrond
The Breaking of the Fellowship
The Passing of Boromir
The Window on the West

Upcoming chat topics:

Saturday March 12: Galadriel, lady of the Golden Wood
Saturday March 19: Magic versus art
Saturday March 26: Thingol of Doriath
Saturday April 2: No Hall of Fire — I’m in the UK!
Saturday April 9: No Hall of Fire — I’m in the UK!


Mirkwood
Mirkwood, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Time zone conversions

Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.

America:
6.00pm EST (New York)
5.00pm CST (Chicago)
4.00pm MST (Denver)
3.00pm PST (Los Angeles)

Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
Midnight CST (Paris)
1am EEST (Helsinki)

Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
9.00am AEDT (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am NZDT (Sunday) Wellington

How long do your topic chats go for?

Our chats usually last about an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!

Where — connection details

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. It is based on internet relay chat technology (that means it’s hella old skool). It’s a text-only, moderated chat room full of eccentric Tolkien fans. We’re open 24/7 (although some times are busier and more active than others).

There are many ways to connect to the chat server. However, the easiest is generally to use a browser-based client. We usually direct folks to Mibbit:

* TORn Mibbit Widget
* Mibbit direct (as opposed to the widget above, this allows you to see others joining and leaving)

If you’re more oldschool or technically adept, you can install one of the scores of standalone chat clients that available for desktop and mobile devices. Just plug in our server details (see bottom) into the client and connect.

* Xchat: http://xchat.org/ (Windoze PC and Linux. Free)
* mIRC: http://www.mirc.com/ (Windoze PC. 30-day trial)
* AndChat: http://www.andchat.net/ (Android app for mobile. Free)
* Colloquy: http://colloquy.info/ (Mac OS and Apple mobile devices. Free)

Our server details:
IRC server name: irc.theonering.net
Channel/room name: #theonering.net
Port: 6667 (6697 for SSL connections)