Airefëa

Airefëa, also known as the Secret Fire, Flame Imperishable or the Imperishable Flame, refers to a mysterious heavenly power in Eä.
==History==
Airefëa seems to refer to Eru Ilúvatar's Power of Creation. This power was with Ilúvatar alone from the very beginning and was an aspect of his being, so when Melkor sought for it, his efforts were in vain. Later, Ilúvatar set Airefëa at the heart of Eä.The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë (The Music of the Ainur)
Airefëa was also described as being part of all Fëa, the soul of a living being or the spirit: it was that Gift which makes sentient beings capable of independent thought and will, for though other beings within Arda can create to a greater or lesser extent, even the Valar cannot bring new life into being that is independent from Eru's own design (beings can, for instance, procreate, but they cannot give life to their thought as Eru can).The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of Aulë and Yavanna" This lack of ability to bring into being ideas of his own was what initially led Melkor down the path of Darkness, for he wished above all else to order the universe in accordance with his own desires, and not be subservient to the will of Eru. 
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf the Grey referred to both Airefëa and the flame of Anor at the Bridge of Khazad-dum when confronting the Balrog:The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, ch. V: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
Anor was a name for the Sun in the mythology, as well as a name for the True West (i.e. Valinor). Further, some have speculated that Gandalf said "flame of Anor" in reference to the fact that he wielded one of the Three Rings of Power, Narya. Thus, it is uncertain if the flame of Anor was identical to the Airefëa, but both it and Airefëa identified Gandalf as a servant of the Valar.
==Etymology==
Airefëa is a name in Quenya meaning "Holy Spirit", being a compound of airë ("holy; sanctity, holiness")Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", pgs. 67, 149 and fëa ("soul, indwelling spirit of an incarnate being")The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, "Appendix to the Index: Elvish words and terms", pg. 470.Vinyar Tengwar, Number 43, "'Words of Joy': Five Catholic Prayers in Quenya — Part One", pgs. 36-8
==In other versions==
In the Qenya Lexicon, the Qenya term Sâ was glossed as "Fire, especially in temples, etc. A mystic name identified with Holy Ghost".Parma Eldalamberon XII, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", pg. 81 (entry "SAHA") Sâ was later emended to fairë aista.
==Inspiration==
In a discussion with Clyde S. Kilby, Tolkien talked to him "at some length about the use of the word 'holy' in The Silmarillion" and revealed to him "that the 'Secret Fire sent to burn at the heart of the World' in the beginning was the Holy Spirit", the third person of the Holy Trinity.Clyde S. Kilby, Tolkien and The Silmarillion, "Tolkien as Christian Writer", pg. 59
==See also==
*Fëa and hröa
==External links==
*"Tolkien, Servant of the Secret Fire" by Jonathan McIntosh
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Geheime vuur
Albanian 	Zjarri i fshehtë
Amharic 	ምስጢር እሳት
Arabic 	النار السرية
Armenian 	Գաղտնի կրակ
Azerbaijani 	Sirli yanğın
Basque 	Sute sekretua
Belarusian Cyrillic	Цакрэтны агонь
Bengali 	গোপন আগুন
Bosnian 	Tajna Požara
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Тайния огън
Cambodian 	អគ្គីភ័យជាការសម្ងាត់
Catalan 	Foc Secreta
Cebuano 	Sekreto nga kalayo
Chinese 	秘密的火
Cornish 	Tan Kel ?
Croatian 	Tajna vatra
Czech 	Tajný oheň
Danish 	Hemmelig ild
Dutch 	Geheim vuur
Esperanto 	Sekreta fajro
Estonian 	Salajane tulekahju
Fijian 	Vuni na bukawaqa
Filipino 	Lihim na apoy
Finnish 	Salainen tuli
French 	Feu Secret
Frisian 	Geheime Fjoer
Georgian 	საიდუმლო ცეცხლი
German 	Geheimes Feuer
Greek 	Μυστική Φωτιά
Gujarati 	સિક્રેટ ફાયર
Haitian Creole 	Sekrè Dife
Hausa 	Asirin Wuta
Hebrew 	האש הסודית
Hindi 	गुप्त आग
Hungarian 	Titkos tűz
Olthatatlan Lángot
Icelandic 	Hinn launhelgi logi
Indonesian 	Api Rahasia
Irish Gaelic 	Rúnda tine
Italian 	Fuoco segreto (Secret Fire)
Fiamma Imperitura (Flame imperishable)
Japanese 	神秘の火/不滅の炎
Javanese 	Rahasia Geni
Kannada 	ರಹಸ್ಯ ಬೆಂಕಿ
Kazakh 	Құпия өрт (Cyrillic) Qupïya ört (Latin)
Korean 	비밀 화재
Kurdish 	Agir Dizî (Kurmanji Kurdish)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	жашыруун өрт
Latin 	Secretum Ignis
Latvian 	Slepenā uguns
Lithuanian 	Slaptas gaisro
Luxembourgish 	Geheime Feier
Macedonian Cyrillic	Таен оган
Malaysian 	Api Rahsia
Malayalam 	രഹസ്യ തീ
Maltese 	Sigriet nar
Manx 	Aile Follit ?
Marathi 	गुप्त आग
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Нууц гал
Nepalese 	गुप्त आगो
Norwegian 	Hemmelig brann
Northern Sami 	Suollemas Dolla
Pashto 	پټ اور
Persian 	(Secret Fire) آتش راز
(Flame Imperishable) شعله زوال‌ناپذیر
Polish 	Tajemny Ogień (Secret Fire)
Niezniszczalny Płomień (Flame Imperishable)
Portuguese 	Segredo do Fogo (Secret Fire)
Chama Imperecível (Flame Imperishable)
Punjabi 	ਗੁਪਤ ਅੱਗ
Querétaro Otomi 	Ar tsibi secreto
Romanian 	Focul Secret
Romansh 	Fieu Adascus
Russian 	Негасимое пламя
Samoan 	Lilo Afi
Scottish Gaelic 	Teine dìomhair
Serbian 	Тајна ватра (Cyrillic) Tajna vatra (Latin)
Sesotho 	Sephiri Mollo
Sinhalese 	රහස ගිනි
Sindhi 	راز کي باهه
Slovak 	Tajné požiaru
Slovenian 	Skrivni ogenj
Somalian 	Dabka Qarsoon
Spanish 	Fuego Secreto
Swahili 	Siri Moto
Swedish 	Hemlig eld
Tajik Cyrillic 	Сирри оташ
Tamil 	இரகசிய தீ
Telugu 	రహస్య అగ్ని
Thai 	ไฟไหม้ลับ
Turkish 	Gizli ateş
Turkmen 	Syr Ot ?
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Секретні вогню
Urdu 	خفیہ آگ
Uzbek 	Сирли олов (Cyrillic) Sirli olov (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Bí mật lửa
Welsh 	Tân dirgel
Yiddish 	סוד פייַער
Yucatec Maya 	Secreto K'áak'
Zulu 	Umlilo Imfihlo
==References==
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Category:Concepts & principles
Category:Quenya names & words
de:Geheimes Feuer
fr:Flamme Impérissable
it:Fiamma Imperitura
pl:Niezniszczalny Płomień
ru:Неугасимое Пламя