Q: Where do Elves go When they Leave Middle-earth?
ANSWER: The Elves of Middle-earth were doomed to “fade”, to become disembodied spirits incapable of interacting with the physical world, except by “magical” means. It was primarily for this reason that the Elves of Eregion made the Rings of Power, hoping to defer the time of fading and to restore or interact with Elves who had either already faded or who — having died in Middle-earth and refused the summons of Namo — had remained in Middle-earth after losing their bodies.
The Valar, the Guardians of the World — angelic beings appointed to oversea and protect the abode of the Children of Ilúvatar — invited the earliest Elves to join them in Aman, the Blessed Lands, where the Valar and Maiar could watch over and protect the Elves from the depredations of Morgoth and his evil creatures. Only some of the Elves accepted this invitation; those who rejected it became the Avari, the “Unwilling”. In time, after Morgoth was defeated by the Host of the West in the War of Wrath, the Valar once again summoned all Elves to sail over Sea. This time many Elves who had been left behind in Middle-earth accepted the summons.
The earliest Elves to reach Aman were granted lands on the eastern shore of Aman in the Bay of Eldamar. They built two cities there: Tirion upon Tuna and Alqualonde. However over the course of many years most of the Vanyar and many Noldor passed west into Valinor, the land of the Valar, and built homes there. After the War of Wrath the now-forgiven rebellious Noldor who had left Aman and other Elves of Middle-earth were given the island of Tol Eressëa, where they built the city of Avallonë on the eastern-most shore.
Although the Elves of Tol Eressëa were permitted to visit Valinor the Noldor because of their rebellion were forbidden to dwell there again. Tol Eressëa was nonetheless considered part of the “Undying Lands” and the “Blessed Realm” of the Valar, Maiar, and Eldar.
Some readers have asked if this is equivalent to an Elf heaven. I would say not, for heaven is defined to be the abode of God (Ilúvatar). The Elves are destined to remain a part of the physical universe until its end; hence they cannot pass to heaven at least until Time and Space end. For this reason the Elves fear that they may cease to exist when Time finishes its full tale.
The Elven ships that leave Middle-earth can thus only take them to another part of the physical universe, which Tolkien named Ea. Mythologically Aman was part of the same world as Middle-earth (“the habitable lands of Men”) until the Numenoreans rebelled and invaded Aman. Hoping to seize the gift of immortality for themselves, the Numenoreans brought down the wrath of Ilúvatar, who changed the world forever.
Aman was taken “out of the circles of the world” — which should mean that it became its own physical world. So the question arises, how do the Elves of Middle-earth reach Aman and Tol Eressëa? J.R.R. Tolkien answered this question in Letter No. 154:
But the promise made to the Eldar (the High Elves – not to other varieties, they had long before made their irrevocable choice, preferring Middle-earth to paradise) for their sufferings in the struggle with the prime Dark Lord had still to be fulfilled: that they should always be able to leave Middle-earth, if they wished, and pass over Sea to the True West, by the Straight Road, and so come to Eressëa – but so pass out of time and history, never to return. The Half-elven, such as Elrond and Arwen, can choose to which kind and fate they shall belong: choose once and for all. Hence the grief at the parting of Elrond and Arwen.
See also
How Do Cirdan’s Ships Sail over Sea?
How Long Was the Voyage from Middle-earth To Valinor?
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