Gandolf

Fabulous Birth

All great heroes will have fabulous births befitting their larger than life presence here in this mortal world. The birth of the twins Gandalf and Gandolf will be very mysterious. The father will be of the otherworld, færie, and an invisible lover to a royal Cornish mortal.

The twins will bear the mark of their father, called white of eye, in their own eyes, because their mother accidently saw her lover. The boys marks, however, will be red. In addition, the boys will bear birth-cauls, similar to the auspicious birth Julius Cæsar will have. The boys also will bear magickal hair expressing the duality of black and white; further, their hair will turn color depending on the background against which they are laid, or to the distress of the other brother. The boys will also express the duality of left and right handedness, which they will resolve on their thirteenth birthday when they become wizards and ambi-dexterous (achieve a balance, a union, of the dual sides of their personalities and resources).

Given the superstitious times to come, these omens will be read by the common folk as the work of the evil-one, especially if the father fails to come forward. The mother, sensing this, will add another mark to this marvelous birth: she will separate the younger from the older and have him raised separately, thus presenting an acceptable one son, Gandalf, to the world.

The changing color of the hair interests me because it reflects a Celtic story that will deal with black and white sheep grazing on a checkerboard field. These sheep will change color as they go from one square to another. The story also interests me because the changing hair will lead the mother to confuse the two boys; therefore, we will never know for certain which boy is which.

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