Eskimo, Greenland. From the book Light On Land, pp 65.

Tolkien’s Ainulindale immediately come to mind. The insertion of subordinate consciousness into primordial darkness. The feeling out of the world by the first being(s). The original rejection of evil. The creation of the stars from an earthly source, and finally the awareness of the origination of darkness and the majesty of the light.

The Elves being born in middle earth under the stars is possibly my favorite concept of Tolkien’s stories. There’s something about their existence in the dark and the sensitivity that comes with it that speaks to me heart. It’s as if they were born into the unconscious with a deeper awareness of subtle things. Maybe it’s because I am from Alaska and no summer or daylight experience is as vast as the darkness of winter, or maybe there is a more collective archetype at work here. Either way, the star-lit origin of the elves, and the persistence of the dark elves in particular, speak to my heart.