Count, Count, Weigh, Divide - Page 2
© Michael Martinez
Eomer does not mean that the sudden flight of birds is an omen, but rather that the birds, because of the purpose they serve, are themselves an ill omen. Their presence in the skies over Rohan portends of the war to come. But then, Eomer had plenty of similar omens to judge by: the marshaling of forces at Isengard, Saruman's sending of Orcs across Rohan, and the influence Grima wielded at Edoras. Men like Eomer did not need supernatural warnings to tell them something was wrong.
Faramir says it would be an ill omen if black squirrels from Mirkwood were to enter Ithilien. His ill omen is only an acknowledgement that the world would indeed be out of balance if Mirkwood's creatures were to cross hundreds of miles to reach Ithilien. It's doubtful the old wives of Gondor had pleasant rhymes foretelling doom and gloom when the black squirrels chewed the nuts of Ithil.
In the entire story, there are only a few events which may be safely deemed as supernatural omens. The first is the dream which is sent to Faramir and Boromir (presumably by the Valar, possibly by Iluvatar himself), although we don't actually hear about the dream until after another omen occurs. The second omen is Frodo's dream in Bombadil's house. He seems to dream about faraway Valinor, which in time he will visit, although it's not so clear at the time that is to be his fate.
Some people accept Frodo's dream about Gandalf as an omen, but it doesn't really portend anything. Rather, it seems to be a message, almost as if to say, "Gandalf has been detained, but he is alive and well."
The final supernatural omen seems to be the change in the wind which comes on the morning of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. But is that so much an omen as the breath of Manwe, pushing back the clouds of Mordor so that the Men of Gondor and Rohan can fight their enemies without the horror of Sauron hanging over them? On the one hand, the western wind gives hope to Men. But it is a little late in foretelling the end of Sauron's power in Middle-earth. That is, we've already seen the means of defeating Sauron is a viable plan.
On the other hand, the omen may have been intended for Sauron, almost as if to say, "Your time is at an end, and you have been found wanting. Your realm has been given to the Men of the West." Is that reaching too far? Perhaps, perhaps not. Gandalf advises Aragorn and the Lords of Gondor and Rohan, after the victory of the Pelennor Fields, that Sauron "studies the signs: the Sword that robbed him of his treasure re-made; the winds of fortune turning in our favour, and the defeat unlooked-for of his first assault; the fall of his great Captain."
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