Why can't Gandalf use magic all the time?

Even if Gandalf had more traditional fantasy powers, he would not be able to constantly cast spells. As shown with Saruman, using magic is very taxing and expends great energy, so it cannot be done freely.
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Why is Gandalf not allowed to use his powers?

Gandalf is constrained in using magic, because he has a mortal body and also because he is not allowed to use force on the inhabitants of Middle-Earth.
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Does Gandalf ever use magic?

In the books he actually does. In the snow when they were passing over Caradhras, the rest of the Fellowship, tried and failed to make a fire, so Gandalf reluctantly uses his magic to start a roaring fire by which the fellowship could warm themselves.
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Does Gandalf's power have limits?

However, Gandalf's Counter-Spell is shown to have limits, and he can't dispel any magic more powerful than his own.
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Can Gandalf cast spells?

Opening and closing spells: Gandalf uses "various incantations" in an unsuccessful attempt to open the trolls' cave. At the Doors of Durin, he mentions knowing over 200 spells for opening doors. Later, at the Chamber of Mazarbul, he refers to knowing "many" shutting spells.
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What powers does Gandalf have?



Who is stronger Dumbledore or Gandalf?

He's a pretty insanely powerful being, especially so when he returns as Gandalf the White. If he were permitted to use his full power in the fight in question, he may well win. But using only the power he's allowed most of the time that we see, I think it would most likely go to Dumbledore.
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Why didn't Gandalf use the Eagles?

Even if one of the Eagles had carried Frodo or Gandalf on their back with the purpose of entering the mountain, Sauron's spies would be able to spot them at just about any moment, and attack. There's no hiding when you're an Eagle of the Valar and are flying straight into the mouth of evil.
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What is Gandalf's true power?

Undoubtedly the most awesome of Gandalf's pyrokinetic powers is his ability to turn that fire into lightning, which he uses to smite some unlucky goblins in The Hobbit: "When the goblins came to grab him, there was a terrific flash like lightning in a cave, a smell like gunpowder, and several of them fell dead."
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Is Gandalf immortal?

He is associated with fire; his ring of power is Narya, the Ring of Fire. As such, he delights in fireworks to entertain the hobbits of the Shire, while in great need he uses fire as a weapon. As one of the Maiar, he is an immortal spirit from Valinor, but his physical body can be killed.
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What exactly are Gandalf's powers?

As a wizard, Gandalf's magical power is in light and fire, which he is able to manipulate by casting beams of light, starting and directing fires, and more. Although he is very powerful magically, his power does have its limits.
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Why is Gandalf so weak?

Gandalf's natural (angelic) strength was diminished because he was bound to a human form by Eru and sent as an emissary to undo the evil which Sauron had wrought. Gandalf was only given enough strength to accomplish his task, which was to rally the Free Peoples against Sauron and bring about his ruin.
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Why does Gandalf turn white?

Gandalf was carried to Caras Galadhon in Lothlórien, where he was healed, given a new staff, and clothed in white, and thus became Gandalf the White.
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Why did Gandalf lose his memory?

His original name was "Olorin". In a way, when Eru returned him, he was sort of 'reset', so he may have not initially remembered his "life" in Middle Earth. It also took him a second because he had in a way been gone for what seemed like an eternity to him: "Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time." .
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What is the difference between Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White?

All this, Gandalf did when known as Gandalf the Grey for his ashen robes. The chief of the Istari remained Saruman the White, who also headed the White Council. But Saruman fell to the temptations of pride and impatience, and became both faithless servant and doomed imitator of Sauron.
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Why didn't Gandalf take the ring from Frodo?

When, despairing of his ability to destroy the Ring, Frodo offers it to Gandalf, the wizard immediately refuses because he recognizes the danger: "the way of the Ring to my heart is through pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good." Because the Ring is evil, the wizard knows that any attempt to ...
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Does Gandalf know he is a Maiar?

He's aware of the Blessed Land and those residing there. But he has never seen a Maia before, not unlike Galadriel, Elrond or even Glorfindel. He couldn't have known Gandalf was a Maia; all he knew is that he came from Valinor as a messenger.
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Are hobbits immortal?

Men, Dwarves, Hobbits, and most other races cannot live forever and thus are subject to aging and natural death; however various members of those races have endured longer extended lifespans beyond usual constraints through multiple means.
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Does Gandalf need to eat?

They consume food because it gives them pleasure. "Men" (using Tolkien's own term) use food for sustenance. Faramir returns from Osgiliath, reports to Denethor, and takes a slice of bread and a cup of wine to restore his energy, and that's it. It's a utilitarian use of food.
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Is Gandalf the strongest wizard?

From putting Saruman in his place to playing the part of the guiding hand in the war against Sauron, Gandalf the White ends up proving to be the most powerful wizard in all of Middle-earth history.
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What is Gandalf's real name?

He was known by many names during the long years he remained in Middle-earth: Elves named him Mithrandir, the Grey Pilgrim, while the men of Arnor named him Gandalf, which became his most common name. He was also known as Incánus in the south, and Tharkûn to the Dwarves.
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Is Gandalf a druid?

Gandalf was a druid. Gandolff the Grey was neutral or neutral good, more to the last. For he always was learning and watching the races and protecting some. That is untill he met the Balrog and which on his return became Gandolff the White.
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Why didn't they just fly to Mordor?

However, the reason the Ringbearer did not fly to Mordor by Eagle is fairly simple: the purpose of the Fellowship of the Ring and the linchpin of the entire strategy decided on in Rivendell was to destroy the Ring in a mission of secrecy.
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How did Gimli not know about Moria?

There are a few reasons why Gimli would have been unaware of Balin's fate: a messenger could have been killed by orcs on the way to spread the news, or they could have been trapped within the mines for some time before they were killed.
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Why was Bilbo not affected by the Ring?

Hobbits are simple creatures and do not wish for much, so there is nothing for the Ring to use against a hobbit. Frodo is the hobbit that is corrupted the most next to Gollum and Bilbo, which is why he is unable to throw the Ring into the fire. But even Frodo remained good at his core.
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