Are the Silmarils and the Rings of Power the same basic thing? [closed]

Question

To my understanding, this question roughly translates as: Are fëa (souls) compositionally the same as "holy light" (e.g. from the Two Lamps, Two Trees, Silmarils, etc.)?

In the same way that Melkor grew weaker across the ages by investing himself in his monstrous creations, I surmise Sauron similarly "invested" himself into his Ring, which didn't appear to have a physical effect on him until he was directly separated from it. I can then only surmise this as being an effect of being comprised of his own soul (fëa), which then accounts for his nigh-complete destruction at the end of RotK: No sentient being can exist without its soul (e.g. Aulë's dwarves). There's no telling if the other rings of power were made similarly from their respective smiths, but it's possible the reason they were all "deceived" by Sauron when he made his ring is that he also applied an aspect of his soul into their creation as well, and hence why he was able to remotely control them in turn (which the elves quickly perceived).

It's not totally clear to me if the "holy light" of the Trees was directly used as a power of creation akin the Flame Imperishable (I suspect they're related concepts, somehow), but there is one important thing to note about that light: When Ungoliant was set to devour it in Melkor's quest to rid it from the world, she grew to immense size and presumably strength, such that she was capable of besting Melkor in direct conflict. More notably, she went on to progenerate a race of sentient spiders; a feat even Aulë could not accomplish by himself with his creation of the dwarves (hence requiring Eru's intervention via. the Flame Imperishable). This creation act is very likely to have been enabled directly by the consumption of holy light, even if it wasn't explicitly Ungoliant's intention.

Therefore, since the concept of fëa seems directly (if not exclusively) a consequence of the Flame Imperishable, I deduce the Silmarils (being comprised of the aforementioned holy light) are containers for a raw form of fëa, and therefore the Rings of Power and the Silmarils are compositionally the same.

Answer 1

You seem to have two different questions here. The title asks about equivalence of the silmarils and the rings of power. The text then asks instead about equivalence of fëa and "holy light". I can't really answer either one, but I don't think they necessarily have the same answer.

You seem to imply that the light of the trees is somehow the fëa/soul of Eru. That seems a bit weird to me. Maybe a bit less weird if it is instead the fëa of Yavanna, but do the Valar even have fëa?

However you don't need that argument at all to draw an equivalence between Fëanor investing some of his fëa into the silmarils and Celebrimbor perhaps investing some of his into the 19 original Rings of Power. Note that in Silmarillion, Fëanor is quoted as saying

For the less even as for the greater there is some deed that he may accomplish but once only; and in that deed his heart shall rest. It may be that I can unlock my jewels, but never again shall I make their like [].

On the other hand Celebrimbor managed to make 19 rings, perhaps drawing of the strength/soul of other elven smiths, and so far as I know he stopped making them not because he ran out of fëa but because he perceived Anatar/Sauron's treachery at that point.