​Cerin Amroth is a hill in Lothlórien, the heart of the ancient kingdom. It was not a natural mound, but was raised by the elves, for magical purposes.

 

Cerin means ‘round enclosure,’ and Amroth, whose name means 'high reaching,' was the King of Lórien after whom it was named. Its slopes were covered with grass and with elanor and niphredil. At the top was a double crown: an outer circle of trees with pure white bark and an inner circle of Mallorn. At the centre of this crown grew a great tree with a high flet. Lothlórien itself, the 'dream flower,' once named the 'land of the valley of singing gold,' has resonance with the gardens of the Vala Lórien, the master of magic, dream, and desire- it is a land of potent magic, whose priestesses are Galadriel and Arwen Undómiel.

 

Cerin Amroth was purposefully constructed to function as a portal between Middle-earth and Valinor, once the conditions were right. It mirrors Mount Corollairë, the hill of ever-summer, the green mound of the heart, where the Two Trees grew. Its double-crown of trees is a symbol of the completion of the work of elves and humanity- the crowning of Middle-earth which will take place when the Silmarils are found, and the Trees lit once more, but now lighting all of creation. 

 

Cerin Amroth is a sacred centre place, where everything is present, where all vital processes occur. It is a womb and a tomb. It is a watchtower. It is eternal- when you walk there, something of you remains forever. It is timeless- when Frodo stands there, he hears seas from ages past, and cries from extinct birds. Sam feels as though he was inside a song. This the Ainulindalë, and- when it is heard by a mortal - it is also the Second Song. It is both a blueprint and a place in the making. It is a Daath centre, whereby terrestrial humanity  becomes celestial. Here matters of the heart meet their cosmic destiny, where the union between elves and humanity is sealed. 

 

When it slips into the Fourth Age of materiality, it is Arwen’s deliberate choice of burial mound. But when she lays herself to rest on Cerin Amroth this is not an act of despair, as is often thought, but the purposeful, magical act of a powerful priestess. Here Arwen, now in receipt of the gift of Ilúvatar, offers it, and her whole self, back to the divine, overcoming the wiles of Morgoth, and opening the portal for the restoration of Daath potential in Malkuth.  She lies on Cerin Amroth, both in, and not in, the material world, in the high place, and in the deep, both beyond, and not beyond, the circles of the world. 

 

There she stays- forgotten- the elven light in her eyes extinguished, her attention now turned to inner processes and purposes. Her Doom is inextricably linked to our Doom. It is time now to remember her, by turning within, by remembering who we are, and by remembering faery. This is the great work of return.