Are the 💎Silmarils and the Rings of Power of similar nature?

[hamstar]

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.

Spoiler: Old post; obsolete?

Edit: Also reddit discussion here.

I've seen previous discussions about the obvious parallels between the Silmarils and the Rings of Power: They're both discrete artifacts, they're considered to be of high value, they're coveted by good and evil alike, they may confer literal power over things by merely having possession of them, and they're hard to craft; never more than a few (or just one) can exist. The problem is, all of these arguments are technically circumstantial, and the Rings in particular may have other traits the Silmarils don't appear to have.

So what data points may be needed to bridge the gap between the Rings and the Silmarils to identify them in the same way? Here's the obstacles I see:

1. The Silmarils are noted for pertaining to light, but the Rings are not (usually).
2. There's not enough data on what directly handling the Silmarils does. Might they also be able to confer 'timeless preservation' powers, or even see into or enter the Unseen Realm like the One Ring?
3. The Silmarils and the Rings were created differently, though parallels seem to exist at least superficially in their creation process.

I'll (try to) supply the relevant missing information for each of the above items to complete this "one-and-the-same" theory:

1. "Light" as a concept does not appear to pertain only to visible light, as noted here. Therefore, the concept of 'light' (in the magical context) may be more aptly considered the concept of creation magic or even the ability to apply will upon things, which therefore gives it more physical qualities. It may be possible these qualities can exist without necessarily pertaining to what is visible. More on this later.
2. Though it's not known whether there's any way to rightly handle a Silmaril directly, one piece of information may suggest a literal effect: Eärendil's ability (and success) in fighting the most powerful dragon in all of history: Ancalagon the Black. It's not clear to me whether his ship Vingilot was able to fly by virtue of being made of (as Bilbo claims?) mithril and elvish-glass, or else if the Silmaril itself granted this power, or even if Eärendil/Vingilot obtained this sort of blessing on his return from Aman. Regardless, actually successfully dueling dragons historically only seem to be possible by way of powerful artifacts; be they cursed sentient swords, questionably-enchanted hierloom arrows, or in this case, a flying ship of mithril and whatever juice the Simaril puts out to let it go toe-to-toe with a literal kaiju dragon (with help from a few eagles, maybe).
3. The Rings of Power seem mainly to pertain to the ability to apply will upon people, places, and things, as I understand (hence the name). Hence why they were made for each race to (ostensibly) aid for ruling, and maybe for other notable effects, like Rivendell and Lothlórien retaining their timeless, heavenly qualities. This concept of power over things (and races) seems very similar to the nature of the Trees of Valinor, as best noted by this quote (source):
   

   The Silmarillion repeatedly states that those Elves who saw the Two Trees were mighty, with the light of Aman in their faces. As vassals of the Valar, the trees somehow bestowed otherworldly power and understanding on those exposed to them. Galadriel in particular had an affinity to Laurelin, as her hair was said to have captured the golden light of that tree. In turn this inspired Fëanor to make the jewels that could hold that same light; the Silmarils.

4. The creation of the Silmarils seems largely a mystery that only Fëanor could tell, but it did involve extraction of light from both of the Trees, and only a few were (able to be?) made. The creation of the Rings was a process that seems to involve expenditure or allocation of spiritual essence (fëa?), hence why Sauron's defeat occurs so decisively when his ring is destroyed, and his spirit is diminished almost entirely. If fëa and 'light' are similar concepts by nature, it would make intuitive sense that the Silmarils and the Rings are also similarly similar.

I might expand on this post later, when I get more time.