The Sil says
wizards were made from music. Those sent to
middle earth were assigned or chose colors.. while back in the homeland... how many wizards could be running around in every color doing what?
Did color mean anything to
Gandalf except for the usual black for bad, white for good?
First of all Imagineer, since you posted this topic on about every section imaginable, I will answer you for good. The wizards are
Maiar spirits. They were not created by music. Rather,
Eru conceived them through thought, and he had them (and all the
Ainur) create music. The music created visions of beauty.
Olorin was the wisest of the Maiar, and Curunir was another. In
the Third Age (or sometime around then) the
Valar saw the struggles of the Free
Peoples of Middle-earth, and they sent five Maiar guardians, in the form of old
men, to protect and sustain the earth. They were forbidden from revealing their full power, and therefore could not challenge
Sauron openly. Instead, they were to work with the Free Peoples and thwart Sauron's forces. The Five Wizards were part of
the White Council, a group of powerful
Elves and wizards.
Two wizards,
Alatar and
Pallando, wandered off into the Far East and became
stewards of Nardor. They are generally reputed to wear sea-blue robes.
Now, color is simply symbolic.
Saruman was the head of the
Istari (wizards) and so he was white, as white is the greatest color. The rest was in my opinion, for convenience. Gandalf was traveling abroad, and needed a fairly neutral color, so grey did, until he became head of the order.
Radagast was interested in the olvar and kevlar, as he was a pupil of
Yavanna's, and so brown was more suitable.
In summation, wizards is a general term, but the only wizards worth mentioning, and indeed, the only ones with real power, are the Istari; Maiar in human form.
