[The Saucepan Man]

Then we are in agreement. Save, perhaps, on one point:

Originally Posted by Fordim

It's just a part of nature that is 'out of place' in Middle-earth insofar as it more properly belongs to the West.

I wouldn't even say that magic is necessarily out of place in Middle-earth. The natural powers and abilities of Elves are sometimes referred to as magic (from the perspective of other races), and they awoke in Middle-earth. Or would you say that all such powers were taught to them by the Lords of the West, and that they had no innate "magical" powers or abilities of their own?

I think that the powers of any race which cannot be explained by another might potentially be referred to by those others as "magic". Was it Gandalf who said that there is a magic of sorts in the Shire? The natural powers of Hobbits which are not present, or not as developed, in other races. Their indomitability, their toughness in a pinch, their loyalty and friendship and their humility (which enables them to better withstand the "magical" deceptions of the One Ring, since there is little that it can offer them). And then there is their ability to move quietly and "disappear" (without the aid of any magical Ring) when they do not want to be seen. That too might be described as a magic of sorts.

So, yes, I would describe magic as the innate (or learned) abilities and powers of a being which is perceived as inexplicable by beings of a different order. But I do not think it exclusive (in origin) to the Undying Lands (although all such power does, of course, ultimately originate from Iluvatar).