I have long wondered about this question of East and West in the Legendarium. It's true that the general course of expansion in secular history has been to the west, at least in terms of Europe and its American offshoot. Yet it's also my understanding that, in a religious sense, many traditions have a special reverence for the East. Let me cite just a few examples....
The Garden of Eden was said to be in the "East", and likewise the Temple in ancient Israel faced towards the East. The tribe of Judah piched their tents to the east of the other ancient tribes because they were deemed the most precious. Even today, synagogues face east and observent Jews have a plaque in their house to show them where the East is when they pray.
But this preference for the East is not confined to Judaism. It's my understanding that in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the traditional sanctuary faced East and prayers were to be said in that direction:
Quote:
THE MASS FACING EAST
The most important consideration in the building of churches and the construction of sanctuaries was the fact that, in the East and in the West, Mass was always celebrated facing eastward. The rising of the sun in the East each day was seen as a symbol of the Resurrection of the Saviour and of His Second Coming. St. John Damascene
[c. 675-c. 749] wrote:
At His ascent into Heaven He went to the East, and so do the Apostles pray to Him; He will come again as the Apostles saw Him going, and so the Lord Himself says: "As the lightning comes forth from the East and shines even to the West, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." Since we wait for Him, we pray toward the East. This is the unwritten tradition of the Apostles
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I believe the Bible verse that is quoted comes from Matthew 24: 27.
In the orthodox Church, icons are placed on the east wall, and the altar is on the east side. A friend of mine who is Eastern Orthodox once explained that they view the term "eastern" not as a geographical location for their church, but as an indication that it faces towards the light and the direction from which the resurrected Christ will come.
In a traditional Catholic sanctuary, the altar also faces east. After Vatican II's reforms, there was considerable controversy in the Church because the priest now faced the congregation rather than the traditional eastern orientation. People registered their opinions on both sides of the issue, but the amount of disagreement generated suggests just how strong the old ways were in identifying the "sacred" realm with the East. I also know of at least one "negative" symbol in regard to the West: the Cross was said to have been placed so that Christ faced West.
I think
Davem has made an excellent point by indicating the central importance of the Sun in this entire discussion. But it could also be said that the Sun rises in the East so that is the point where "light" comes from.
I guess my central question is this. If the Judaeo-Christian tradition, including Catholicism, gave a special meaning to the "East", why did Tolkien break away from this in his Legendarium? Was it just a matter of convenience? If Aman was in the West, it's natural that everything spiritual should face west. (I am reminded of the scene when Faramir's men stood and faced West at their meal to remember Numenor and what lay beyond.) But then why did Tolkien place Aman there? Just a practical thing, a convenient space to fill on the map across the ocean, or something more? Is there anything about "east" and "west" in the land of faerie, or the old Northern legends?
Another possibity....did Tolkien specifically want to distinguish his spiritual images and landscape from that given in the Bible and generally adopted by the Catholic Church and, therefore, he made his earthly paradise to the West?