The Ever-young

A title given to Vána, one of the lesser Queens of the Valar. She was the younger sister of Yavanna Kementári, and was wedded to Oromë the Huntsman of the Valar. She dwelt in gardens filled with golden flowers, and her attendants in earlier times included Melian (who would later become Queen of Doriath) and Arien the Sun-maiden.

Vána's title of the 'Ever-young' is in some ways a strange choice for one of the Valar, all of whom were immortal and ageless. The title's meaning is not discussed in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien's earlier works give a little more context. In the Book of Lost Tales, Vána is called the bringer of spring and the mistress of life. She was 'Ever-young', then, in the sense that her province was the bringing forth of new life in the spring.

In the Book of Lost Tales, Vána the Ever-young is presented as a powerful being indeed, aiding her sister Yavanna in the making of the Two Trees, and sending her Maiar to water their roots. In the much later Silmarillion, Vána's role has diminished to a bare mention, so it is hard to be certain how much of this original description was intended to stand, but nonetheless her association with springtime helps to make sense of Vána being titled as the 'Ever-young'.