Gandalf var inte alltid Maia, han började sitt litterära liv i The Hobbit som en trollkarl, en gammal vis man med några magiska krafter. Gandalfs roll och betydelse ökades väsentligt i uppfattningen av Ringenes Herre, och i ett brev från 1954 hänvisar Tolkien till Gandalf som en "ängel inkarnat". I LotR hänvisar Gandalf till att han kallas Olorin i väst. Efter att Tolkien slutade LotR och återvände till Silmarillion 1951 skrev han om Olorin som en av Maia:
With the Valar were other spirits whose being also began before the world: these are the maiar, of the same order as the Great but of less might and majesty. Among them Eonwe the herald of Manwe, and Ilmare handmaid of Varda were the chief. Many others there are who have no names among Elves or Men, for they appear seldom in forms visible. But great and fair was Melian of the people of Yavanna, who tended once the gardens of Este, ere she came to Middle-earth. And wise was Olorin, counsellor of Irmo: secret enemy of the secret evils of Melkor, for his bright visions drove away the imaginations of darkness. Of Melian much is later told; but of Olorin this tale does not speak. In later days he dearly loved the Children of Eru, and took pity on their sorrows. Those who hearkened to him arose from despair; and in their hearts the desire to heal and to renew awoke, and thoughts of fair things that had not yet been but might yet be made for the enrichment of Arda. Nothing he made himself and nothing he possessed, but kindled the hearts of others, and in their delight he was glad.