Lothlorien is one of the most beautiful places in Middle Earth. Frodo describes it as living history. The forest is so old, and the elves remember so much of the past that it seems as if you were flung into the past. It is a magical place, and it is where Arwen promised herself to Aragorn. It is very special to even a dwarf. Gimli loved the Lady Galadriel, and when the Fellowship departed, Gimli asked her for only one strand of her golden hair. She gave him three.
Galadriel and Celeborn live together as the lord and lady of Lothlorien. Galadriel was very helpful to the fellowship. She is most renowned for her mirror. Frodo and Sam looked into it, and Sam saw the destruction of the Shire, and Frodo laying asleep by caves. The destruction of the Shire is what would happen if the ring was not destroyed. Yet, since Sam saw this, he had a sudden urge to return home to prevent this from happening. Galadriel restrained him, saying:
"Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be unless those that behold the visions turn aside fromt heir path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds." (Tolkien, The Fellowship of the RIng, pg. 428)
What Galadriel was hinting at here is that if Sam had left Frodo, the mission would have failed, and that thing which Sam had wished to prevent would happen.
This behavior is very similar in mythology. In many stories, Oedipus Rex for example, a character will see the future or hear of it from mystical things, and they try to stop it. Yet when they do, they make that thing happen. In "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, Oedipus heard the foretelling that he would murder his father and marry his mother. By running away from home to save himself, he brought this fate upon him. (You can read it for yourself...its really complicated and hard to explain!) This is what Galadriel was trying to tell Sam, that if he left, he would be causing what he saw. As a result, Sam stayed with Frodo and protected him (and the ring) from falling into the enemy's hands.
