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"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together." ―Obi-Wan Kenobi Listen (file info) [src]

The Force was an energy field created by all life that connected everything in the universe, and was known by a variety of names throughout galactic history. It was called the Ashla by Lasats, It by the dianoga Omi, the Life Current by Mustafarians, the Sight by the Chiss, the Life Wind by the Zeffo, the Great Presence by the people of the Chaos, and the Luminous Mist by the Mist-Weavers. The Force was created by life, and therefore, resided in all lifeforms. It was especially powerful in a select group of individuals who were born with a high concentration of midi-chlorians—microscopic, intelligent lifeforms that formed a symbiotic relationship with and communicated the will of the Force to their host—in their blood. These people were deemed Force-sensitive, and were capable of consciously sensing the Force. With this conscious sense of the Force came the ability to harness it, accessing various Force powers. Unlike organic beings, droids and other artificial constructs existed outside of the Force. As such, they possessed no connection to the energy field that was created and sustained by life. Apart from its scientific aspect, the Force was the basis of various religious organizations such as the Church of the Force, the Guardians of the Whills, and most notably the Jedi Order and the Sith Order. In addition, the Lasats believed that the Force was the "spirit" of the galaxy.

The Force as a recorded concept existed for well over twenty-five thousand years. There were two, overarching and symbiotic aspects of the Force. The Living Force was the energy of all life, which, in turn, fed into the Cosmic Force—that which bound everything together and communicated the will of the Force through midi-chlorians that resided in all lifeforms. The Jedi Order followed a code of selflessness and service to others; therefore, they adhered to the light side of the Force, one of two methods of using the all-encompassing energy field. The Jedi's adversaries, the Sith, coveted strength and power through the dark side of the Force. Their opposing philosophies led to millennia of cyclical conflict between the two orders, and resulted in both the extinction of the Sith and the near annihilation of the Jedi.

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Description Edit

"In darkness, cold.

In light, cold.

The old sun brings no heat.

But there is heat in breath and life.

In life, there is the Force.

In the Force, there is life.

And the Force is eternal." ―Sunset Prayer of the Guardians of the Whills [src]

The Force was the energy field that bound the galaxy together. Mystics and scholars had long debated the origins of the Force, such as where and when civilizations first became aware of its power, resulting in many answers and none that were considered definitive. Different species had their own names for the Force as well as their own metaphors for how they perceived it and techniques for learning its powers.[7]

The Force existed in two forms: the Living Force and the Cosmic Force. The Living Force represented the energies of all lifeforms, and those energies were fed into the Cosmic Force, which bound the galaxy together and communicated the will of the Force through midi-chlorians.[18] Though only certain individuals were Force-sensitive, the Force resided within all living things and could be extracted.[19] Because of this, Force-sensitives could feel a "disturbance in the Force" whenever there was a great loss of life. Droids, however, being mechanical creations, and thus possessing no midi-chlorians, could never sense the Force.[20]

The ability to use the Force could run in a family line. The twins Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker, children of the powerful Anakin Skywalker, were both Force-sensitive.[21] Organa later bore a Force-sensitive child, Ben, with Han Solo, who was not Force-sensitive.[22] Despite this, most Force-sensitives—who were born during the age of the Jedi Order—came from those who could not use the Force due to the Jedi Code's stance against attachment and relationships.[23] It was possible for siblings born to normal parents to not share a talent for Force sensitivity. Such was the case with Zare and Dhara Leonis. While Dhara from an early age could always sense her brother's presence, Zare never had this talent, nor any special abilities that could be attributed to the Force.[24]

Powers and abilities Edit

"The Force is not a power you have. It's not about lifting rocks. It's the energy between all things, a tension, a balance, that binds the universe together."

"Okay. But what is it?" ―Luke Skywalker and Rey [src]

Harnessing the Force gave the Jedi, the Sith, and others sensitive to the spiritual energy psychic abilities, such as telekinesis, mind control,[source?] the ability to sedate or induce sleep,[22] and the power to see the future.[7] In addition, Force-sensitives possessed quick reflexes due to their inherent ability to see things before they happen.[25] Their physical vitality, strength, mobility, and resilience could also be augmented by the Force, allowing them to crush objects with their bare hands, jump across great distances or survive injuries that would cripple and kill normal beings.[26]

While some Force techniques were practiced by those on either the dark side or the light, such as telekinesis, telepathy, extrasensory perception, and augmenting one's own physical abilities, certain powers could only be harnessed depending on the user's stance in the Force.[27] Jedi younglings were taught that the Force could be used for many purposes, including protection, persuasion, wisdom, the manipulation of matter, and the performance of great physical feats.[28]

Yet whereas the Jedi harnessed the light side's abilities through a mental state of peace and calmness,[7] the Sith relied on their passion for strength, granting them access to many abilities, some considered to be unnatural.[29] For instance, Force lightning was a dark side ability used to torture, disfigure, and kill one's victims.[27] Another example of the dark side's power was Force choke; by visualizing the ability with a claw-like or crushing hand gesture, the user could strangle a victim either to intimidate or kill them.[30] In contrast to the dark side, only the light granted the ability to preserve one's consciousness after death. Those who gained this power could become Force spirits—beings who achieved immortality by retaining their identities after becoming one with the Force.[31]

History Edit

Origins and early studies Edit

"All that surrounds us is the foundation of life, the birthplace of what your science calls midi-chlorians, the foundation of what connects the Living Force and the Cosmic Force. When a living thing dies, all is renewed. Life passes away from the Living Force into the Cosmic Force and becomes one with it. One powers the other. One is renewed by the other." ―Serenity [src]

The Force existed as a recorded concept in the galaxy for well over twenty-five thousand years prior to the era of the Galactic Civil War, with disparate schools of study evolving in parallel on countless planets.[32] The midi-chlorians, which connected the Living Force to the Cosmic Force and allowed a Force-sensitive individual to feel the will of the Force, originated on the Wellspring of Life.[33][34] Some believed that the origins of the Force came from Mortis.[12]

Over time, the Jedi Order became the most well-known organization that practiced the ways of the Force, although the galaxy hosted many other religions, orthodoxies, and observances even among those who did not exhibit control or manipulation of the energy field—such as the Guardians of the Whills,[32] who held the Jedi in high esteem.[35]

The Hundred-Year Darkness Edit

"Once we were brothers in the Force. But from the Hundred-Year Darkness were born the Sith." ―A Jedi [src]

Thousands of years before the Clone Wars,[36] the unity of the Jedi Order was fractured by a rogue Jedi who came to believe that the true power of the Force could only be reached through passion rather than the calmness of the Jedi way. The Jedi High Council at the time balked at this new direction, and the fallen Jedi was banished from the Order. Nevertheless, a group of renegade Jedi followed the rogue into exile,[37] resulting in a schism that gave way to the Hundred-Year Darkness and the rise of the Sith Order.[38]

As a result of the schism between the Jedi and the Sith, the Force came to be seen as divided between their two philosophies: the Jedi's selfless commitment to serving and defending others came to be regarded as the light side of the Force, whereas the Sith's use of emotion and violence became known as the dark side of the Force.[7]

The Force at war Edit

"You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!" ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Anakin Skywalker Listen (file info) [src]

As the schism between the Jedi and Sith grew, their open hostility eventually turned to open war both for control of the galaxy and to impose their own philosophy with regards to the Force. During the days of the Old Republic, the Sith and Jedi fought countless wars to destroy one another. Great battles were fought between the two warring orders, and various ways of using the Force were discovered but later lost. The Sith also took to sacrificing Jedi in ancient chambers on their homeworld of Moraband, places which would remain forever tainted with the darkness of the events that happened in there. The Sith also used these arts to create monsters, such as Sith snakes, which remained on Moraband until the days of the Clone Wars.[31]

The wars between the Sith and the Jedi raged for centuries, and several worlds of the galaxy were broken by their conflict, such as Moraband, which the Sith were eventually forced to abandon, and Malachor, the site of an enormous battle that left the planet scorched with no survivors on either side. The Sith tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords were also marked with the darkness of the deeds of those who had been buried there.

Both the Jedi and the Sith used lightsabers as their main weapons. These devices were powered by kyber crystals, special crystals with a strong connection to the Force. In addition to their study of the dark side, the Sith also took to building superweapons of power sufficient to destroy an entire planet. They would sometimes use giant kyber crystals to power these weapons.[39] As such, gaining control of the source of the kyber crystals (which had a strong connection to the Force) was vital to both sides of the conflict.[40][41]

Eventually, in the waning days of the Old Republic, the Sith had practically destroyed themselves through infighting, and the Jedi finally emerged victorious. A new galactic government, the Galactic Republic, emerged from the ruins of the previous regime and, with the Jedi as their guardians and advisors, expanded throughout the galaxy while beginning an age of peace and prosperity which would last for a thousand years.[42][43][23]

However, despite the Jedi's victory and the fact that the Force was now dominated by their light-side philosophy, the Sith secretly survived. Darth Bane emerged as the sole surviving Sith Lord and, realizing that the Sith's defeat had come from their infighting and greed, created a new guiding principle for their Order known as the Rule of Two: instead of several, there would now only be two Sith Lords; a Master, who possessed the power, and an apprentice, who craved it. As such, the infighting of the past would no longer occur,[31] and the Sith could regain their power in secret until the time was right for them to have their revenge on the Jedi and reclaim the rule of the galaxy.[29] Although the Jedi eventually discovered that Bane had survived, they believed that, upon his death, the Sith were truly extinct.[44]

During the latter years of the Republic, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn discovered the prophesied Chosen One in the form of a human child named Anakin Skywalker, whose potential in the Force surpassed all known Jedi including Grand Master Yoda.[25] His raw strength in the Force—honed by Jedi training and wartime experiences—made Skywalker one of the most powerful Jedi Knights by the time of the Clone Wars. At the height of the war, however, Skywalker was seduced by the dark side of the Force through the machinations of Darth Sidious.[29] As a result, he betrayed the Jedi and helped the newly formed Galactic Empire hunt them to near extinction as Darth Vader.[43]

Promise of Lira San Edit

"And it is through your Force, our Ashla, that the prophecy comes. It is written and it is spoken. The promise of Lira San will follow the fate of The Three. The fool, simple and selfish, he would lead. The warrior, bold and bloodthirsty, to hunt the hope of tomorrow. The child, to destroy him! We will find our new home only if the child saves the warrior and the fool." ―Chava [src]

Following the Fall of Lasan, Lasat mystic Chava the Wise and former High Honor Guard Gron discovered a prophecy in the Lasat's ancient writing. They embarked on a journey to find Lira San, believing their quest was foretold by the Force, or "Ashla" as they called it.[45] Three years before the Battle of Yavin, Chava and Gron were captured by the Empire. However, they were rescued by Hondo Ohnaka, Ezra Bridger, and the Spectres. Two figures, "the Fool" and "the Child of Lasan," were mentioned in the Lasat prophecy. Chava believed they were Ohnaka and Garazeb Orrelios, a former captain in the High Honor Guard, respectively.[45]

Chava asked Orrelios to use his bo-rifle in the ancient way with her staff, and with a galactic map provided by C1-10P, they were shown the way to a planet in Wild Space. Believing this world to be the legendary Lira San, they attempted to reach it but were forced to exist hyperspace due to a black hole. Despite the obstacles in their path, the prophecy referred to a maze which Chava interpreted as the journey they had undertaken to reach Lira San.[45]

When confronted by an Imperial light cruiser, Chava saw its commanding officer, ISB Agent Alexsandr Kallus, as "the Warrior" in the prophecy. Refusing to surrender to Kallus, the Spectres used Orrelios' bo-rifle to guide their starship, the Ghost, into the star cluster. Against Kallus' expectations, the Ghost safely navigated the gravity field and ultimately reached the location of Lira San. Chava and Gron settled on the planet, where they found other Lasat refugees, although Orrelios elected to remain with the Spectres and continue fighting the Empire.[45]

Purge and prophecy Edit

"You are the Chosen One. You have brought balance to this world. Stay on this path, and you will do it again for the galaxy. But beware… your… heart…" ―The Father, to Anakin Skywalker [src]

The Jedi Order was all but annihilated during the era of the Galactic Empire.[43] Although a few Jedi escaped the initial purge, the survivors dispersed into hiding while Sidious consolidated his reign as Galactic Emperor.[29] The Empire made an effort to thoroughly erase the memory of the Jedi from the minds of the general population.[43] The Church of the Force operated as an underground movement, preserving faith in the supernatural,[4] but belief in the Force waned and was doubted by skeptics such as Han Solo. Members of the Empire's military hierarchy regarded the Force as the basis of an ancient religion that had no place in the New Order.[43] Sometime after the Battle of Atollon and during their time working together, Grand Admiral Thrawn told Vader that the Chiss Ascendancy,[47] a mysterious empire[48] from the Unknown Regions that Thrawn came from, used Force-sensitives as navigators due to their lack of navigation computers. The Chiss knew the Force as the Sight, and their Force-sensitives were overwhelmingly female, though they would grow out of their sensitivity after childhood.[47]

Although Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin was a veteran of the Clone Wars, and had therefore witnessed the Jedi's use of the Force,[49] he simply believed that the order was extinct and Vader was merely the last of the Jedi religion.[43] Ultimately, the prophecy of the Chosen One was fulfilled when Vader killed Sidious in order to protect his son, Luke Skywalker, who followed the Jedi path like his father before him. Having fulfilled his destiny at the cost of his life, Anakin Skywalker died and became one with the Force. Through his final actions, the Sith were destroyed and balance was restored to the Force, with Luke emerging as the last of the Jedi in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor.[21]

Legacy of the Force Edit

"Darkness rises, and light to meet it." ―Snoke [src]

Although the Jedi prophecy foretold that the Chosen One would herald the destruction of the Sith, it never predicted the end of the dark side of the Force.[50] With balance restored to the Force, Luke Skywalker gradually endeavored to rebuild the order that had been decimated by his father and the Emperor. Recruiting over a dozen students to train in the ways of the Force, he became the Jedi Master to a new generation of Jedi. One of Skywalker's acolytes was his nephew, Ben Solo, in whom he saw the raw strength of the Force.[51] Skywalker hoped that by passing his knowledge to Solo, the order would once again thrive and he would not die as the last Jedi.[52]

However, Solo's inherent strength was noticed by another powerful practitioner of the Force—Supreme Leader Snoke, ruler of the First Order.[51] Although Snoke was not a Sith Lord, he was strong with the dark side of the Force.[50] Intrigued by the potential that Solo inherited from his grandfather, Darth Vader, he induced the young Jedi to embrace the dark side. Skywalker sensed the darkness rising in his apprentice's heart and nearly gave into the temptation of killing Solo before his future as a dark warrior came to pass. As a result, Solo felt betrayed by his master and proceeded to destroy his Jedi training temple by burning it, killing most of the apprentices. Skywalker survived the destruction, which he felt responsible for, and went into self-imposed exile out of shame for his part in Solo's fall.[52]

Having rejected both his family and the legacy of the Jedi, Solo renounced his birth name and adopted the identity of Kylo Ren—apprentice to the Supreme Leader, warlord and champion of the First Order,[53] and master of the Knights of Ren.[22] But in gaining the former Ben Solo as a disciple, Snoke was concerned that his apprentice's equal in the light would rise as Ren grew stronger in the darkness. Believing Skywalker would be the light's champion, the Supreme Leader hoped that Ren would grow powerful enough to kill his uncle, and therefore, complete the purge that his grandfather began. Snoke had been wrong, however. The one who rose to meet Ren's darkness with light was not Skywalker, but a scavenger from Jakku named Rey. Her encounter with Ren awakened her long-dormant connection to the Force which, combined with Ren's inner conflict, allowed the untrained scavenger to triumph over the dark warrior[52] during the Battle of Starkiller Base.[22]

Ren recovered from his defeat[51] but was castigated by his master[53] for becoming unbalanced and losing to an opponent with no prior experience in lightsaber combat.[52] As he worked to regain his master's faith,[53] Ren discovered that a Force-bond had been formed between himself and Rey, allowing them to commune with each other across the galaxy.[51] The bond became increasingly powerful as their connections grew more frequent,[52] giving Rey insights into Ren's inner turmoil and pain.[50] After touching hands through the Force, Rey confronted Ren in person with the intention of turning him back to the light.[52] Her arrival resulted in Ren betraying Snoke, assassinating him and later claiming his throne.[51] He wanted to rule the galaxy with Rey,[52] but she rejected his offer and returned to her allies in the Resistance. During the Battle of Crait, the new Supreme Leader was confronted by his former master. Skywalker projected his appearance on Crait from his actual location on Ahch-To, and although the effort led to his death,[51] his stand against the First Order served to inspire hope across the galaxy.[52] One year after the start of the First Order–Resistance war,[22] the Sith's rebirth was prevented, as Rey killed Darth Sidious, who had been resurrected after his death during the Battle of Endor[26] by transferring his consciousness to a clone body,[55] and the Resistance and citizens' fleet defeated the Final Order.[26]

Force-based orders Edit

Throughout the galaxy, various organizations either practiced[25] or followed the Force.[4] These factions included both the Jedi and Sith Orders,[25] as well as the Inquisitorius[56] and the Knights of Ren.[22] In addition, the Dagoyan Order was also composed of Force-sensitives,[19] while the Nightsisters of Dathomir wielded dark-side magick.[57] The Church of the Force,[4] the Guardians of the Whills,[32] the Frangawl Cult,[19] and the Lasat mystics[58] were examples of a group that worshiped the Force or some aspect of it.[4]

Behind the scenes Edit

"…May the force of others be with you all." ―Kayos [src]

The concept of The Force first appears in the rough draft of what would become 'A New Hope,' where it is referred to as "The Force of Others" and is first uttered by King Kayos. The second draft goes into more detail describing The Force of Others as consisting of two halves; "Ashla, the good, and Bogan the paraforce or evil part."[59]

These terms would later be introduced into canon in Star Wars Rebels; first by the Lasat Chava who refers to the "Ashla" as "the spirit of the galaxy."[60] Later the Lasat Zeb Orrelios would use "bogen" as a derogatory terms for Dokma.[61] Finally, Bendu (another word originating from the early drafts) to refer to the Ashla and Bogan both as names for the light and dark sides of the force, respectively.[62]

The leitmotif of the Force is called Binary Sunset. In The Clone Wars, a deep rumble was typically used as the sound effect for the dark side of the Force. In Star Wars Rebels, a high-pitched tone likened to wind is used as the sound effect for the light side of the Force.[63]

Appearances Edit

Non-canon appearances Edit

Sources Edit

Notes and references Edit