Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/March 24, 2011

Traditionally, Sith magic, also known as Sith sorcery, was an arcane expression of Force ability first developed and practiced by the original Sith species through which they manipulated the power of the dark side. The very name of the Sith was adopted by the Dark Jedi Exiles of the Hundred-Year Darkness, who combined Sith mysticism with their own experiments into dark side power to create even more strange rituals and alchemical sciences. Sith magic, while as much a part of the dark side as endowments like Force lightning, was accessible only to those Force-sensitives who possessed an intrinsic relationship with the dark side. Through the recitation of spells, execution of hand gestures, and or the handling of various artifacts, darksiders were able to channel the raw power of the Force's malignant side to warp minds, alter the environment, and obliterate whatever obstacles stood in their way. Males who achieved mastery were known as Sith sorcerers, mages, magicians, or wizards, while females who practiced Sith sorcery were referred to as Sith sorceresses or witches.

Sith magic was prevalent among the citizens of the ancient Sith Empire, and its disciplines were adhered to throughout the span of galactic history, predating even the inception of the longstanding Galactic Republic. Its effectiveness in battle was realized during the Great Hyperspace War of 5,000 BBY, up to and beyond the Great Sith War a thousand years later. Proponents of Sith magic revived its practice briefly during the New Sith Wars, but it became something of an oddity following the reformation of the Republic in 1,000 BBY. By then, a lone Sith apprentice was its only active student. Still, the allure of Sith magic survived through the fall of the Republic in 19 BBY and the subsequent Galactic Civil War, and curious Force-sensitives learned to harness its power from obscure temples on long-forgotten planets and moons. By 137 ABY, the magic of the Sith was studied by the foremost loremasters of Darth Krayt's One Sith Order.