Dark side of the Force

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"But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression…the dark side of the Force are they, easily they flow… If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will…"

―Yoda —

Listen (file info)^[src]

Dark Side symbol — Ancient symbol of the dark side of the Force

The dark side of the Force, also known as Bogan,^[1] was an aspect of the Force.^[2] Individuals who used the dark side drew their power from more intense, raw and darker emotions such as fear, anger, hatred,^[3] passion,^[4] and aggression.^[5] The Sith were perhaps the most well known practitioners of the dark side, and were the mortal enemies of the Jedi Order, who served the light side of the Force.^[3] There were others, such as the Inquisitorius and the Knights of Ren who, though not Sith, could draw upon the power of the dark side.^[6]^[7]

Definition

"It's called the dark side of the Force because it's secretive. That's all. The Sith kept their knowledge and identities hidden—in the dark, see? They thought it made it easier to impose order."

―Lona Aphra to her daughter, Chelli Lona Aphra^[src]

Despite the leanings of its practitioners, such as the Sith, the dark side of the Force was so-named because it was secretive. The Sith kept their knowledge and identities secret because they believed it would make it easier for them to impose order.^[8]

Description

Anakin Skywalker CotR — Seduced by the dark side, Anakin Skywalker ceased to exist and became Darth Vader.

Although Jedi were taught to follow the light side of the Force, the dark side was considered seductive, and a Jedi had to maintain vigilance in order to avoid falling to the dark side.^[5] Anakin Skywalker was a powerful Jedi who, partly through the machinations of the Sith Lord Sidious, succumbed to temptation and began practicing the dark side, becoming the famous Sith Lord known as Darth Vader.^[4] Even a Jedi raised in the traditions of the Jedi Order from birth could quickly be corrupted by the lure of the dark side in certain situations. Despite this, while the Jedi often described the dark side as a "quick and easy path," drawing upon its power did not necessarily come with ease or without cost to those who possessed strong compassion and were not used to drawing upon feelings such as hatred.^[9]

Use of the dark side of the Force granted certain abilities that wielders of the light side had no access to, such as possession^[10]^[11] and the ability to manipulate Force visions^[12]. Other dark side powers were purely offensive in nature like Force Lightning and given the fact that Yoda emphasized that using the force to hurt or destroy was of the dark side, at the least using powers like Telekinesis to directly harm someone (as when Darth Vader choked people) draws one to the dark side even if it isn't a strictly dark side ability. Dark side power could also be used to alter life and could, according to legend, be used to manipulate midi-chlorians to create life or keep someone from dying.^[4] The dark-side historian and Sith cultist Yupe Tashu told Wedge Antilles on Akiva that some Sith Lords were able to siphon the Force from their captives in order to extend their own lives for centuries beyond their natural expiration.^[13] Dark side abilities were considered by some to be "unnatural".^[4]

The power of the dark side was penetrating and pernicious. The Jedi Temple was built on top of an ancient Sith shrine and, unbeknownst to the Jedi, the power of the dark side seeped upwards through the Temple from the shrine, slowly weakening the Jedi over a millennium.^[14]

KyloRen-KRSS — Kylo Ren was Darth Vader's grandson and the archetype of a new generation of dark side warriors.

The dark side of the Force was considered highly corrupting. The Jedi Grand Master Yoda, for example, believed that a Force adept who had embraced the dark side would be fated to forever continue down the path of evil,^[5] a view he espoused despite having personally witnessed the redemption of at least two individuals who were at one time deeply steeped in the dark side.^[9] Anakin Skywalker also proved an exception, as he overcame his past actions to save his son, Luke, and kill the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.^[15] Yoda taught that the dark side of the Force was not stronger than the light side of the Force but rather merely "quicker, easier, more seductive." He also stated that the dark side stemmed from emotions such as anger, fear, and aggression and that these emotions were quick to join one in combat.^[5]

Additionally, the use of the dark side by somebody with generally good intentions in a moment of weakness could leave that individual feeling weak and shivery, with a general feeling of wrongness. This was once experienced by Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger when he once unconsciously drew upon the power of the dark side to summon a massive fyrnock to attack the Grand Inquisitor.^[16]

If the presence of the dark side was significantly powerful, nearby Force-sensitives often feel the sensation of cold. This happened on several occasions to Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus in the presence of Darth Vader, and also occurred when Luke sensed the dark energy emanating from the Cave of Evil on Dagobah.^[5]^[17] Extensive use of the dark side could leave an entire planet corrupted by its energy. Dathomir was one such place that was heavily steeped in the dark side.^[9]

Darth Sidious believed that the source of his dark side power was the universe beyond the edges of the known galaxy.^[13]