Canon Lightsaber Colors And Their Meanings
“The weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”
The lightsaber is easily the most recognizable weapon throughout all cinema history. Since their inclusion in the very first Star Wars movie, companies have spent decades recreating them for fans to collect. No matter what type you own, whether it be the plastic "flick out" or the fully electronic life-like ones, holding one in your hand is enough to convince any fan they are a Jedi or Sith (depending on your point of view).
Throughout the original trilogy we see the well known blue and red sabers, with green being introduced in Return of the Jedi, but there are actually more colors than many realize. They represent more than just distinguish which side of the Force the wielder follows. The saber's color is determined by the kyber crystal housed within the handle or the hilt.
The expanded universe of books, comics, and games have introduced a plethora of colors. However, with the release of Disney's sequel trilogy, many have been removed from canon and relegated to "Legends". Despite that, there are still variations which remain canon. Today we are going to look at the different lightsaber colors still out there and what some of them mean for the character wielding them.
Blue
Starting us off today, is the most common lightsaber color: blue. While not the only color used by the Jedi, it is easily the most associated with them and the one seen on screen the most It is said the blue color represents righteousness and bravery, ideals associated heavily with the Jedi Order, along with the user's "spiritual alignment" with the crystal. Some of the most famous characters in the franchise wielded a blue lightsaber, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker (the same saber which is then used by Luke Skywalker), and Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi. Interestingly, in Legends, the color is also used to designate a Jedi Guardian, or Jedi who focuses on martial training and combat.
Green
The second most common color of saber throughout the franchise is green. Again, like the blue saber, it is highly associated with the Jedi. The color represents concord, harmony, cooperation, and goodwill. Throughout the franchise, users of the green saber are usually Jedi deemed to be more senior and wiser such as Master Yoda, Qui-Gonn Jinn, and Master Luminara Unduli. Luke Skywalker would also wield a green saber in Return of the Jedi (the color's debut), one he built himself between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Its completion signaled that he had all but completed his Jedi training and was truly a wise Jedi like those who proceeded him. In Legends, the green saber is also used to designate a Jedi Consular, who concentrate on nonviolent use of the Force in mediation and diplomacy.
Purple
My own personal favorite color. It is actually quite rare to see a user wield a purple lightsaber. First introduced in Attack of the Clones, this particular color is associated with Master Mace Windu. Fans of Star Wars will no doubt know that the color was actually a special request by Samuel L. Jackson as it is his favorite color, and he wanted to also stand out during the Battle of Geonosis. Lucas was only too happy to give the veteran actor what he wanted. After all, he IS Samuel L. Jackson.
As Mace Windu is the only character on screen thus far to wield the purple lightsaber, there is not much canonical information in regards to its meaning. However the expanded universe does give us some back story. Purple is said to indicate uncertainty and moral ambiguity for its user. With it being a mix of red and blue, it showed the user teetering on the edge of both the light side and dark side of the Force.
Thanks to other media focusing on the character of Mace Windu, we learn his specific fighting style does involve elements of tapping into the dark side of the Force, so having this color associated with him makes total sense. Other users associated with a purple saber are the Legends characters Mara Jade and Darth Revan, who, interestingly, did embrace the dark side for a time. If you saw someone coming at you with one of these sabers, you knew you were in trouble.
Yellow
The yellow lightsaber has made one brief appearance in the movies so far. However, it did feature heavily throughout the The Clone Wars series. It was widely used by the Jedi Temple guards on Coruscant. It does not really have any significance other than to distinguish a guard of the temple. Notably it has also been used by Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress at various points throughout their history. In the widely criticized Rise of Skywalker, Rey is shown to have made herself a new yellow lightsaber from the staff she was using in The Force Awakens. In Legends, when the ancient Jedi Jaden Korr purified a red kyber crystal, it turned yellow.
Orange
Orange is actually one of the newer colors to be shown in canon. It makes its debut in the video game Jedi: Fallen Order. Like the purple saber, these were exceedingly rare, especially after the fall of the Jedi Order. Also, like the yellow saber, there is not much significance to the color. The color is not totally unique to the Jedi. Many dark side users would wield an orange saber, which makes sense considering it is close to the red color widely associated with the Sith. Other than being an optional lightsaber color for Cal Kestis to use in Fallen Order, it has yet to be seen on screen being used by anyone else.
White
White is another exceedingly rare lightsaber color, and is associated with the character Ahsoka Tano. After her departure from the Jedi Order, Ahsoka defeated an Inquisitor called the Sixth Brother during the Imperial occupation of Raada, and took his saber. Ahsoka was then able to purify the crystal contained within his saber, transforming it from its classic red to white. She would use it to power both her lightsabers. This very rare talent proved that Ahsoka had really strong Force abilities, some of the strongest ever to be used as purifying a kyber crystal was no easy feat.
The white color of her lightsabers also signified the fact that she had no affiliation to either the Jedi or Sith, making her a truly neutral character. She used these sabers during the Rebels series and in her live action debut in The Mandalorian.
Red
Red sabers, like blue, made their debut in A New Hope as the color of blade used by the Darth Vader. They are widely associated with the Sith and other dark side users. Interestingly, unlike many other colors, red is not a naturally occurring crystal color. Unlike the Jedi who are able to connect with their crystal, in order to craft their own lightsaber, a Sith would have to steal the kyber crystal from a Jedi and "bleed" it. This process involves the dark side practitioner pouring all their hate, fear, and other negative emotions into the crystal, "bleeding" it and turning it red.
Thanks to the Marvel Darth Vader comic series by Charles Soule, we actually get a back story showing how Vader created his famous blade. We saw him kill an Order 66 Jedi survivor and perform the bleeding process. In addition to Vader, other famous Sith users of the red blade on screen include Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and even Palpatine himself.
Black
The black saber is a very unique color. At this time, there is only one black saber in existence, the Darksaber. While technically not a lightsaber in the traditional sense, it still functions the exact same way as one. The Darksaber was created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, and featured heavily throughout Clone Wars, and made its live action debut in The Mandalorian along with Ahsoka's white blades. It is shorter than a traditional lightsaber, and the blade is shaped more like a sword than the solid cylindrical shape we are accustomed to. Following the demise of Tarre Vizsla, the blade was housed in the Jedi Temple before being stolen by members of House Vizsla. It became a symbol of leadership amongst the people of Mandalore.
It was said whoever owns the blade can rightfully declare themselves leader of the people, but the only way it could be obtained is to defeat its previous owner (Maybe it should have been called the Elder Saber. Points to those who get the reference).
As mentioned previously, the above are not the only lightsaber colors to exist in the Star Wars universe, but these are the ones still deemed to be canon. Within Legends, there exist even more colors such as, cyan, gold and silver. As we get more and more new Star Wars content, it remains to be seen whether any of these additional colors will make the jump to canon.
Which is your favorite color? What colors would you like to see be included in canon? Be sure to let us know.
Until next time!
Source: Screen Rant