The unique lightsabers the Jedi and Sith wield might be the most iconic images in the entire Star Wars series. Disney even promoted its highly-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series on social media with images featuring his iconic blue lightsaber. Just seeing Darth Vader and Obi-Wan's lightsabers instantly calls back to some of the most captivating duels from the Skywalker Saga.

Memorable moments in the Star Wars franchise are usually illuminated by the flashing colors of the iconic weapon. Eight official hues have been introduced across the various sagas. Games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order allowed players to pick their own impressive colors that further expanded the available hues, but fans may be left wondering what all the lightsaber colors actually mean.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on April 1, 2024: The Star Wars franchise is expanding into new and unprecedented directions, with a string of new films and Disney+ original series set to explore different eras in the galaxy, both before The Phantom Menace and after The Rise of Skywalker. Even as the franchise explores new territory, some things forever remain the same, including Star Wars fans' love of lightsabers, which come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

Blue Is The Color Of Skilled Force Users

One of the most familiar lightsaber colors, blue is used by characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (during his time as a Jedi Knight). Jedi Guardians who exhibited a skill with the Force that supplemented their own lightsaber skills generally employed a blue lightsaber blade. This color helped signify that Obi-Wan was one of the strongest Jedi.

Jedi Knights who were skilled in the Force like the Guardians could utilize their talent during battle, by throwing objects, intercepting projectiles, and tripping up their opponents. Jedi who were ready to fight on the frontline generally used the blue lightsaber blade to denote their place as Guardians.

Green Is The Philosopher's Blade

While green lightsabers were also frequently seen on the field of battle alongside blue blades, they symbolized a different quality. Green lightsabers were often wielded by Jedi Consulars, deep thinkers, and philosophers who studied the inner workings of the Force.

Qui-Gon Jinn and Yoda both used green lightsabers and challenged the establishment in their study of the Force. Luke Skywalker also upgraded to a green blade after he became a Jedi Master and learned more about the Force in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The blade color tends to signify a certain sense of enlightenment for those who wield it.

Red Is The Color Of The Sith

Sith Lords like Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and the Grand Inquisitor all wielded red lightsaber blades. The Jedi had restricted the use of Kyber crystals for dark-side users, which led the Sith to create synthetic crystals that emitted the iconic red hue. This identified them among other Force users for their choice to tap into the dark side.

Some red-bladed lightsabers were created using ancient dark rituals on Jedi crystals that tainted them to make the energy "bleed." The dazzling crimson lightsaber blade contributed to quite a few of Darth Vader's scariest moments nad has been the color of choice for the vast majority of Sith throughout the history of the Star Wars galaxy.

Purple Represents Balance

One of the more recent additions to Star Wars' iconic weaponry is the purple-bladed lightsaber. When Samuel L. Jackson joined the cast of the prequel trilogy, he requested his favorite color for his lightsaber, which also allowed his character to stand out among groups of Jedi onscreen. The Expanded Universe introduced incredibly rare purple Kyber crystals to explain the lightsaber, and they expanded the lore later to reveal a deeper meaning.

The purple blade represented a perfect balance between the blue and red lightsabers, which represented the Jedi's understanding of the light and dark sides of the Force. Mace Windu was able to withstand the temptations of the dark side while continuing to study the light, which earned him his unique status and sword.

Yellow Is The Color For More Personal Jedi

A Jedi Sentinel blended the different schools of thought followed by the Guardians and the Consulars. This resulted in a new faction that chose yellow-bladed lightsabers. Jedi Sentinels sometimes relied on skills beyond their mastery of the Force to work closely with the people who needed them.

Jedi Temples were often guarded by Sentinels, who carried yellow double-bladed lightsabers. Rey Skywalker's new lightsaber blade was also yellow, representing her desire to work closely with people by using the other skills she gained in her mission. She was also tasked with protecting the ideals she had learned from the lost temple of the Jedi.

Orange Is A Mysterious Lightsaber Color

Orange lightsabers have been around for quite a long time, but they've recently become a part of pop-cultural discourse. Given how rare these lightsabers are, even the most devoted fans of Star Wars have no idea exactly what this hue signifies. In Legends content, they were wielded by "gray" Force users who identified as neither Jedi nor Sith. Despite that, several prominent Jedi have used it in non-Canon stories: notably Yaddle and Plo Koon.

The color has taken on far darker connotations since the Ahsoka series: wielded by the villainous Baylon Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati. Although there was a bit of confusion regarding the exact color — some viewers believed these lightsabers were a different shade of red — showrunner Dave Filoni has confirmed they were orange. That said, it's possible that orange lightsabers indicate that someone is somehow trapped between the opposing sides of the Force, and while Skoll and Hati are most certainly Dark Side adherents, they do not belong to the Sith. It has yet to be seen how or whether their lightsabers are connected to their proclivities.

White Is The Color Of Purified Kyber Crystals

The Imperial Knights of the Fel Empire were some of the first to use white lightsaber blades in Star Wars Legends continuity. They were Force-trained warriors who rejected the accepted beliefs of the light and dark sides before they were wiped out. However, former Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano also wielded a pair of white-bladed lightsabers after the Clone Wars.

Ahsoka created her white lightsabers after she chose to fight for the Force on her own, proving her strength even after she all but abandoned the Jedi Order. Tano purified the red crystals from the lightsabers of Imperial Inquisitors she defeated to create her lightsabers, which she wields during the events of the Ahsoka limited series.

Black Is The Color Of The Darksaber

While there are a few unique lightsabers in the Star Wars universe, there is only one Darksaber with a black-hued energy blade. The Darksaber was created by the only Mandalorian to join the Jedi Order, Tarre Vizsla. The Darksaber features a flat, black blade, much shorter than a typical lightsaber, housed in a hilt made from the Mandalorian metal beskar.

The Darksaber is also unique because of the mental connection its wielder has to forge with it to wield the blade properly. It has been handed down for generations by the rulers of Mandalore. The Darksaber has been wielded by characters like Bo-Katan, Darth Maul, Moff Gideon, and Din Djarin from The Mandalorian.

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