Light side of the Force

The Jedi Order, who sought to uphold peace and justice throughout the galaxy, were the foremost advocates and instructors of the light side. They recognized the dangers of the dark side of the Force and actively opposed its usage, viewing it as a source of corruption and a violation of the universe's natural order. The Sith, who the Jedi aimed to eliminate to maintain the Force's balance, were regarded as the dark side's masters. The Force was crucial to the Jedi's use of a lightsaber, granting them heightened awareness, incredibly fast reflexes, and the ability to foresee future events. This prevented self-injury during combat and allowed them to deflect blaster fire with their lightsabers. Jedi used the Force during lightsaber construction, both to assemble the intricate parts and to initially charge the power cell.

With enough experience, a Jedi could achieve a vast array of feats through the light side, a potential not limited to Jedi alone, but available to any Force-sensitive individual. The Jedi used their powers to expand their knowledge, contrasting with their ancient adversaries, the Sith. While the Sith sought galactic domination, the Jedi employed their powers to defend the galaxy and guide its course, although this distinction wasn't always clear. Many harbored distrust towards the Jedi Order's significant influence over the leaders of the Old Republic.

The light side of the Force was associated with happiness, joy, love, benevolence, or simply calmness, which some believed fostered the light side and provided insight into its ethical applications. It generally focused on goodness, generosity, healing, and wisdom, as opposed to evil, harm, and rash judgment. Practitioners often meditated to clear themselves of emotions, particularly negative ones like aggression, anger, and hatred, as these could lead to the dark side. This led to conflicting interpretations, with some works emphasizing a calm, emotionless, and even unfeeling view of the light side, while others linked it to positive emotions.

The light side was viewed as both an impersonal intelligence and an essence of good. Bastila Shan described it as actively influencing events, leading Jedi to see themselves as mere "tools" of the Force. However, when questioned about whether this negated free will, Shan argued that it represented "the ultimate free will," explaining that while the Force indicated a Jedi's destiny, it didn't force obedience, and the choices made along the way remained the individual's own.

Since Ashla originally referred to the Force itself before becoming exclusive to the light side, it could imply that the light side represents the Force's "normal" state. This perspective was not shared by the Potentium followers who, according to Jedi orthodoxy (which labeled it a misinterpretation), claimed that since the Force was inherently good, the dark side was not evil either. However, the Force-being known as the Father suggested that an excess of the light side could be as detrimental as an excess of the dark side. Indeed, some works have depicted the light side as capable of causing harm to the same extremes as the dark side, as exemplified by Darth Gravid, whose devotion to the light side ultimately drove him insane.

While some Sith acknowledged the light side's benevolent aspects, most dismissed it as weak, ineffective, or an unnatural suppression of emotions and restriction of free will, justifying their embrace of the dark side. Several Gray Jedi sought to balance both sides, believing that complete submission to either light or dark was detrimental to the Force-user.

The light side of the Force was generally more difficult to use than the dark side, especially in combat, because dark side Force powers were primarily aggressive and easily fueled by anger or hatred. This allowed darksiders to progress more quickly, but they were not inherently more powerful than the lightsiders. Light-sided Force abilities were almost exclusively defensive, passive, or utility-focused. While some light side abilities could enhance strength or courage, or incapacitate enemies, few were truly destructive (with exceptions like Electric Judgment, Sever Force, and Combustion, as well as certain applications of Alter Environment, Battle Meditation, Force Light, and Telekinesis).

• Alter Environment
• Animal bond
• Battlemind
• Beam of light
• Combustion
• Cure Disease
• Cure Poison
• Droid Disable
• Electric Judgment
• Force Enlightenment
• Force healing
• Force Light
• Force meld
• Force Stun
• Force valor
• Hibernation trance
• Malacia
• Morichro
• Plant Surge
• Protection bubble
• Revitalize
• Sever Force
• Shatterpoint
• Transfer Force
• Tutaminis
• Wall of light

Most individuals who tapped into the light side of the Force were familiar with its calming effects. Jedi strove to maintain composure at all times, even in situations that would typically induce extreme stress. They possessed the ability to pacify animals, including people, and to uplift morale through mental influence alone. Nearly every light side user experienced the tempting lure of the dark side at some point, but most utilized the light side's abilities to regain their inner peace. The following are examples of Force users who employed these techniques:

• Revan , when Bastila Shan , as a Sith apprentice, implored him to return to his former role as Dark Lord of the Sith.
• Ki-Adi-Mundi , upon rescuing his daughter from Jabba the Hutt.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi , following the death of Qui-Gon Jinn at the hands of Darth Maul.
• Luke Skywalker , during his duel with his father, Darth Vader, before declaring himself a Jedi.
• Ben Skywalker , when Sith Saber Gavar Khai betrayed Ben's father, Luke.
• Kyle Katarn , when Jerec reminded him of killing his father.
• Jaden Korr , when he confronted Rosh Penin after discovering his betrayal of the Jedi Order.
• Cade Skywalker , during his duel with Darth Krayt, remained steadfast in his Jedi principles.

An ancient prophecy spoke of an individual destined to restore balance to the Force and eliminate the Sith. Many believed this to be Anakin Skywalker, whose blood contained the highest concentration of midi-chlorians ever measured by the Jedi Council. Discovered on Tatooine by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin demonstrated exceptional Force abilities without prior training. His participation in podraces, which demanded incredible reflexes achievable only by Force-sensitive Humans, served as a prime example. After joining the Jedi Order, Anakin progressed rapidly due to his strong connection to the Force but, influenced by Darth Sidious, he succumbed to the dark side and became Darth Vader. However, Anakin ultimately fulfilled his destiny as the Chosen One by embracing the light side once more and destroying his master to safeguard his son. Anakin sustained fatal injuries during this act and passed away shortly thereafter. His death restored balance to the Force by eliminating both Sith, Sidious and himself, although the Sith would eventually resurface.

Ashla was the name assigned to the light side of the Force in the second draft of the A New Hope script and was later established as a canon term for "the positive energy of the universe" that would come to be known as the Force in the Expanded Universe through the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook. The New Essential Chronology revealed that Ashla was the early Jedi's term for the light side.

The Power of the Jedi Sourcebook asserts that the Potentium (the belief that the Force is unified and its sides are merely a matter of choosing Force powers) is a flawed and misguided philosophy, thus being the first source to establish from the official perspective that the Jedi Orthodox philosophy reflects the true nature of the Force.

The term "light side" of the Force is never explicitly used in the films themselves. Its usage is confined to sources within the Expanded Universe.