Gray Jedi

The Je'daii Order, the earliest organized Force practitioners, strived to maintain equilibrium between light and dark. Following an attack by the Infinite Empire, a division emerged, leading to the formation of the Jedi and Sith as we know them. This subsequently ignited the Force Wars, the initial conflict between philosophies centered on the light and dark sides.

During the era of the Old Republic, the Jedi Order operated in a largely decentralized manner. In this period, Jedi training academies were scattered across the galaxy. Additionally, Jedi received instruction from individual Masters without attending an academy. This decentralized structure allowed individuals to be accepted into the Order, trained, and knighted without ever visiting the galactic capital, Coruscant. Unlike the Jedi of later times, those of this era were often fractious and resistant to centralized authority, namely the Jedi High Council.

However, spanning from the beginning of the Great Sith War in 4000 BBY to the conclusion of the Dark Wars in 3951 BBY, the Jedi experienced a dramatic decline from the zenith of their power to a mere shadow of their former selves. As war repeatedly engulfed the galaxy, certain Jedi became convinced that a strong central authority was essential. The Council, including members such as Vrook Lamar and Atris, revised the Jedi Code to consolidate their control over the Jedi Order and impose stricter standards of conduct on its members. Despite the Council's efforts, not all Jedi adhered to the revised Code. Some objected to several of the new restrictions, such as those prohibiting the training of any Jedi hopeful over the age of four, preventing Jedi from having families, and restricting the use of Force abilities associated with the dark side. These individuals frequently clashed with the Jedi Council, and were known as Gray Jedi to both the Jedi and the Sith.

The Jedi Padawan Jolee Bindo served the Galactic Republic during the Great Sith War against the Sith Lord Exar Kun, who sought to usher in a new Golden Age of the Sith. Following the war's conclusion in 3996 BBY, Bindo left the Jedi Order and became a Gray Jedi. In 3956 BBY, Bindo once again became involved in significant galactic events, joining the amnesiac Jedi Revan and fighting against Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Malak's Sith Empire until the end of the Jedi Civil War, after which he was officially recognized by the Galactic Republic for his actions. Some Old Republic Gray Jedi wore custom, gray robes. Bindo once wore a unique version of these robes.

During the Cold War between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire, shortly after the implementation of the Treaty of Coruscant in 3653 BBY, the Voss species was discovered on the planet of the same name. Voss society, isolated in the mountain-top fortress of Voss-Ka, was led by the totalitarian control of the Voss Mystics, who were considered to be Gray by the Jedi and the Sith. Led by the visions of the Mystics, the Voss had been defending their capital city from the assault of the hostile Gormak species for centuries before they revealed themselves to the larger galaxy by foiling occupation plots by both the Republic and the Empire. Both galactic governments then established embassies in Voss-Ka. The Voss Mystics rejected the offering of teaching from the Jedi and Sith in favor of their own dogma.

Not long after the conclusion of the New Sith Wars and the Ruusan Reformations in 1000 BBY, Restelly Quist, the Jedi Chief Librarian, wrote about Gray Jedi in the Jedi training manual The Jedi Path. Quist portrayed Gray Jedi as mavericks and deemed them a threat to Jedi teachings.

Centuries later, during the Stark Hyperspace War in 44 BBY, certain Jedi were labeled as Gray simply for disagreeing with the High Council, not necessarily for dabbling in the dark side. Some members of the Order regarded Qui-Gon Jinn as a Gray Jedi due to his frequent disagreements with the Council. Jedi Master Tyvokka expressed concern over this, and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi admitted that he could understand why some might see Jinn as a Gray Jedi. A faction of dissident Jedi at this time used the term "gray" to describe themselves despite their dedication to the Jedi Code. This group, the Gray Paladins, was an offshoot of the Teepo Paladins.

Around 19 BBY, close to the end of the Clone Wars, a new sect of Gray Jedi inadvertently came into being when Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon led a strike team to Susevfi to confront the fallen Jedi Nikkos Tyris and his followers. Tyris had been studying the writings of Larad Noon, a Sith follower of Kun's during the Old Sith Wars. Tyris and his most elite followers were killed by the Jedi strike team, but there were other members of the cult of whom the Jedi had not been aware and who survived the attack. These survivors were unable to interpret the advanced dark-side teachings in Noon's writings and instead developed a unique Force tradition known as the Jensaarai. When the Galactic Empire rose to power, some Jensaarai offered their services to Emperor Palpatine and were slain. In response, the Jensaarai retreated into hiding. They re-emerged in 11 ABY and became allies with the New Jedi Order. While the New Jedi Order was willing to accept Jensaarai students at the Jedi Praxeum, they considered the entire order to be Gray Jedi, although the Jensaarai outwardly denied these claims. Kelbis Nu, a Jensaarai who was later trained as a Jedi, participated in the Yuuzhan Vong War in 26 ABY.

Sometime after 41 ABY, when Jagged Fel was selected as the Head of State of the Galactic Empire, a sect of Force users modeled after the Jedi Order and loyal to the Empire was established. The members of this organization became known as Imperial Knights, and were considered to be Gray Jedi by the Jedi Order. The Imperial Knights served the Empire for three generations. During the Sith–Imperial War in 127 ABY, Emperor Roan Fel refused to allow the Imperial Knights to participate in the conflict for fear that they would fall to the dark side, and they instead served as his personal bodyguards. When Darth Krayt, leader of the One Sith, plotted to assassinate Fel at the conclusion of the war, four Imperial Knights acted as decoys for the Emperor and were killed as Fel made his escape. Seven years later, Emperor Fel reappeared on the planet Bastion, where he founded the Empire-in-exile and initiated the Second Imperial Civil War, in which the Imperial Knights were a major factor. Imperial Knights participated in the assassination attempt against Darth Krayt on Had Abbadon.

Gray Jedi tapped into the dark side of the Force, but avoided corruption and complete immersion. Indeed, certain Gray Jedi opposed those who embraced the dark side; Bindo fought against the Sith Empire during both the Great Sith War and the Jedi Civil War. While Gray Jedi demonstrated a departure from strict adherence to the light side, they remained free from dark-side corruption; those corrupted by the dark side were not considered Gray Jedi, nor were Jedi who succumbed to the dark side and later found redemption. Nevertheless, some Jedi believed that Gray Jedi carried the dark side's influence within them, even if they were unaware of it. The term did not apply to Force users who denied the existence of a dark side, as these individuals were followers of the Potentium.

Gray Jedi exhibited the use of both light and dark-side Force abilities, demonstrating proficiency in techniques common to both Jedi and Sith, such as constructing and wielding a lightsaber, as well as unique Force talents. Bindo was known for his skill with Jedi mind tricks and his ability to use dark-side techniques like Force lightning. The Voss Mystics were healers and highly skilled in prophecy, although they lacked control over when they received their Force visions. The Jensaarai could mask their presence in the Force, allowing them to evade Jedi and Palpatine's Jedi hunters. They were also capable of a rare form of Force throw that allowed the user to hurl small objects toward enemies at near-lethal velocity. The Imperial Knights were as capable in the use of the Force as Jedi Knights, although their training focused more on martial prowess. Imperial Knights displayed various Force abilities, such as self-levitation, telekinesis, and mind tricks. Both the Jensaarai and the Imperial Knights utilized armor in combat and were familiar with manipulating cortosis ore. Other Gray Jedi wielded powers such as Ionize, a technique that deactivated and destroyed machines, and Force thrust, a telekinetic attack similar to Force push.

However, the mere use of both light and dark-side powers did not automatically classify an individual as a Gray Jedi. Mace Windu employed the Vaapad lightsaber form, which drew upon the dark side, yet Windu remained a staunch champion of the light side and the Jedi Order.

Similarly, Kyle Katarn, a light-side Jedi who later served on the New Jedi Order's High Council, freely utilized both light and dark-side abilities, encouraging his students—Rosh Penin and Jaden Korr—to view Force powers as mere tools, as demonstrated by Korr's use of both Force lightning and Electric Judgment.

While the term was applied to Force users navigating the line between light and dark, Jedi were also labeled Gray Jedi for distancing themselves from the Jedi High Council. This practice originated in the days of the Old Republic, when the High Council was attempting to consolidate power. Jedi who frequently clashed with the Council's will were sometimes considered Gray, even if they didn't necessarily walk the line between the light and dark sides of the Force. Around 44 BBY, some members of the Order regarded Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn as a Gray Jedi due to his frequent opposition to their demands.

One group of renegade Jedi described themselves as "gray" even though they held the same views as the Jedi Council on the subject of the dark side. The Teepo Paladins were Jedi who were removed from the Order for advocating the use of a wide variety of weapons—including blasters—rather than restricting the weaponry of Jedi to lightsabers, and from them splintered a group that called themselves the Gray Paladins. This group preached minimal reliance on the Force and advocated a more militaristic lifestyle than either the mainstream Jedi Order or the Teepo Paladins. Despite these differences, some non-Jedi, such as the Jedi Hunter Aurra Sing, viewed Gray Paladins simply as Jedi.

It was difficult for unorthodox Jedi—especially those labeled Gray Jedi—to join the Council or ascend to any position of real leadership within the Order. As the High Council chose its own members, they tended to select more traditionalist Jedi. Jinn's candidacy as a member of the High Council was rejected first in favor of Plo Koon, and later the Cerean Ki-Adi-Mundi, both of whom were more in line with the Council's way of thinking.

Jolee Bindo was a Human male Jedi who lived circa 4000 BBY. In his youth, Bindo developed a relationship with a Human female mercenary named Nayama and married her against the Order's Code. This infraction led to the creation of the phrase "pulling a Bindo." Bindo realized that Nayama was strong in the Force and attempted to train her despite still only being a Padawan in the Jedi Order himself. When the Sith Lord Exar Kun initiated the Great Sith War, Nayama asked Bindo to follow her in joining Kun's Brotherhood of the Sith. When Bindo refused, she attacked him. Realizing that Nayama had fallen to the dark side, Bindo dueled and defeated her, but could not bring himself to kill her. She went on to kill many Jedi during the war until she was slain in the war's final battle on Yavin 4.

Bindo was put on trial by the Jedi Council after the war, both to explore his culpability in regard to Nayama's actions, and to evaluate his place in the Order. When they forgave him of any blame and attempted to elevate him from the rank of Padawan to that of Knight, the guilt-ridden Bindo felt that the Order had failed him, and he separated himself from the Jedi Order entirely. He operated as a smuggler in the Outer Rim Territories until he crashed on Kashyyyk, where he remained in self-imposed exile. Near the end of the Jedi Civil War, he met the Jedi Revan in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk and joined him in the campaign against the Dark Lord Darth Malak. Bindo was awarded the Cross of Glory for his part in the defeat of the Sith Empire. He was a self-described Gray Jedi.

The Jensaarai were an order of Force users from the Suarbi system who arose during the Clone Wars from the teachings of an Old Sith Wars–era Sith named Larad Noon. Formed by the fallen Jedi Nikkos Tyris, the Jensaarai's philosophy and methodology was a blend of Sith and Jedi teachings, although they maintained the discipline necessary to resist corruption by the dark side and focused mostly on defensive tactics and Force abilities. After the death of Tyris at the hands of the Jedi Nejaa Halcyon, the succeeding leader of the Jensaarai—a Human female apprentice of Tyris' who went by the title Saarai-kaar—was unable to interpret the higher dark-side teachings that Tyris had been studying. The Saarai-kaar taught her fellow Jensaarai what she did know, emphasizing the values of community defense and of avoiding confrontation. In doing so, she unwittingly led the Jensaarai away from darkness. At first, the Saarai-kaar opposed the Jedi, viewing them as an aggressive off-world threat due to the actions of Halcyon's strike team. However, after the fall of the Galactic Empire, the Jensaarai made peace with the New Jedi Order, and even sent students to learn at Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. They were still considered Gray Jedi—by both the Jedi and the Sith—for the practices of certain members; however, the Jensaarai themselves outwardly denied these claims.

The Imperial Knights were a group of Force users who pledged their allegiance to the Emperor of the Fel Empire. Unlike certain Force-sensitive groups within Emperor Palpatine's Galactic Empire, such as the Prophets of the Dark Side, they underwent extensive training in Force abilities and rejected the dark side's influence. The Imperial Knights held a more practical perspective on the Force, contrasting with the Jedi's emphasis on meditation and deep self-reflection. They considered the Force a potent instrument demanding caution and respect. While steering clear of the dark side, they indirectly adhered to the light side through their loyalty to the Emperor and were regarded as "Gray" by the Jedi Order. During the Second Imperial Civil War, around 137 ABY, the Imperial Knights forged alliances with both the Galactic Alliance Remnant and the Jedi Council to stand against Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire.

The term "Gray Jedi" first appeared in Star Wars: The Stark Hyperspace War to describe the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

The concept of a Gray Jedi as someone who abandoned the Jedi Order, utilized both sides of the Force, and maintained a balance between them was introduced with the character Jolee Bindo, a self-proclaimed Gray Jedi, in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game. Furthermore, Star Wars: Legacy (2006) 0½ and the Jedi Academy Training Manual asserted that the term applied to individuals who experimented with both aspects of the Force without succumbing to corruption. However, the dark side inherently corrupts those who employ it. The Lucasfilm Story Group, responsible for upholding George Lucas' vision of Star Wars, has declared that this "Gray" and "Gray Jedi" idea contradicts the established principles of the Force as defined by Lucas.

A definition for "true Gray Jedi" that was present in the Jedi Academy Training Manual went on to describe them as individuals unaffiliated with any Force-based organization who delved into both the light and dark sides of the Force without being tainted by the dark side. Despite this, the Jedi Academy Training Manual also stated that the New Jedi Order considered the entire Force tradition of the Jensaarai to be Gray. Moreover, it was established that the Imperial Knights were viewed as Gray by the New Jedi Order in Star Wars: Legacy (2006) 0 and Star Wars: Legacy 0½, and the Voss Mystics were confirmed to be Gray in the "Creating Worlds" developer blog for the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game.

However, an in-game item known as the "Gray Jedi Robe" was featured in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the sequel to Knights of the Old Republic, which defined Gray Jedi as fully trained Jedi who operated independently of the Jedi Council, and clarified that they were not necessarily dark side users. The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide and The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force adhere to this same definition. The novel Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight introduced a group of rogue Jedi referred to as the "Gray Paladins," who were depicted as separate from the Order but free from dark side influence or practices.