The Star Wars franchise’s lightsabers are the iconic signature weapons of the Jedi and the Sith, but how do they get their distinctive blade colors and what do the colors mean? The Star Wars saga films never delve into this, but the meaning behind lightsaber blade colors is implied, since the villains typically use red, while the heroes usually use any other color. In non-movie material, however, these mystical weapons are explained in detail, including how they get their blade colors and what they mean. The current Star Wars canon and its original timeline, Legends (formerly called the Expanded Universe) have two distinct explanations for lightsaber blades and the Force-imbued crystals that power the iconic weapons.
The concept of the lightsaber originates from various “glowing magic swords” found in science fiction serials and literature, such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy. George Lucas added an element of swashbuckling romantic heroism to the Star Wars franchise through lightsabers and their association with the ancient Jedi and Sith orders. Initially, the only blade colors were blue (for heroes) and red (for villains), but Lucas made green an additional “hero” blade color in Return of the Jedi for better visuals during daytime fight scenes. Various Legends-era materials created even more blade colors, such as purple and yellow, which made their cinematic debuts in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, respectively.
While Jedi and Sith are the most famous Force-using religions in Star Wars, they’re far from the only ones. Canon and Legends reveal that other groups exist, and they each wield their unique signature weapons to differentiate themselves from Jedi and Sith. In Legends, the Baran Do of Dorin use wooden staffs for self-defense, as they’re less inclined to fight than the Jedi Order with their code. The Prophets of the Dark Side is a splinter religion from the Sith, and they use lightsabers with atypical blade colors for dark side users, such as blue, yellow, and purple. In Canon, the Guardians of the Whills fight with powerful long-range Lightbows (and Force-imbued staffs), while the dark side-using Knights of Ren use a variety of scavenged weapons (and their leaders use red-bladed lightsabers).
Lightsaber Crystals in Legends
In the Legends continuity, all lightsabers are powered by Force-imbued crystals. There are numerous types of lightsaber crystals found throughout the galaxy, but the most popular among Jedi, especially the prequel-era Jedi Order, were the Adegan crystals found on Ilum. In Legends, lightsaber crystals glow in a specific color, which is what the lightsaber blade will be once the weapon is built. Adegan crystals are blue or green, which is why most Jedi in the films use those blade colors. Other colors are rare, but not unheard of. Mace Windu uses a unique crystal that he found on the planet Hurrikaine, which gives his weapon its distinctive purple blade.
Red lightsaber crystals are rare in Legends, and Sith typically use Synthetic lightsaber crystals, which they create using machinery and the dark side of the Force. Synth-crystals were nearly always red when created by Sith, making red-bladed lightsabers their traditional weapons. During the reign of the Empire, one of nine factions in the Skywalker Saga, nearly every natural source of lightsaber crystals was destroyed, leading Luke to make a Synth-crystal when constructing his lightsaber. Luke created it with the Force, rather than the dark side, which resulted in a green crystal and blade. Nearly all members of Luke’s New Jedi Order used Synth-crystals in their lightsabers, and though their blade colors were more varied than the old Jedi Order, red was still a rarity among them.
Kyber Crystals in Canon
Much of the lore surrounding lightsaber construction in canon comes from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Unlike Legends, canon only has one type of lightsaber crystal: Kyber crystals. Kyber crystals can be found on a variety of planets, but they're all initially clear in color. When a Force-user bonds with a Kyber, it changes into a specific color that will determine its lightsaber blade color. In most cases, a Kyber turns blue or green, but on rare occasions, they become colors like purple or yellow. Kyber crystals can change color if they bond with another Force-user. In The Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker refurbished Ahsoka Tano’s lightsabers, turning their green and green-yellow crystals blue like his weapon.
Kyber crystals never bond with dark side users, so Sith torture them into working through a process called “bleeding.” A dark side user pours their unnatural power into the crystal, turning it red in the process. The Imperial Inquisitors, former Jedi who were corrupted to the dark side by the Sith, bleed their crystals, as do the leaders of the Knights of Ren. Kylo Ren notably damaged his Kyber in the process of bleeding it, cracking the crystal, and leaving it unstable. To stabilize his weapon, Kylo vented the crystal’s excess energy, giving his lightsaber a distinctive crossguard. “Bled” Kyber crystals can be “healed” with the Force, resulting in white crystals. Ahsoka’s two lightsabers in Rebels and The Mandalorian are powered by healed Inquisitor crystals, resulting in distinctive white blades.
The Meaning Behind Blade Colors
Lightsaber blade colors, like the Jedi and Sith, represent the Star Wars franchise’s theme of “natural” vs “unnatural.” In Legends, the blade colors that Jedi use typically come from naturally-derived lightsaber crystals. Jedi travel to worlds like Ilum or Hurrikaine to obtain their gems. The Sith traditionally synthesize their crystals with both technology and the unnatural power of the dark side, with almost uniformly red-bladed weapons. When Jedi, like lightsaber duel champion Luke and his students, have no choice but to create lightsaber crystals, they do so using the natural and balanced power of the Force. Since personal choice is a factor in blade color in Legends, Luke and his Jedi unsurprisingly use traditional Jedi colors like green and blue in most cases. The few non-synthetic red crystals are typically imbued with the unnatural dark side, further emphasizing red as the traditional color of Sith weapons.
This same theme applies to Kyber crystals in canon. A Kyber can only be found naturally and bond with a Force user, which is why Sith use the unnatural dark side’s power to corrupt them into submission. Additionally, the various “natural” Jedi blade colors in Legends had different meanings in the Knights of the Old Republic video games. In these games, blue blades represented Jedi Guardians, who focus on combat. Green blades were for Jedi Consulars, who studied the mysteries of the Force. Yellow signified Jedi Sentinels, who were a halfway point between the other two. This particular symbolism for Jedi lightsaber blade colors, like Anakin Skywalker's blue, is largely used as a game mechanic, however, and is rarely referenced outside of the Knights of the Old Republic series. While the Star Wars saga films never explain how Jedi get their lightsaber colors, the non-movie material in canon and Legends explores the iconic weapons and their distinctive blades.