The Star Wars Lightsaber Colors, Explained

We've seen blue lightsabers used throughout all three Star Wars trilogies by powerful Jedi like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. According to the Star Wars Fandom Guide, they're associated with Jedi Guardians, which is a class of Jedi who fight for the light side and are known for their combat skills.

Green lightsabers have typically been used by older and wiser Jedi like Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn, who have an especially strong connection to the Force. They were once used by the Jedi Consular class, who preferred negotiation instead of fighting and would use their lightsabers only when necessary. They were also passionate about studying the inner workings of the Force.

Red lightsabers are used by the Sith and other dark Jedi. According to "Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith," red lightsabers are powered by synthetic crystals. Since dark Jedi can't form a connection with kyber crystals, their negative emotions would taint the crystals. This process, known as "bleeding," would result in a crystal with a red hue.

While appearing on "The Graham Norton Show" in 2013, Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Jedi Mace Windu in the prequel trilogy, revealed that while shooting "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," he personally requested his lightsaber to be made purple. Why? He wanted to easily find himself during the movie's big battle scene on Geonosis. George Lucas obliged, and while the purple lightsaber was first an aesthetic choice, it's since come to represent a Jedi who uses techniques from both the light side and dark side.

Yellow lightsabers were primarily used by the Jedi Sentinel class, who represented a balance between the Jedi Guardians and Jedi Consulars. They had great combat skills and studied the Force. Yellow lightsabers were primarily used by Jedi Temple Guards, but as we saw in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," any Jedi can have one.

Ever wondered how Ahsoka Tano got her white lightsabers? At the end of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," Ahsoka abandons her blue lightsabers (which were gifted to her by Anakin) in order to fake her death after Order 66. According to the Star Wars Fandom Guide, she goes on to kill the Sixth Brother, who was a Jedi hunter known as an Inquisitor, and takes his lightsabers' red crystals. She purifies them using the Force, and they eventually go back to their original white color. Since Ahsoka doesn't consider herself a Jedi anymore and isn't on the dark side, either, her white lightsabers could represent her individuality.

There is only one black lightsaber that exists in the Star Wars universe. Known as the darksaber, this unique weapon was created by Tarre Vizsla, who was the first Mandalorian to become a Jedi and went on to rule his home planet of Mandalore. After he died, the darksaber was kept in the Jedi Temple but was eventually stolen by his clan, House Vizla. The lightsaber has since become an important symbol of Mandalore, and the only way to obtain it is by defeating its owner in a duel.

Orange lightsabers have mainly been seen in Star Wars video games. For example, according to Screen Rant, in the "Star Wars: Dark Forces" video games, protagonist Kyle Katarn, who was once part of the Empire but then later joins the Rebel Alliance, begins using an orange lightsaber after training to become a Jedi.

Orange lightsabers were seen again in the 2019 video game "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," which gave players the ability to choose their own lightsaber color, including orange. It's unclear what the color means, but Screen Rant points out that it could represent Jedi who were once part of the dark side.

There are many more lightsaber colors to exist, however, their exact meanings remain a mystery.