No, Lightsaber Colors Don’t Mean Anything & Here’s Why

Ever since the lightsaber was first introduced back in the first Star Wars movie, many people have been wondering whether or not these powerful space weapons actually mean anything as far as their colors are concerned. That’s because we’ve seen a wide variety of lightsaber colors equipped by different people throughout the history of Star Wars. So, do lightsaber colors actually mean anything?

In terms of in-universe meaning, the color of a lightsaber doesn’t always mean anything. Lightsaber colors often come out randomly when the Jedi attunes to the Kyber crystal using the Force. However, it is possible that the person’s connection to the Force also determines the color of the Kyber crystal.

The thing about lightsaber colors is that there has never been an exact canon explanation as to what these colors mean. However, the Legends part of Star Wars does have an explanation, as the color of the lightsaber corresponds with the type of Jedi the wielder is. So, with that said, let’s look at why lightsaber colors don’t mean anything in the current Star Wars canon.

What determines the color of someone’s lightsaber?

There are a lot of things that tend to be mysterious when it comes to the world of Star Wars. Of course, one of the things that people have been wondering about since the dawn of the Star Wars universe was the meaning of the lightsaber color that a certain wielder has.

That’s because we’ve seen our fair share of lightsaber colors wielded by different characters. That is why people need to ask why there are a lot of lightsaber colors and what determines the color of a person’s lightsaber.

In the past, there used to be a meaning behind the color of a lightsaber. That’s because the Jedi have different “classes” that use different lightsaber colors, as these colors actually allow the Jedi to differentiate which class a certain Jedi belongs. But that is no longer the case because this classification is no longer canon and has been relegated to the Legends part of Star Wars.

As such, in the current canon, there has never been a true explanation as to what determines the color of a lightsaber. The only thing we know is that the Kyber crystal is the heart of a lightsaber.

When Jedi younglings turn into Padawans, they must go to Ilum to acquire their Kyber crystals. After acquiring the crystals, they have to use the Force to attune with the Kyber crystal. There are even cases wherein a Jedi has to spend days meditating to attune with the crystal. And once the Jedi have completely attuned themselves to the Kyber crystal, that is when the crystal changes its color.

Some accounts say that the color of the Kyber crystal comes out randomly after the Jedi have completely attuned to it. However, some accounts say that the color of the crystal corresponds with the person’s connection to the Force. However, there is no clear explanation for how or why a certain Kyber crystal turns into a specific color. The only thing we know is that the color of the Kyber crystal doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

Of course, there are certain instances wherein the person can determine the color of the lightsaber. For instance, red lightsabers are the product of the “bleeding” process that happens when the owner of a Kyber crystal infuses it with the dark side of the Force to turn the crystal red. Meanwhile, the red Kyber crystal turns white if the person actually purges its corruption using the light side of the Force.

Then, in season 7 of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars,’ Anakin Skywalker was able to turn Ahsoka Tano’s green lightsabers into blue by tinkering with the frequency of the Kyber crystals in them. As such, there’s a good chance that any other Jedi can do this to change the color of the lightsaber. 

The colors don’t mean anything but have symbolic meanings

As mentioned, lightsaber colors don’t necessarily mean a thing. What we mean by that is that the color doesn’t really matter because there are no in-universe meanings behind the lightsaber colors that we see in the storyline of Star Wars.

While that may be true, what we can say for sure is that there are symbolic meanings behind the color of the lightsabers. And we have to look at color theory to give symbolic meanings to the different lightsaber colors we see in Star Wars.

For example, the blue lightsaber color, which is the most common lightsaber color in Star Wars, doesn’t really symbolize anything in the Star Wars universe but still has a symbolic meaning associated with what the color blue represents. Blue is often considered calming and relaxing, representing trust, loyalty, and peacefulness. And the fact that the Jedi Order embodies trust, peace, and loyalty perfectly captures the symbolic meaning behind the color blue.

Red, of course, has always been associated with passion, war, and emotions. We know that the Sith Order has always promoted the use of emotions to pursue power. Of course, the Sith also pursue their passions without even looking at whether or not there is a need for them to limit their actions and thoughts. As such, they perfectly represent the color red regarding the things they value the most.

So, while the color of the lightsaber doesn’t necessarily have any meaning in the world of Star Wars, the thing is that these colors still represent something that’s related to the people who use them. The colors themselves mean something in the grander scheme of things, even though the lightsaber colors actually don’t stand for anything or represent something bigger in Star Wars lore. 

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