The Jedi’s Light-Side Rivals Have a More Accurate Name for the Force

Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) #1While the Jedi and Sith are the most prominent wielders of the Force in Star Wars, they’re hardly alone in their worship of the all-connecting energy. Other religions, cults and cultural traditions arose across the galaxy before and alongside the Jedi, their views on what the Force is as varied as what they called it. Among these innumerable faiths of the galaxy was a group dedicated to the Light Side known as the Fallanassi, whose explanation for the Force better describes it than the Jedi religion ever has.

The Force pre-dates galactic civilization, and as sapient life evolved on a million worlds, many sought to give name to the omnipresent field of energy that seemingly bound all living things together. The young Jedi Order called it the “Force,” the Lasat people named it “Ashla” meaning “the spirit of the galaxy,” the Sorcerers of Tund dubbed it the “Unity” – a million names on a million worlds all referencing the same Force. To the religious order known as the Fallanassi, the Force was “the White Current”.

Related: Ancient Jedi Lore Exposes the True Horror of One Death Star Target

The Fallanassi were an order wholly dedicated to the Light Side of the Force. Like many Force religions, they held a presence in the Holy City of Jedha and by the events of The High Republic (2022) #1 by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito, they were represented in the Convocation of the Force – a council of Force religions ostensibly committed to understanding and cooperation. Their representative, Sirene, is quick to profess the Fallanassi allegiance to “the White Current” and violently opposes the membership petition of the Yacombe, who she deems as a follower of “the Dark Tide.” To the Fallanassi, the holy energy field is not a force to be harnessed, but an ocean in which all life swims.

The Force Makes More Sense as an Ocean

The White Current is the Light Side of this unseen sea. Like the currents of an ocean, it carries warmth and fosters life. The White Current connects people with others, its invisible stream carrying those within it to their destination. The life-giving waters of the White Current are only one aspect of this universal ocean, the other being the Dark Tide. Tides ebb and flow, driven by moons that are clear to see only in darkness. Where a current may be filled with the warmth and the light of the sun above, the depths below soon fade into inky, frigid darkness. While the currents feed warmth into tropical waters and allow life to flourish and multiply near the surface, the bottom of the sea is a bleak landscape where little survives. Crushing pressure and lurking predators demand it be a realm of only the strongest and the most adaptable, as is the case with the Dark Side.

Even Luke Embraced the Fallanassi Way

Chief among the Fallanassi’s abilities was the skill known to the Jedi as Simulfuturus. Utilizing their attunement to the White Current, a Fallanassi practitioner could pour their very essence into the current, like a river coursing to sea. The current could then carry an illusory projection of themselves across the galaxy, though doing so came at great cost. The further the distance, the more of oneself has to be poured into the current. This Fallanassi technique found its way into the Jedi’s sacred text, and it would be utilized by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in order to confront Kylo Ren during the Battle of Crait in The Last Jedi. Luke poured so much of himself into the current that it cost him his life, his essence becoming one with the greater ocean that is the Force.

Star Wars’ Fallanassi chose to interpret the Force as an ocean, and it’s perhaps the franchise’s most apt metaphor, conveying how the living energy field encompasses all life, with nourishing currents and pitch-black depths. In fact, it’s surprising that the Jedi – who taught that their Order should be guided by the Force, not attempt to control it – would think of it in any other way.

Next: Sith Yoda Wields Five Lightsabers in Jaw-Dropping Star Wars Fan Art