Force harmony
- "One Jedi cannot conquer the dark side alone… I guess we've proved that. Together, we were a Jedi fire that outshone his evil."
"Two are more powerful than one… three are more powerful than two." - ―Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo
Force harmony was a light side Force power that allowed several Force-users to join their Force energies together in a pure and powerful manifestation of the light side. Bathing them in light side energies, the ability protected users from dark side powers and could sever opponents from the dark side entirely. Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, and the unborn Anakin Solo used this ability to separate the reborn Emperor Palpatine from the dark side, causing the Force storm he had summoned to go out of control, consuming him.
Description
- Leia Organa: "Luke! I feel the Force."
- Palpatine: "No!"
- Luke Skywalker: "Yes. It's surrounding the Emperor, cutting him off from all the power he poured into the storm."
- ―Leia Organa Solo and Luke Skywalker cut Palpatine off from the dark side[3]

Force harmony was a Force ability designated in the families Control, Sense, and Alter that allowed several willing Force-users to manifest the power of the light side. Once in effect, it bathed the users in the illumination of the light side and could act as a shield against dark side powers. The power could be kept up almost indefinitely, although a slight strain was put on whoever initiated the technique.[1] For the duration that the ability was in use, the users would be united by the Force in all its intensity. The energies of the light side would flow through them in waves and give them complete clarity in the Force.[4]
The initiator could only link as many other Force-users to the chain as their Force energy allowed. The power could not cancel out the dark side, but it could distract its practitioners and make their actions more difficult to perform,[1] and in some cases, cut them off from the dark side completely.[5] Force harmony could also interrupt dark side abilities already in use by engulfing their users in waves of light side energy;[1] those powers inherently difficult to control, such as Force storm, were especially susceptible to this interference.[5]
The proximity between users in the chain, strength in the Force, and blood relation were all factors that could affect the intensity of this ability. In order to begin Force harmony, the initiator had to be adept in Life Sense and telepathy.[1] Relatively powerful Derriphans, creatures of the dark side, could be defeated by a group of Force-users in a Force harmony chain by transferring light side Force energy to the creature.[6]
Applications
- "…A Jedi-killer wants to tame her. Now the dark side comes to claim her. She must join with her brother to combat this thief, before the Jedi come to grief."
- ―The second half of Bodo Baas' prophecy

After Emperor Palpatine resurrected himself in a clone body[5] in 10 ABY,[7] he brought the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker to the dark side and trained him as his apprentice. Skywalker's twin sister, Leia Organa Solo, traveled to Palpatine's flagship, the Eclipse, and brought her brother back to the light side.[5]
Once Palpatine summoned an incredibly destructive Force storm to annihilate the New Republic fleet at Pinnacle Base, Skywalker and Organa Solo brought their Force energies together and enveloped Palpatine in a wave of light side energy. Augmented by their twin bond and the strength of Organa Solo's third child, who was still in the womb, the twins were easily able to cut Palpatine off from the dark side, causing him to lose control of his storm. The storm consumed Palpatine and the Eclipse, but not before Skywalker and Organa Solo escaped the doomed ship unharmed.[5]
Users
- "We can do it. That's what the holocron meant. Let me add my power to yours."
- ―Leia Organa Solo, to Luke Skywalker
Several Jedi Knights and Masters of the Old Jedi Order, such as Ood Bnar,[2] Arca Jeth,[2] Thon,[8] Vima-Da-Boda,[1] Taj Junak,[9] and Yoda, possessed the ability to initiate Force harmony.[10] Additionally, the ancient Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd, a master of both Jedi and Sith abilities, could conduct Force harmony.[11] Elite members of the Emperor's Shadow Guard led by Inquisitor Valin Draco were also known to possess the ability.[12]
Leia Organa Solo first learned of the ability from the Tedryn Holocron. The holocron's gatekeeper, Bodo Baas, told her of a prophecy related to him by his Master almost a thousand years ago, which predicted that Skywalker and Organa Solo would defeat Palpatine together.[5] Organa Solo realized the meaning behind the prophecy after confronting Palpatine on the Eclipse,[3] and joined her Force energy with Skywalker's. Skywalker, too, realized that the only way to combat Palpatine's dark side energies was through pure light and joined his sister. Combining their powers with Organa Solo's unborn child, Anakin Solo, the twins were able to vanquish Palpatine.[5]
Behind the scenes
Force harmony first appeared in the sixth issue of the Star Wars: Dark Empire comic book series, written by Tom Veitch, illustrated by Cam Kennedy,[5] and published by Dark Horse Comics on October 20, 1992.[13] It was also referenced in the issue's endnotes.[4] It was later named and given an expansion in Michael Allen Horne's Dark Empire Sourcebook[1] and made an appearance in the audio adaptation of Dark Empire.[3]
The Official Star Wars Fact File 125 incorrectly describes this ability as a "storm of light-side energy," mistaking it for the Force storm that destroys the Eclipse.[14]
Appearances
"Jaws of the Sarlacc" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (Mentioned only)
- Dark Empire 6 (First appearance)
- Dark Empire audio drama
- Dark Empire II 1 (Mentioned in opening crawl)
Sources
- "The Full Power of the Dark Side"—Dark Empire 6
- Dark Empire Sourcebook (First identified as Force harmony)
- The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
- Star Wars Sourcebook, Second Edition
- The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- The Jedi Academy Sourcebook
- Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, Second Edition
- Tales of the Jedi Companion
- Star Wars Gamemaster Screen, Revised
- Wretched Hives of Scum & Villainy
- Lords of the Expanse
- Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition
- The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
"Star Wars Episode VII: Rise of the New Republic"—InQuest Gamer 50 (Non-canonical mention)
- The Essential Chronology
- Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 125 (ECL2, Eclipse-Class Super Star Destroyer)
- The New Essential Chronology
- Jedi Academy Training Manual
"A Certain Point of View" – Star Wars Insider 130
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Dark Empire Sourcebook
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Tales of the Jedi Companion
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Dark Empire audio drama
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Full Power of the Dark Side"—Dark Empire 6
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Dark Empire 6
- ↑ Wretched Hives of Scum & Villainy
- ↑ Star Wars: The Comics Companion
- ↑ Jedi Academy Training Manual
- ↑ Lords of the Expanse
- ↑ The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi Companion states that Freedon Nadd knew every Force power included therein, among them being Force harmony.
- ↑
"Jaws of the Sarlacc" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑
Star Wars: Dark Empire (1991) #6 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ Non-Canon Ref