The Force is a source not only of life, but also in the vast Star Wars Galaxy. But one of the most iconic uses of its power is the Jedi’s ability to transcend life and death itself, preserving their consciousness and becoming Force Ghosts. But is there a way to achieve this through the use of the dark side of the Force?
The dark side is a perversion of the light, not an equal set of powers, it is simply an imitation of true unity with the Force. One can tap into immense power through their anger and hatred using the dark side, but this will always harm them in some way, often decomposing a dark side until they are decrepit. Despite wanting to use this power to live forever like a Jedi can by becoming a Force ghost, the Sith will never achieve this in the same way. – but they absolutely tried.
Sith Spirits Are Banished to Chaos After Death
The “Hell” of the Star Wars Galaxy
Within the mythology of Star Wars there is a realm known simply as “Chaos” or “Hell”, as mentioned by Han Solo, Poe Dameron, and others. Much like our world’s conceptions of Hell, Chaos is the underworld part of the Force where evil beings are sent to be punished. This included all Sith who died as active agents of the dark side, and even dark Jedi and other members of the dark side who were killed or passed away.
The realm of Chaos was known for its disorder in the underworld of the Force and is described as a dark place. After their banishment to Chaos, the Sith spirits were punished and roamed their lands crazed.possibly a reason for every dark side’s never-ending desire for eternal life. But in some specific situations, Star Wars revealed that there are ways for the Sith to escape Chaos.
The Sith power of essence transfer is a limited escape
Sith saving his life force with a ship
Essence Transfer is the power of the Force that comes closest to cheating death. This highly sought after power allowed a Sith to maintain their consciousness and agency as a spirit shortly after death, and redirect it to another host. Effectively, a Sith transfers their consciousness to another body, prolonging their mortal lives and avoiding Chaos.. But this can also lead to the degradation of their new bodies, as happened with Palpatine and his clones on Exegol.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker I saw Palpatine try to persuade Rey to take him down. It’s worth noting that he tried to persuade Rey to strike him down in anger, perhaps suggesting that it’s only possible for a Sith to transfer their spirit into a host who is subject to the dark side at that time. This may also explain why Palpatine seemed to “dare” Luke Skywalker to kill him in anger in Return of the Jedi; If Luke had done that, he would have possessed Luke.
Sith Spirits can be tied to places or objects
The Dark Side’s Curse of Eternal Life
Similar to Essence Transfer, dark side spirits can also be transferred to objects or even places. This was the famous case of Darth Bane in The Clone Warswhose spirit was cursed to remain in the tombs of Moraband, where he spoke to Yoda. The Grand Inquisitor was also cursed by Vader himself to remain as a sentient spirit within an abandoned Jedi temple outpost in Tempes, where he spoke to Luke Skywalker.
Darth Momin, a former Sith Lord during the Imperial era, was also cursed to live, but within his mask. Momin could only truly act when the mask was worn by a living individual and their spirit possessed his body. This was not the kind of unity Jedi could find after death, and it was a much crueler fate, with these curses allowing limited freedom in one’s life.. But how could anyone return from Chaos without these cursed chains?
How did Palpatine’s Sith cultists bring him back?
Dark sciences, cloning, secrets only the Sith knew
Palpatine’s resurrection on Exegol is the most famous example of essence transfer, and for good reason. The most powerful Sith Lord of all time, drawn back to life by his machinations on the Sith homeworld. But how did he do it? It seems like it all has to do with Exegol and what he prepared there. According to George Mann Star Wars collection of short stories Dark LegendsExegol is a vergence in the Force.
Vergences are specific locations where the Force is especially powerful and dense, allowing for feats that would not be achievable elsewhere. Dark Legends specifically says that Exegol is a place where the line between life and death is unusually thin, which likely allowed Palpatine to return.. The Sith Eternal cult used this vergence, perhaps amplified through the massive Kyber crystal mountain that Palpatine had beneath the Sith Citadel on Exegol, as seen in 2020. Darth Vader comics, to ensure its spirit remained.
Palpatine’s plan, of course, also depended on cloning. The Sith Lord prepared clones on Exegol and, once defeated on the Forest Moon of Endor, transferred his spirit across vast distances to one of them. The vergence of the Force and the large amounts of Kyber on Exegol likely made this possible, allowing Palpatine to cheat death – only for a limited period of time. But how Star Wars repeatedly stated, the dark side is not a path to eternal life, but rather a path to decay.