Highlights
- Ahsoka has expanded the lore of witches in Star Wars, showcasing their unique connection to the Force and their non-combative magical abilities.
- The witches, such as Morgan Elsbeth, focus on mental techniques like telepathy, psychometry, illusions, and clairvoyance, rather than using their Force magic for combat.
- The witches perceive the Force as a living thing and have a symbiotic relationship with it, utilizing it as an extension of their own life and fostering communal bonds with each other.
Ahsoka has done well to expand upon the lore of witches in Star Wars and their connection with the Force. The franchise has been dominated by Jedi and Sith as the only powerful, combative Force-sensitives in the galaxy. But Morgan Elsbeth, a Force-sensitive witch, has made a name for herself as one strong enough to battle Ahsoka with both the beskar spear and the Sword of Talzin.
The onscreen debut of witches in Star Wars began with Asajj Ventress in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Asajj was born into the ancient order of Nightsisters on Dathomir as a Force-sensitive witch. After being taken away from her coven, she would later become a slave, a Jedi Padawan, and then Count Dooku's Sith apprentice. Asajj unfortunately did not display any unique Force-magic techniques in the series, most likely due to being taken away at a such a young age before she could learn any. But, the witches live-action debut in Ahsoka has shed some much-needed light on witches in the Star Wars universe.
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How Witches Use The Force In Star Wars
Considering the Nightsisters' role in Ahsoka, they have yet to display their Force-magic through direct combative techniques. The reason for it may have to do with their connection to the Force. The witches perceive and thus use the Force differently than Jedi and Sith. The witches do not rely on their emotions for controlling the Force, whether that's suppressing emotions or using them to fuel the Force with power. Rather, because the witches do not use their Force magic for combat, they're able focus on mental techniques, such as telepathy, psychometry, illusions, and clairvoyance.
In the world of Jedi, these mentally intensive, lesser-known psychic Force powers were often used mostly by Jedi who carried green lightsabers. A green lightsaber was often emblematic of a wielder who avoided physical conflict and preferred to train their mind instead of their bodies. Morgan Elsbeth's green Force powers fit this temperament, as she avoids battle unless absolutely necessary, and values ancient wisdom over brute strength.
But the key difference between the Jedi/Sith and the witches is that the Jedi and Sith perceive the Force as something to use. To the Jedi and Sith, the Force is a weapon, power, tool, or gift. The witches, on the other hand, perceive the Force as a living thing, in the same way one could perceive nature. To witches, the Force isn't something to wield; it's life. It is something to embody and become one with.
The Witches Of Dathomir
A haven for Dark Side Force-sensitives, Dathomir is a planet home to a culture of mostly witches. Until recently, it has been largely ignored in Star Wars. Various witch clans and covens call Dathomir home. They each developed their own forms of Force-magic, including potions, voodoo, and the ability to teleport or turn invisible. Episode 8 of Ahsoka revealed the Nightsisters' ability to summon Mother Talzin's sword out of thin air and create zombies from dead storm troopers. Mother Talzin, one of the most powerful of the Nightsisters, could even use her magic to perform healing.
The Nightsisters once described magic as literally being in their veins, as well as in plants and in the mist. Qui-Gon Jinn, another green lightsaber user, shared a similar (albeit unpopular among Jedi) belief regarding the Force as a living thing. Witches, including Dark Side witches who aren't Sith, channel the Force as an extension of their own life. This could explain Mother Talzin's, long lifespan. Magic, then, becomes a source of connection. Their communal bonds with each other and with the Force allow the witches of Dathomir to perceive through the Force the life status of fellow witches, or their location across space. The Nightsisters on Peridea were powerful enough to use their telepathy to communicate visions to Morgan Elsbeth, a witch they had never met, across galaxies. Not even Yoda's or Ahsoka's psychic Force powers have been shown to be as strong as those of the witches.
These more defensive, non-combative techniques of magic do not preclude the witches from combat or being a threat to Jedi or Sith in other ways. They can still be formidable foes. There are warrior-witches of Dathomir as well, who wield enchanted blades and arrows of light. Nonetheless, there symbiotic relationship with the Force makes them less inclined to engage in unnecessary violence. It may also be too soon to determine the extent of the witches' combat magic skills onscreen. Star Wars is a vast universe still full of potential surprises. Ahsoka's Grand Admiral Thrawn's motive to journey to Dathomir could be to enlist various types of witches to join his new army for the Empire.