What is the Jedi Order?
The Jedi were and remain a people of monks who acted as warriors, healers, archivists, educators and negotiators who live alongside the Force and seek wisdom, peace, and serenity. For thousands of years, they have served the larger galaxy as peacekeepers, taking on missions to aid in fair negociations, ending conflicts, and protecting people.
What is the Force?
The Force is a mystical energy field that surrounds everything in the galaxy, and is part of everything in the galaxy. It is full of power and energy, giving and taking in equal amounts, a psychic connective web that connects those who can sense it, conveying a sense of belonging to them. There are two sides to the Force; the Dark side, and the Light side.
The Dark side isn't simply a moment of weakness and anger that you feel and then release; it is embracing and holding onto those negative emotions, allowing them to settle within you and stew. By doing so, your approach to dealing with emotions changes, leading further into the Dark. It is impossible, and unhealthy, to forbid oneself from feeling; it is how the feeling is handled that matters; do you give into it and let it control you, or do you release it, and maintain your control?
The Light side, on the contrary, is love, peace, serenity, compassion, selflessness and joy, amongst other positive emotions. The Light side is about finding yourself and understanding that you will always be changing, always in flux. Emotions are felt, be they guilt, anger, love or joy, and they are released into the Force, once they have been contemplated and understood. The goal of a Jedi is not to be lacking in emotion, but to be understanding of one's self and one's own flaws.
“The main theme of Star Wars is that compassion is the good side, fear is the bad side.” (George Lucas)
"You’re connected to every living thing in the universe." (Caleb Dume)
"If Jedi weren't supposed to feel anything, we might as well be droids. And even they feel things, if you think about it. The fact that we feel, that we care, is what makes the Jedi great." (Vernestra Rwoh)
What is a Holocron?
A Holocron is a polyhedron-shaped palm-sized device that acts as a digital record of a large sum of information that can only be accessed by a Force-sensitive. The information in a Holocron is encoded within the central crystal, a Kyber Crystal, the power source of lightsabre and similar weapons. This means that the Kyber Crystal can function both as a lightsabre while also containing information, although that information can only be accessed through the format of a Holocron, requiring the disassembly of the lightsabre and assembly of the Holocron.
What is a lightsabre?
A lightsabre is a versatile tool, used ceremoniously and practically throughout the life of a Jedi.
A lightsabre is the weapon of the Jedi, a tool created through the utilisation of the Force. To begin, typically, an Initiate or Padawan will seek out a kyber crystal (in the time of the Republic, these crystals were typically found on the inhabitable planet of Illum. If it is their first time seeking out a kyber crystal or there is a lesson to be learned, then the journey within the caverns of Illum will prove difficult and testing, in order to teach the seeker something important, be that patience, bravery, or any manner of other things. Once a kyber crystal is found, the Jedi will return to the Temple or another location, and begin the construction of their lightsabre, using the Force to join all the individual pieces together as they meditate. Each and every lightsabre is unique, and they may come in a variety of styles (sabrestaff, shouto, hilted, etc) and colours (green, blue, purple, etc).
A lightsabre is incredibly personal, as a connection is formed between kyber crystal and Jedi. Anyone can use a lightsabre, but to use it to its fullest potential, one must bond with the kyber crystal. A Jedi is able to activate their lightsabre not only with a button or switch or dial, but by waking it up through the Force, signifying a deeper connection to the crystal they found, be it found as an Initiate or as a Master.
"Lightsaber skills, important they are. How to use as well as how not to use. When to move as well as when not to move." (Yoda)
What does the lightsabre colour mean?
In their raw form, kyber crystals are transparent and/or clouded, with no discernable colour. Once bonded to a Force-sensitive, they change colour, usually to green or blue, but frequently to yellow, and occassionally, to purple. There are beliefs associated with each colour; blue is often held by field agents who take frequent missions, green is oft associated with healers and scholars, and yellow, protectors and guardians.
For the Sith, they have a choice in building their lightsabre, for they must make their crystal bleed. A bleeding kyber crystal is an open wound in the Force, and what gives the Sith lightsabre it's iconic red hue. If the Sith is a Fallen Jedi, they will have often attacked their crystal with the Force, leading it to bleed. If not, or if their crystal has been lost, they have the option to fabricate a kyber crystal, using specical techniques that condense negative emotions into the unique furnace used, causing the red hue.
But a kyber crystal can be healed. If taken by a Jedi, a wounded kyber crystal can be exposed to the healing power of the Light side of the Force, through meditation and the construction of a new lightsabre. This turns the crystals back to their original white, representing the purification of the Light side of the Force.
On the subject of marriage?
Marriage (the concept of a union between two or more individuals) is a complex subject as it relates to the Jedi and their Order. While marriage is not explicitly forbidden, either through societal opinion or written law, it is heavily discouraged and the processes that take place in order to allow a Jedi to become married are arduous and time-consuming, a facet that is purposeful in order to ensure the best possible result. To outsiders of the Jedi Order, who might see marriage between a Jedi and an outsider as something deeply romantic (it is the subject of many stories, after all, especially romantic ones), marriage is generally viewed within the Order as a sort of distraction.
Marriage between a member of the Order and an outsider is made complicated by the strict vows that a Jedi swears and by the nature of their responsibilities; at any time, a Jedi may be called to leave the Temple for many months in order to facilitate negociations, free slaves, or any number of other tasks. This is understandably, not conductive to a healthy marriage, especially one between a Jedi and a non-Jedi.
"Jedi Knights aren’t celibate - the thing that is forbidden is attachments, and possessive relationships.” (George Lucas)
What is attachment?
Attachment does not equal love, and love does not equate attachment. The Jedi define attachment as the "inability to let go". Everything must change, people will come and go, as will the times, and a Jedi must learn and know to allow these things to change and leave them as time wears on. The reason that Jedi refuse to train older children is because they have already formed these attachments and it is incredibly difficult to teach someone who has already latched onto attachments to let go, whereas the Jedi are taught from a young age to accept that they will have to let go.
“Non-attachment refers to allowing things to be as they are.“
What is a Jedi Initiate?
A Jedi Initiate is a Force-sensitive child or youngling who is undergoing the first stages of Jedi training, or who is living with the Jedi. Initiates are found at early ages, usually no older than three years (may vary depending on species growth progress), typically by a Jedi Finder, who brings the Initiate to the Jedi Tempe for future care.
Upon arrival to the Temple, younglings and initiates are placed within a Clan to help them foster trust and kinship. A clan functions as a siblinghood of young Jedi, who often remain close to each other throughout their training and adulthood. Clans include Purgiil Clan, Bear Clan, Vorpaak Clan, and Squall Clan, and all clans are named after different animals.
Education tends to begin within just a few years, depending on the age of arrival. The younger students engage in play learning, and are taught simple but important skills for the future, such as letters, numbers, and basic reading and writing. This is when the basics of the Jedi Code are introduced into their education.
Junior Initiates are typically around five to ten years old, and have large chunks of time dedicated to studying and practicing Force techniques, the basic lightsabre forms, and the history of the Jedi Order, with frequent short meditation sessions in between.
Senior Initiates range from eleven to sixteen years old. They engage in classroom learning on a set schedule with basic mandatory courses and chosen electives. Classes include history, mathematics, science, political sciences, health and biology, languages and art, among other things. Lightsabre forms are still practiced, but battle training has begun. Senior Initiates are often found helping crechemasters with the Junior Initiates.
At the end of this period in their lives, the children attend their Gathering, where they find a kyber crystal and craft their first lightsabre (prior to this, training sabres are used). The Trials are prepared for if they have not yet been offered to be trained as a Padawan by a Master.