How do lightsabers bleed? Star Wars lore explained

The Star Wars universe is full of weird and wonderful concepts, some darker than others. Lightsaber bleeding is one such detail, and it’s made an appearance in The Acolyte.

With the latest addition to the Star Wars timeline, we’ve been given divisive characters, lore-busting storylines, and one rather badass villain.

In fact, we’ve also seen the Jedi in The Acolyte become somewhat corrupted, proving the light side of the Force to be a little darker than we first thought.

But, the lines between light and dark blur even more when lightsabers bleed. So, here’s the lowdown on how that happens and when it’s occurred across Star Wars movies and TV shows.

What is lightsaber bleeding?

Lightsaber bleeding is essentially the contamination and corruption of kyber crystals carried out by Sith. This process turns a light side saber from its natural color to the typical red of the dark side.

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Kyber crystals are inherently attuned to the light side of the Force, normally resulting in blue or green blades used by the Jedi.

Sith attain their red lightsabers by stealing kyber crystals from Jedi and manipulating them through bleeding. Jedi turning to the dark side may use their own crystals but are encouraged to take a new one from a light side adept.

How does it happen?

Sith channel all their hate, rage, fear, and pain into the kyber crystals using the Force.

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This can be a dangerous process and can cause the crystal to become highly unstable or even break entirely. Kyber crystals themselves can actually resist the transition to the dark side.

Jedi are also able to heal bled crystals. This cleansing process turns them away from the dark side and leaves the crystal in a pure white state.

Mentions of bleeding in Star Wars lore

While The Acolyte was the first to show lightsaber bleeding on screen, the process has also been used by the likes of Kylo Ren and Darth Vader.

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In The Acolyte finale, Osha takes Sol’s blue lightsaber and bleeds it to reveal flashes of red in the blade.

However, in Star Wars canon, the first mention of lightsaber bleeding came in the 2016 novel, Ahsoka. The legendary Jedi acquired her white sabers through the process of cleansing corrupted kyber crystals.

The first time we see lightsaber bleeding is in issue 5 of the Darth Vader comics from 2017. Canonically, Vader had a tough time bleeding a crystal when he turned to the dark side, with the Force trying to push him back to the light.

Darth Sidious (AKA Palpatine) ordered Vader to return to Mustafar, where he had suffered defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi and lost his Jedi weapon. There, he was to kill Jedi Master Infil’a and corrupt the fallen Jedi’s crystal.

While the crystal resisted and showed Vader visions of what his life could be like if he returned to the light, he fought back and poured so much hate, regret, and pain into it that he eventually turned it red.

Kylo Ren also struggled with his attempt at lightsaber bleeding. With no true Sith to guide him, the crystal Kylo manipulated became highly unstable and cracked. This resulted in his signature crossguard model lightsaber, which vented the excess energy away from the crystal.

Other Jedi like Luke Skywalker, Jora Malli, Dagan Gera, and Jaden Korr, have all encountered lightsaber bleeding. In various novels and lore, these Star Wars characters have all healed crystals to return them to the light side.

For more upcoming Star Wars projects, learn about Andor Season 2, New Jedi Order, or Dawn of the Jedi. We’ve also assembled the best Star Wars quotes, and can explain how the Jedi doom themselves in The Acolyte.