Force vision

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"Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side."
"I won't let these visions come true, Master Yoda."

―Master Yoda and Anakin Skywalker.^[src]

Force visions were an aspect of the Force, an ability to see into the past and the future. An ability once possessed by all Jedi, in the final years of the Galactic Republic before its transformation into the Galactic Empire, it had grown rare. Some Sith, as Force users, were also capable of experiencing Force visions.

History

"Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future... the past. Old friends long gone."

―Yoda tutors Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force^[src]

Yoda, as one of the Jedi Order's most powerful masters, was able to see into the future, though he understood that Force prophecy was not absolute and that the future was always in motion.^[9] His visions led him to foresee the fall of the Jedi in the Clone Wars and even his own death.^[11] Prior to the Clone Wars, the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas had foreseen the galactic conflict, but his ideas of raising an army in defense of the Republic had been dismissed as too extreme.^[7]^[12]

Anakin Skywalker had extremely powerful Force visions in his sleep, and his visions were never known to be wrong. He foresaw the death of his mother following terrible torture by Tusken Raiders and was unable to stop it, his mother dying in his arms.^[8] Later, he witnessed through the Force his own wife's death in childbirth and was determined to prevent it happening. Unfortunately, he neglected to remember the fact that such visions are not absolute; what he saw was what might happen. Skywalker fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader to try to prevent it, but ironically he instead caused it to happen; when his wife discovered what he had done, she was horrified and badly wounded by her husband in his rage, subsequently dying after delivering her children.^[13]

Depa Billaba was able to receive visions during meditation and to pass them on through touch to her Padawan, Caleb Dume. This gave her enough forewarning to fend off her clone trooper battalion long enough for Dume to evade Order 66.^[2] Dume was taught that visions were difficult and nearly impossible to interpret; one's emotions could cloud them and it took training and discipline to see things clearly. He later passed on these teachings to Ezra Bridger after his padawan misinterpreted his first vision.^[3]

Luke Skywalker experienced a vision of his friends in danger on Cloud City, Bespin. His training incomplete, he rushed to aid his friends, ignoring the warnings of both Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi that such a decision was rash and that he needed further training.^[9]

One of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time, Darth Sidious was able to use the dark side to peer into the future and manipulate events on a galactic scale to suit his ends. Despite this, he was unable to foresee his own end, when Darth Vader turned from the dark side to help his son Luke to overthrow him.^[1]

Rey experienced a Force vision of her past and future upon touching the lightsaber that once belonged to Skywalker.^[6]