Light of the Jedi reveals origin of the Jedi mind trick

The Jedi mind trick is one of the most popular Force abilities in all of Star Wars lore.

Many Jedi and Force practitioners have used the technique. One notable user was Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi when he used it on two stormtroopers to persuade them that C-3PO and R2-D2 were “not the droids they were looking for” while he and Luke were at the Mos Eisley Spaceport on Tatooine.

In the novel Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi, written by Charles Soule, we learn about who came up with the mind-controlling ability’s famous name.

In Chapter 23 of the Light of the Jedi Jedi Master Avar Kriss acknowledges that while she herself is skilled in the Force, it is her close friend, Jedi Knight Elzar Mann, who is skilled at reading and “understanding people.”

While interviewing Marlowe and Vellis San Tekka at their home in Naboo as part of the investigation of the Legacy Run incident, Avar senses that Elzar wants to use the Jedi mind touch, or the mind trick (as her friend calls it). Being described as a “problem solver,” Elzar wants to use the mind trick to get Marlowe tell the truth about the possibility of the Legacy Run encountering something in hyperspace which the man denied. Before the Jedi Knight could do so, Avar tells him to stand down through the Force which he teasingly relents.

However, Mann’s suspicions would prove to be true when the Jedi and The Republic would eventually learn that the Nihil, a group of ruthless marauders, were behind the Legacy Run incident. Even worse, Mari, a relative of the San Tekka’s, would be used by the Nihil to coordinate hyperspace routes.

The Light of the Jedi describes the Jedi mind trick as a “tool of the light.” But Avar, being an orthodox Jedi Master was said to “prefer indirect approaches to such a focused intervention in another person’s path.” However, Elzar is described as quite the opposite of Avar and is portrayed as a little more of an open-minded Jedi. The book explains that while Elzar “had his reservations,” he saw the mind trick “as a way to open people to the truth, to provide clarity, to allow them to feel the will of the Force. “

The mind trick would prove to be beneficial for many Jedi and Force users alike in both Star Wars Legends and Canon. In an episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars, Jedi Master Yoda uses the technique on Captain Typho to let Padme go on a mission to save Jedi Knights Lumnara Unduli and Barrris Offee on the ice planet Illum. In Attack of the Clones, ObI-Wan Kenobi would use the mind trick to ward off a bar patron offering him deathsticks.

However, while effective, the mind trick would not always be successful on those who were of strong mind or simply immune to the Force. For instance, in The Phantom Menace, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn would unsuccessfully use the mind trick on the Toydarian junk dealer and slaver Watto when trying to purchase a hyperdrive engine for Padme’s ship which was stranded on Tattooine.  Similarly, in Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker also tried using the mind trick on Jabba the Hutt but it did not work on the crime lord like it did on his majordomo Bib Fortuna.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi can be purchased anywhere books are sold!

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