"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together"

But just what is the Force? This mystical energy field seems to have a will of its own, and retains both dark and light aspects. How can an energy used by both good and evil serve either side exclusively?

In short, it can't, and doesn't. The Force is everything and nothing; it is all around and yet in no one place; it is night and day, dark and light, good and evil.

The dark side and the light side are inseperable yet totally removed from one another. Neither can be used in conjunction without affecting the user, but the divide is not strictly defined. Anakin Skywalker, for example, had to endure the dark to bring the galaxy into a new light, and Luke Skywalker's Jedi continue to practise a view of the Force that attempts to combine the better aspects of the many facets of the Force.

The Force is also viewed in terms of Living and Unifying aspects; the here-and-now versus the larger, all-encompassing view. Studying the bigger picture cost Master Yoda's Jedi greatly when they failed to respond to the subtle machinations of Palpatine, while many Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos, benefit from usage of the Unifying Force.

There are also off-shoots of the Jedi religion, most prominently that practiced by the Dark Lords of the Sith. These beings wield the awesome power of the dark side, while adepts of the Potentium strive to balance both light and dark in harmony. Every Force-aware being in the galaxy has a different view of what and why the Force is.

And, in the end, that is all that can be said. Whether one serves the light or wields the dark, no one can truly understand the mysteries and complexities of the Force, an energy, and possibly a sentience, that transcends any other in the known universe.

For the servants of the Force, it is enough to know that, simply.... the Force is.

"May the Force be with you. Always"