"He can see things before they happen...It is a Jedi trait."

From the first moments Anakin was discovered, this much was clear: Anakin was special, and part of what made Anakin unique was the fact that he was not tied to the moment. He was focused on the future, be it the immediate or a far flung destiny. It's interesting that Qui-Gon, protagonist of "The Living Force", who would likewise chide a young Obi-Wan for his propensity to focus on anxieties "at the expense of the moment", would be so taken with a child ruled by moments yet to be.

Nonetheless, Anakin's powers were anchored in an ability to see the future, not merely the present.

"I had a dream I was a Jedi."

Anakin's predictions are most often in dream form, although they are not perfectly accurate. Though they contain truth, they are also somehow skewed. He may see that he will be a Jedi, but he also believes his destiny is to return and free his enslaved brethren. This may be true "from a certain point of view", when he frees the Galaxy from tyranny, but it was certainly a path frought with turnbacks and pitfalls. At an early age, Anakin can see things, but he does not understand them.

"I saw my mother. I saw her as clearly as I see you
now."

As Anakin grows older his powers of prophecy become more vivid, his dreams less dream-like, and ominously darker. What were visions of a bright future have shifted to a focus on impending loss. What were once dreams, are now nightmares.

Anakin realizes increasingly what we may recognize as a poignant irony - the child slave with dreams of freedom has become a slave to his own abilities in many ways, and his own future. He is powerless to stop the change his mother prayed he would learn to accept. And yet it drives something sinister in him, a thirst for control over things that can not possibly be controlled. He loses his mother, regardless of his foreknowledge. His powers are useless when it matters most to him. No one tortures Anakin more than Anakin himself, and his dubious gift of foresight.

"You die in childbirth . . ."

Anakin's abject aversion to his own visions haunt him so completely now, it begins to twist his psyche. He alternates between denial and defiance about his own abilities, shifting from "It was only a dream" to "I won't let this one become real" in the same breath.

Anakin's powers of foresight are growing, but where do they come from, and what have they become? Are they visions projected upon his mind, or do they come from within? More importantly, have his abilities morphed into an ability to shape the outcome? Does he believe something so intensely, fear something so completely, he inadvertantly reaches into the fabric of destiny itself to somehow make these things so? Is it possible that Anakin, child of Prophecy, can inadvertantly fulfill his own? The Dark Side clouds his judgement, but his visions are stark in their relentless clarity now. And if anything is more evident than ever before, it's that two things stalk Anakin - tragedy, and visions.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

When, then, did vision abandon Anakin? When he became Vader? And if so, why? It can not be said that foresight into the future is only a Jedi trait. The Emperor harnesses this ability, and in fact leverages the fate of his plans on his gift to see, and therefore to shape, the future. But what was an ever-present talent in Anakin's repertoire has seemingly left him as Vader, so much so that he's mocked by Admiral Motti for his lack of clairvoyance, indicating his inability to find the Rebels or retrieve the plans.

And truly, it seems Motti is right . Vader's visions are failing him. His prediction that "There will be no one to stop us this time" is nothing more than empty bluster, and more importantly, completely untrue. Their failure, his failure at Yavin is outshone only by the brillance of a Death Star blossoming into its fiery demise. If he finds a lack of faith in his ability to see through the Force, he has good reason to find it disturbing, as should anyone basing their designs on his gifts.

"You can destroy the Emperor."

Vader's offering of power to Luke is based on a half-truth, as I've touched on before here . His selective memory, either intentional or not, ignores the Emperor's actual prediction regarding Luke's interference in their plans. "He could destroy us," Palpatine warns. But Vader seems intent on Luke's seduction to the Dark Side only because he believes in Luke's power against the Emperor. But what of Luke's part in his own undoing? As I've pointed out before, you might think that Vader believes Palpatine is lying, but then wouldn't his vision serve him best here?

Vader, who as Anakin could once see the future clearly, whether he wanted to or not, can now see nothing past his own ambitions. But I wonder if that's all that blinds him...

"Tell your sister...you were right..."

With his final breath, the redeemed Anakin admits what Vader would not. He did not see what Luke could see. Anakin's gift of personal prophecy had left him long ago, and just as his dark visions used to haunt his mind, the utter darkness of his mind's eye is now strangely a comfort to him. With his last thoughts, and his own eyes fully on this moment shared with his son, Vader concedes defeat, and Anakin claims his costly victory over his vexing gift.

So the question remains - why did his visions abandon him? Was it his transformation into Vader that cost him this talent? Was it his focus, as Qui-Gon had said, determining his reality? Did his lust for power and all-consuming ambitions shroud his ability to see the true destiny of a galaxy lost in darkness, and the outcome of his own life? Or was it something else, perhaps...

As Anakin, his vision centered on his anxieties, just as Qui-Gon had warned Obi-Wan about. His fears for those he loved drove his need to see their future, so much so that he could not control his own visions or their eventual culminations in reality. As Vader, however, who did he care for, and who did he love?

It may be one explanation that Vader's path to the dark side cost him the very thing that had been a source of power. Having lost his love for others, and self, the Dark Side had become just that for Anakin - Darkness.