Summary
Telepathy inStar Warsis the Force-related ability to influence the minds of others, induce actions and speech, or to communicate between minds. Its scale and effectiveness are dependent on the users' prowess with the Force. The Jedi mind trick (made famous by “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”) is the best-known example in the franchise. There are several different ways to use telepathy, but the rarest form may be communicating with animals.
Ahsokaepisode 5 revealsthat Ahsoka’s connection to nature could be the reason why her Force telepathy seems to manifest as an ability that allows her to communicate with animals. While it has not been determined whether she can indeed “speak” with animals in the same way humans speak, that may not exactly be the way Ahsoka’s telepathy works. To understand how telepathy works inStar Wars, it is essential to understand first what is meant by communicating between minds.
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Telepathy is, at its most basic definition, a form of communication. This communication is just as varied as human-to-human communication, which can be verbal or written in words, symbols, or pictures. People can communicate through body language, or even how they dress. Likewise, telepathy can be expressed in several ways. Users can communicate intelligible thoughts, or they can transmit and receiving visual memories, physical sensations, or emotions. To do this, a Force-user trying to telepathically communicate with a non-verbal target must be able to telepathically transmit and receive non-verbal sensory-information.
How Star Wars' Force Telepathy Works
InStar Warsmedia,the method of initiating telepathy depends on the type of language being used. If a Force-user wants to transmit or receive another’s thoughts non-verbally, touching them is necessary. This allows the non-verbal languages of desires, emotions, and physical sensations to pass between the two. This form of communication is felt and thus transmitted through the body. Non-verbal telepathy is a more complicated, nuanced technique as no two emotions or sensations can be interpreted in the same way from target to target.Ahsoka’s use of this Force powermeans that the user has to understand the target’s non-verbal language apart from their own, and then communicate non-verbally in a way that the target understands as well.
In terms of verbal telepathy, the most notable wielder may be Kylo Ren. He could not only communicate telepathically to people who were many light-years away, but he could also project himself in their presence to speak with them. The ability to astrally project oneself, especially over great distances, takes great mastery of Force telepathy. Darth Vader was another user of verbal telepathy. In fact, one ofhis more surprising powersis his ability to forcefully use telepathy on a target to retrieve information. This was how he ascertained the fact that Luke had a sister.
Other feats of telepathy inStar Warsinclude Yoda’s telepathic empathy, which allows him to sense others' emotions and its influence on the Force within them. There are other demonstrations of telepathy that go beyond the usage on a single target, such as casting psychic shields, and broadcasting to or linking multiple targets. It is an essential technique of many high-level Force-users, including Mace Windu, Snoke, andMark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. Many Jedi and other Force-users use it to relay intel or stay connected to comrades when technology fails them.
Ahsoka Using Her Telepathy With Animals
InTales of the Jedi, a baby Ahsoka uses a form of telepathy on a feline threatening to eat her. Though both were unable to form words, the serene Force-sensitive child must have telepathically transmitted her emotional state to the feline, calming its hunger while she touched its head. However, this particular instance could have also been a result of another Force technique to simply calm the mind of a target.
If so, thenAhsokaseason 2, episode 5may be a new first for theStar Warsfranchise. It explicitly noted Ahsoka’s attempt to communicate with the purrgil, the space whales. Again, Ahsoka touches the head of the animal to perform the telepathy. This is a language and technique that cannot easily be conveyed visually between a human and an animal.
While unsure as to what may have been communicated between Ahsoka and the purrgil, Ahsoka’s joyful emotional state after performing the telepathy tells viewers a lot about her ability to effectively communicate with animals and gain their trust. Thelive-action debutof animal telepathy resulted in the purrgil leading the way to help Ahsoka find Sabine Wren and stop Morgan Elsbeth. This opens up a new world of possibilities for Ahsoka’s ability in her own series. For example, in combination with the telepathic technique to induce actions, animal telepathy could be used to lead a horde of creatures into battle.
Ahsoka’s ability to transmit and translate non-verbal communication with animals is as impressive as Kylo Ren’s interstellar telepathic conversations, if not more so. Kylo Ren’s masterful telepathy in speaking with humans may be rendered moot if he doesn’t speak the same language as the target. His shared ability with Darth Vader to forcefully read minds may compensate in those predicaments. But each animal, like most cultures, has their own way of communicating. For Ahsoka to communicate non-verbally with many of them could make her a telepathic animal-omnilinguist, or at leastStar Wars' most unique telepath.
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