The Jedi and Sith Codes have remained unchanged since the rise of the Old Republic, and it says a lot about the cultures.

The Jedi Code begins with the line “There is no emotion, there is peace.” Those seven words can stand for the entire code, and summarize everything the Jedi are. Their ultimate goal is to keep the peace, and to do so they detach themselves from everything in the galaxy, including themselves, and focus on doing what is “right.” Another thing to note is that their code is always objective and indirect, just like they are.

“There is no ignorance, there is knowledge” is a reasonable line, but the Jedi don’t live up to it. They never truly understand the Force because they cannot see past the Light and into the Dark. When they assume that the prophecy will be fulfilled when the Chosen One destroys the Sith, when they themselves said that it will restore the balance. Ironic, since they are the ones who say “only a Sith deals in absolutes.”

The next line, “There is no passion, there is serenity,” basically repeats the first one. The idea is that in order to operate in the usual trance-like calm, they must first detach themselves from everything so nothing can throw them off because passion is a potential weakness.

“There is no chaos, there is harmony” is a good principle. The idea is that harmony will help them stay in control and maintain the smooth operation of the Order. However, it is difficult to ignore the fact that the Jedi are surrounded by chaos and darkness and don’t even notice until it’s too late.

“There is no death, there is only the Force” is the last line and it appears to mean that when Jedi die, they become “one with the Force.” How this works is unknown, but it appears that Jedi never die, but instead they remain Force ghosts forever.

As with the Jedi Code, the first line of the Sith Code, “Peace is a lie, there is only passion,” could stand for the entire code. The Sith do not believe that peace is a good thing because they grow more powerful when they fight. Passion fuels their hate, which they channel into power. Unlike Jedi, who prefer to be the secret “illuminati” behind the Republic’s government, Sith want all the power for themselves and achieve it through war.

The rest of the code is in first person (I, me). That backs up the idea that they want power for themselves as an individual, not as a society. The second line, “Through passion, I gain strength,” shows that they consider their passion a motivation, not a weakness.

“Through strength, I gain power” is fairly straightforward. They use their strength, not for the greater good, but for themselves.

“Through power, I gain victory” simply means that their overall goal was to gain power, and the last lines, “Through victory, my chains will be broken, the Force shall set me free,” means that when they do become the most powerful being in the galaxy, they will have no more rules to follow, and they will bow to no one.

The Grey Jedi are another Force-using organization. They are incredibly secretive and are rarely known to not be undercover. They use the use the Light and Dark Sides for what they consider to be the greater good. Their code is a blend of the Jedi and Sith Codes.

The first line, as usual, is the most important: “There is no Dark Side, nor a Light Side, there is only the Force.” To outsiders, it appears that they use the Light and the Dark, but because they use both so fluently, they see no distinction, only the one living Force. They use the Force in its purest form, a state where light and dark are relative. In the same way, they are not good or evil, but a blend of both. They do what they believe is the right thing to do, but sometimes in ways that some would consider morally wrong.

“I will do what I must to keep the balance” states the goal of the Grey Jedi: to maintain both the light and the dark, and keep them balanced. The reason is in the next line: “There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish.” After a few centuries without Sith, the Jedi started becoming stuck up and unethical, to the point where they were so unprepared that the Republic fell at the hands of the first Sith who tried to take it. But when there were no Jedi, the Empire’s reign got so out of hand that only the person who helped create it could end it. These are the two situations the Grey Jedi try to avoid, by maintaining both good and evil.

The next two lines, “There is passion, yet peace” and “There is serenity, yet emotion” show that being a human is not a weakness. It is possible to not be a machine and stay in control at the same time.

The last line of the shortened code (there is a longer one) is possibly the most unexpected: “There is chaos, yet order.” The idea is that a constant struggle between good and evil can be chaotic, but on a bigger scale it can be controlled, and an “organized chaos”-like state is not necessarily bad for the galaxy. War leads to huge advancements in technology that would never happen otherwise, and it prevents societies from becoming bored and overconfident, like what happened to the Jedi after millennia without Sith. When Grey Jedi keep a balance between Jedi and Sith they are creating conflict, but by keeping it even they make sure that the delicate balance that keeps a society whole is maintained.