How Qui Gon Jinn Learned To Become A Force Ghost

The knowledge of becoming a force ghost was actually a lost practice to the Jedi Order for centuries until the maverick Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn rediscovered the ability before his demise.

So If the Jedi Order didn’t possess the knowledge to become a force ghost, then how did Qui Gon come across this power?

Well, at an unknown point in time prior to his physical death, Qui-Gon learned the means to retain an eternal consciousness, learning much from a Shaman of the Whills.

This Shaman of the Whills taught Qui Gon that the path to retaining one’s consciousness after death required absolute selflessness.

The Shaman of the Whills traces its origins to the early drafts of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which George Lucas stated was a story told in the Journal of the Whills, a record of galactic knowledge.

The Shaman of the Whills was first specifically mentioned in the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, in a now-deleted scene that featured the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn communicating with Yoda.

Since Qui Gon’s training with the Whills remained incomplete by his death in 32 BBY, his body did not vanish, as did the corpses of other Jedi.

In effect, Qui Gon was only capable of communicating through his voice, lacking the ability to manifest as a spirit.

In the scene, which was never completed, Qui Gon stated that eternal consciousness had been accomplished by a Shaman of the Whills.

A cut line from a later scene also had Yoda saying that the path to eternal consciousness was a secret of the “Ancient Order of the Whills.”

Foreseeing Yoda’s relevant role in training the one who would preserve the balance of the Force, Qui Gon communicated with the Jedi Master during the final days of the Clone Wars.

He instructed Yoda on his way to the Force planet, where he was supposed to undergo a preliminary training supervised by the Force Priestesses.

The final three episodes of the sixth season of The Clone Wars titled “Voices,” “Destiny,” and “Sacrifice” show Yoda going through the trials to prove he is worthy of obtaining the knowledge of becoming a force ghost.

These 3 episodes also expand upon how Qui Gon learned the secret to eternal consciousness.

In the episode, Yoda learns about the secret from five Force Priestesses who had also trained Qui Gon but no mention is made of a Shaman of the Whills.

Despite this, the official Databank and on StarWars.com still refer to Qui Gon as having learned from a Shaman of the Whills.

The priestesses were representative of the connection between the Living Force as experienced by living beings, and the Cosmic Force in its role in the greater scheme of the universe.

Existing within the Wellspring of Life, the five were a form of shape-shifter, and would mutate their forms to manifest as Serenity, Joy, Anger, Confusion, and Sadness.

With Yoda’s suitability proven, Qui Gon promised to conduct his training onward.

Yoda himself passed on the knowledge to Obi-Wan Kenobi and taught him to communicate with Qui Gon as he mentions at the end of Revenge of the Sith

In 4 ABY, Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, who had once fallen to the dark side and declared himself as Darth Vader, was redeemed and his spirit soon joined those of Yoda and Kenobi before appearing to his son Luke on Endor.