"The Ren doesn't stop to worry about what it's burning or the right or wrong of it, or the goals it might achieve. The Ren just is. It lives, and it consumes, and it doesn't apologize. It is its nature and nothing else." - Ren on the Knights of Ren's philosophy
The Knights of Ren have always fascinated me as wielders of the dark side of the Force. I have often been enamored with them since the first glimpse we saw of the Knights standing during a storm and surrounded by bodies. They stand apart from Jedi and Sith and have often been made enemies of both due to the unique philosophy regarding how they operate that might seem confusing to most, or on the regular called dark jedi when the very term implies that they come from the Jedi Order, when only one has ever come from the Jedi Order that being Kylo Ren. No, the Knights of Ren operate in a similar manner to many other dark side cults that have outright hated both Jedi and Sith Orders examples being but not limited to (Sorcerers of Rhand, Prophets of the Dark Side, Blackguard, Sorcerers of Tund, Nightsisters of Dathomir.) Many others that have sprouted from the conflicts of Jedi and Sith or deep in the darkest reaches of the galaxy. As someone who has spent the last six to seven years trying to flesh out and create lore for the Knights of Ren of which I've created two holocron entries that serve as a sort of introduction and guide to the mysterious warriors of the dark side. While two entries in the guide is useful for players on Chaos to start taking a deep dive into this dark side sect I feel that the view of the dark side could be explained more. After doing some deep research into real life influences i'm hoping to provide better context on what the Ren view in the Force and what they exactly meant by the 'Shadow' and it's connection to the dark side in hopes of providing more lore and info for players seeking to do something totally different than the typical Sith or Dark Jedi.
The Knights of Ren's philosophy as explained by Ren is solely based on what they called the 'Shadow' while many have read or seen this as another as another name for the Dark Side it goes much deeper than that. While the Knights of Ren is shrouded in mystery it is clear to us based on what knowledge there is in canon, and to a degree of Chaos canon the Knights of Ren has always valued the ideas of individualism, self-realization, brotherhood, and about gaining power from within rather than to beg for scraps of a master who seldom grants apprentices or followers a measure of power, instead relying upon themselves alone. From what is seen this has also produced tenants that the Knights of Ren follow as guidelines than a strict code or dogma strictly imposed by both Jedi and Sith. These guidelines hold an emphasis of the freedom and independence the Knights of Ren have.
1. Loyalty - Above all else, the Knights of Ren must be loyal to their chosen leader, each other and mission they are set out on.
2. Power - The Knights of Ren value strength and power, both physical and Force abilities
3. Secrecy- The Knights of Ren operate in secrecy and their movements and objectives are only know within their circle
4. Ruthlessness - The Knights of Ren are not bound by any moral code and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.
5. Unity - The Knights of Ren work as a team and prioritize their group's success over individual desires or interests.
6. Dark Side - As followers of the Dark Side of the Force, the Knights of Ren embrace their emotions and use them to fuel their actions.
7. Conquest - The Knights of Ren seek to conquer and control, stamping out resistance and opposition wherever they find it.
These tenets reflect the dark and dangerous nature of the Knights of Ren from the few times we have seen them. Now, you are probably asking well Jin what does this have to do with the Shadow? You see the more times I thought about it, and did more research to discover what any and all of this meant to get down to the philosophy of the dark side sect I discovered that the shadow was more than just simply another name for the Dark Side. You see the Shadow is more than that and so I looked to real life to build upon this and flesh the lore out fully where it is explained. The Shadow is more than just an alternative name as the very idea of the Shadow is found within Carl's Jung's own writings on the Psyche.
Carl Jung had a deep interest in the idea of the Shadow. He has often called it "The thing that no person wishes to be." The Shadow as part of the archetypes of the Psyche represents the deepest and darkest aspects of ourselves. While many of us has often ignored the shadow and followed our codes of morality it is often always in the back of our very minds. The Shadow often encourages the very worst inside of us, and has formed the basis for the darkest tendencies in all of Humanity as a whole. That's not saying that the Shadow is outright evil as it provides good qualities as long as we have the awareness to recognize it's presence. The good that the Shadow offers while being aware of it is the development of our natural instincts, appropriate actions, realistic insights, creative impulses and so on. The Shadow as part of the persona is deep in the back of our very minds affecting all of us throughout our day to day lives.
"Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions." - Carl Jung
Thus the Shadow is our caged minds often produce guilt lest we give in to our darker and basic instincts. Ultimately in order to reach enlightenment the Shadow must be recognized and embraced as say our darker selves. Let's say you look in the mirror in the back of your head and you see a mirror. What's staring back at you? None other than yourself but imagine a darker self that is you. All the darkness of the Shadow that represents aggressive impulses, taboo mental images, shameful experiences, immoral urges, fears, insecurities, irrational wishes and so on. We often go about our day to day lives recognizing all of this choosing to stay in the light. Often keeping the darkest aspects of the Shadow to ourselves locked and hidden away never to be seen or mention by anyone. The Shadow is also seen in the Eastern religions of Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
When Ren is speaking of the Ren's philosophy in the form of the unbound energy of the Ren Lightsaber, Ren is speaking of the Shadow and the darker tendencies the Shadow represents. To Ren the whole idea of the Shadow is trying to unleash what we have denied all of our lives. What Ren sees in the Shadow he see's the freedom of the self in by releasing the caged beast within and recognize the Jedi as weak for suppressing this deep down choosing to bask themselves in the Light. He also recognizes that the Sith while the Ren draws influence from the Sith and while they have embraced the Shadow to it's full extent they often take it to even more extremes where it borders on Nihilism and the obliteration of the self in the pursuits for greater power. The Ren see's this and often try to keep a more balanced view while leaning heavily to the darker nature that lies as part of the Shadow.
In conclusion the Knights of Ren instead of suppressing the Shadow deep inside themselves they only wish to open up the eyes of the galaxy by embracing what is "True freedom" By embracing all of the darkness that dwells deep inside of us all in order to achieve control over the Dark Side of the Force, but also recognize the dangers of completely enthralling yourself into the dark oblivion that awaits all those that fails to learn this very lesson. The Knights of Ren themselves represents the very dark aspects of nature and seek to open the galaxy's eyes to that same view in order to achieve power and growth from within instead of without.
