Shop Grateful-Djed-wLogo, on a kids baby t-shirt

About the Design

Who doesn’t love a good origin story? I’m often interested in what’s behind
the creation of famous icons in pop culture and there is usually a tale to be
told about it. The fictional, and very popular Order of the Jedi is no
different.
I had heard about this some years ago, and in making this mash-up, it
brought back that memory and a chance to tell that story again…

The Jedi Knights as brought to us in the Sci-Fi, space-western-shoot-em-up
known as Star Wars probably have their roots in an actual ancient, elite-
warrior class from Egypt called the Djedi. They probably did not have light
sabers, but they may have wielded swords, and most intriguing to me, they
could have “used the Force”.

Legends of old make the claim that these magical priests were guardians of
the Pharaoh and were maybe even the predecessors of the Knights of the
Round Table and the Knights Templars who brought those stories back with
them that led to those enchanted tales of the Holy Grail and serpent
powers!
Anyway, you might have fun going down that rabbit hole and this is a the
mash-up illustration I made with some of those ideas. Vader himself being
a combination of Japanese samurais in Nazi garb as well as this Djed idea
with a classic Grateful Dead icon into one “Grateful Djed” image.