Heinsnake Cult The Heinsnake cult was an ancient sect the members of which wielded a dark and powerful magic capable of rivaling the Dark Lords of the Sith and clouding their vision . Its symbol was a green headless snake , which the cultists painted or tattooed on their torso . They had a temple located on a small moon . Their motto was " The Heinsnake requires no head to survive . " The cultists could also self - destruct to avoid capture or to ensure an enemy was taken down . History . In ancient times , a group of humanoids discovered a mysterious moon covered with the relics of a bygone civilization . The newcomers found an abandoned city and a temple , inside which mysterious petroglyphs had been painted . Thanks to those drawings , the humanoids learned how to use " the Basis , " a large beam of energy harnessed from the moon ' s core . With that beam , the new inhabitants were able to increase their crops , and they also found out how to use it as a weapon . With the teachings of the petroglyphs in mind , the colonists developed a dark philosophy based on the worship of chaos and anarchy . Brute might became their only rule , and chaos their key to ultimate freedom . Among the petroglyphs was also a prophecy , which they regarded as one of their core beliefs : one day , a black - armored warrior would come and lead their army , ready to bring chaos to the whole galaxy . The drawings showed that the prophecized warrior would defeat two snakes by decapitation , before cutting the head off another one . While the first two snakes would die , the third one represented chaos and would live on forever . And so the Heinsnake Cult was born . By the end of the Clone Wars , that cult was thought to have died ages ago , when their temple was abandoned because of some mysterious " abnormalities . " However , that sect had actually survived , and it resurfaced shortly after the establishment of Emperor Palpatine ' s New Order and the extermination of the Jedi Knights in 19 BBY . At that time , the resurrected snake cult made an assassination attempt on Palpatine , which prompted the Emperor to send his second - in - command , Darth Vader on a mission to locate the cultists . Meanwhile , one of the cultists also sabotaged a " Venator " - class Star Destroyer in orbit around their current hideout , an unidentified moon , by posing as one of the engineers and implementing a homing beacon . By consequence , the Cult utilized the basis to completely obliterate the ship , although not before most of the crew evacuated . After locating the remains of the Imperial ship , Vader and his guards landed on the moon . They discovered the ruined temple , and Vader was greeted by the cultists , who recognized him as the armored warrior of the prophecy . The Emperor ' s right hand man discovered that the cultists expected him to destroy the Empire , which they regarded as the embodiment of the second snake . With the Jedi and the Empire destroyed , the cultists hoped they could bring chaos to the universe , allowing the headless Heinsnake to reign forever . However , they ended up wiped out by Vader instead , who also took the crystal powering the Basis , dooming their moon in the process . Palpatine later revealed that he had manipulated Vader into wiping them out as a test , even engineering his own assassination attempt . He also stated the Basis would be inspirational for Grand Moff Tarkin ' s ' project ' .