The White Materia in freefall.
The White Materia (白マテリア, Shiro Materia?) is a powerful Materia in Final Fantasy VII and is counterpart to the Black Materia. Both are unique, there being only one of each. The White Materia is used to speak directly with the Planet and once the Planet receives the message, the Materia glows light green. It is used to summon the "Ultimate White Magic", Holy, which summons the full power of the Planet to protect the continuation and harmony of life.
In the remake continuity, the White Materia glows pearly white.
Story[]
Original continuity[]
Mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing.
Aerith misunderstanding the White Materia
Long ago, the Cetra were given two gifts from the Planet: the Black Materia, which had the power to destroy, and the White Materia, which had the power to protect. Being peaceful people, the Cetra embraced the power of the White Materia and rejected the Black, sealing it away by transforming it into a complex, booby-trapped, labyrinthine temple that became known as the Temple of the Ancients.
When the extra-terrestrial organism, Jenova, fell to the Planet, the Cetran civilization was nearly wiped out before Jenova was sealed. As they had kept the knowledge of both Black and White Materia from their close cousins, the humans, the knowledge of Holy slowly died along with the Cetra as their numbers dwindled. Ifalna, the last remaining Cetra, lived in solitude in Icicle Inn to the far north, concealing the secret of the White Materia. When she died young she was forced to pass the Materia on to her daughter, Aerith Gainsborough, while the girl was still a child ignorant of its true power.
When Aerith becomes involved with Cloud Strife and AVALANCHE in their fight to save the Planet, she becomes aware the White Materia's abilities and realizes that if Sephiroth plans to summon Meteor, the only way to stop him is to summon Holy. She leaves Cloud and his allies—knowing Cloud is under Sephiroth's control and can't be trusted, much as she wanted to believe in him—and heads north to the City of the Ancients, where she begins to meditate to call upon Holy.
Aerith prays for Holy.
As Aerith contacts the Planet, Sephiroth, using Jenova cells as a vessel—impales her through the torso with the Masamune, killing her. The White Materia, which Aerith had hidden within her hair, falls into the lake beneath the village.
Although everyone at first believes reaching the Planet is now impossible with the last Cetra dead, they later learn Aerith's prayer had reached the Planet, but Sephiroth is preventing the spell from answering the call. To release Holy, Sephiroth must be defeated but by the time this happens Meteor has already entered the Planet's atmosphere, and it is too late for Holy alone to force the object back without also harming the Planet.
Aerith's spirit summons the Lifestream to supplement Holy's power. Although the clash between the forces creates a magical storm that destroys Midgar, Meteor is repelled, and the Planet is saved. It is unknown what happened to the White Materia afterward, but it can be assumed the White Materia still lies in the bottom of the lake in the Forgotten City.
Remake continuity[]
The white materia falls as Aerith's hair ribbon unravels.
In an alternate reality where Zack Fair brought a mako-poisoned Cloud Strife to Midgar after surviving his "final stand", he rescues an unconscious Aerith Gainsborough from a Shinra transport helicopter in the aftermath of the Shinra Building being toppled by tornadoes. During his rescue, Aerith's hair ribbon comes undone and the white materia falls out. Zack takes Aerith, Cloud, the ribbon, as well as the materia, to Elmyra Gainsborough's house in the Sector 5 slums, where the white materia is placed on a stool next to the still-sleeping Aerith.
In the reality where tornadoes did not topple the Shinra Building and where Cloud, Aerith, and their friends escaped Midgar, Aerith still has her materia concealed under her ribbon. However, it has lost its luster and become clear. Worried about this change, Aerith shows the clear materia to Nanaki in Costa del Sol in chapter 6, "Fool's Paradise", asking what color he would describe it as. When Nanaki answers "clear", Aerith muses that it was white back in Midgar, before the Whispers stole her memories. Dejected, she ties the materia back into her braid.
Ifalna passes the white materia to Aerith.
In the Temple of the Ancients in chapter 13, "Where Angels Fear to Tread", Aerith embarks on a trial of the Cetra where she relives the time her mother died at the slums' train station. Before perishing, Ifalna passed the white materia onto Aerith, glowing the familiar white glow.
After giving the black materia to Sephiroth at the Temple of the Ancients, Cloud falls unconscious and is carried by the party toward the City of the Ancients at Aerith's behest. During the time his body is unconscious in the reality where they left Midgar in chapter 14, "End of the World", Cloud awakes at Elmyra's empty house and meets Aerith. Though confused, Cloud allows Aerith to take him on a date in the slums after which they visit the church where Aerith gifts Cloud her white materia, asking Cloud to deliver it to the Aerith of his own world. As Sephiroth enters the church, delighted at having discovered Aerith's hiding place, Aerith pushes Cloud into a portal in the flower bed.
Cloud finds himself in a mysterious forest where Aerith again greets him. Cloud gives her the white materia as instructed, and she takes the clear materia from her hair and swaps it with Cloud's, asking him to hold onto it for her. She disappears into the misty forest while Cloud is being held back by white Whispers. He awakes, still in the same forest, being carried by Barret, who says he has been carrying him ever since Cloud fell unconscious at the temple, but they have lost sight of Aerith in the mist.
They head to the City of the Ancients where their passage is blocked by white Whispers. Cloud makes a way through and alone finds Aerith praying at the altar for the planet to protect her friends whom she has come to care for so deeply, apologizing for not truly knowing how to use the white materia to make a prayer as her mother had never taught her and there are no Cetra left who could impart the knowledge. Sephiroth descends from above, and though Cloud thought he managed to block the attack, he still sees Aerith fall to the floor, her hair ribbon unraveling and the white materia falling to the water below the altar.
Cloud holds the clear materia.
After fending off Jenova Lifeclinger and Sephiroth Reborn's efforts to reunite fragmented space-time, Cloud appears to remain in denial over what has happened. When waiting for Cid Highwind to fix the Tiny Bronco so they can continue to pursue Sephiroth further north, oblivious to his friends' mournful mental states, Cloud gazes through the clear materia he had received from Aerith. When he puts the clear materia back into his pocket, he notices he still has the black materia in his pocket.
Behind the scenes[]
Aerith's "clear materia" will be a key item in the third installment of the remake project. "Some sort of power" used to be sealed inside the white materia, but it turned clear after that power was lost.[1] In the original game, the power held by the White Materia was Holy.
Other appearances[]
Final Fantasy Tactics[]
White Materia.
In Final Fantasy Tactics, there is an Artefact that can be obtained from an errand called White Materia. Its description is the following:
These stones, developed by the ancient Saronians, are the result of experiments in storing knowledge within gems for later generations. They are said to enhance the abilities of the possessor.
Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-[]
Finding the White Materia.
The White Materia appears briefly in a task where the Player Turk must find the Materia in the Sector 5 Slums, as Aerith has dropped it while running from pursuing AVALANCHE troops who seek her supposed knowledge of the "Promised Land".
Dissidia Final Fantasy[]
A Materia piece resembling the White Materia appears at the end of Cloud's story and in the ending credits as the representative Crystal of Final Fantasy VII. Cloud acquires it from Sephiroth after defeating him in the Planet's Core. Along with the other nine Crystals, it opens the path to Chaos's domain in the game's final stage.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]
This section about an ability in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]
This section about an ability in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.
Other media[]
Dead Fantasy[]
The White Materia glows on Hitomi's right wrist after she stole most of Tifa's Materia
Tifa Lockhart carries the White Materia along with both offensive and supporting Materia in her arms and legs. The White Materia is stolen by Hitomi during their battle in Dead Fantasy III. The White Materia also appears in Dead Fantasy V in Hitomi's right wrist after she stole most of Tifa's Materia. She shows it to Helena Douglas when it glows on her right wrist.
Etymology[]
Materia means "matter" or "substance" in Latin, Spanish, and Italian; it also means "subject" in Italian and Spanish, and is the root of Portuguese "Matéria".
- ↑ (n.d.) . Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Post-Release Interview (Part 2) – Devs Discuss Side Characters, Dialogue, and Sequel. Frontline Gaming Japan. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024.