The Power of Words: So Mote It Be.

In its most simple form, the phrase “So Mote It Be” contains the words a witch uses to seal a spell, and this is the definition most commonly given when asked. However the history of this phrase is far more complex and interesting. Used today in modern witchcraft practices, it casts the practitioner’s intention to the universe so that their will may be carried out via their magical workings. It is spoken right at the end of the spell or ritual, as a way of saying that magic has taken place and the intent has been cast.

However, in some of the earliest traditions, “mote” was integrated as a part of a sacred oath. This came about from the formation of a primitive type of court held in the forest, often beneath an Oak tree. The court itself was called the Mote and was pre-Hellenic in origin and seen in both pastoral England and Scotland. To take an oath before the Mote was to put your honour and your word on the line. Thus the original meaning behind saying “So Mote It Be” was the way of stating that the things you had said in front your peers of the Mote were true and honourable.

Taking this through into a magical circle, we can see how these ancient origins match up. By saying “So Mote It Be” at the end of a magical working, we are making these same affirmations. We are saying that we stand by the words we have spoken and that we have been true to our own personal code of honour. Thus the spell carried out becomes the practitioner’s oath to herself and to her Gods.

This is reinforced through the development of modern English, as by looking at the etymology of the word “Mote”, through the 14th century it was used as the common word for what is now said as “Must”. Thus we see again it shows the practitioner holding fast to their word. So Must It Be. The phrase has a ring of finality and authority. It ushers the practitioner’s intention into reality and manifestation in the physical realm.

This phrase lost its common usage and became hidden within the practices of Freemasonry for many years where it was used as a replacement for the more common ending of prayer, “Amen”. The Freemasons interpreted it as referring to will of the Christian God being brought into the physical plane. It was a way for them to remind themselves that they needed to reconcile themselves to will of their God.

The phrase was finally adopted by Gerald Gardner as words of power when he established a revival of witchcraft in the form of Wicca. He shed the freemason association with submission to a higher being, and brought it back to the original roots of being a phrase of personal authority.

When it is put in context with the full phrase; “As I Will It, So Mote It Be”, this change from the submissive freemason usage becomes even clearer. It becomes a linking phrase between the intentions of the practitioner and reality rather than the will of a deity. It is what brings the practitioner’s spell to life and creates a flow of magic in accord with the practitioner’s own will and their workings.

With this point made, it shows the importance of focus and intention in personal magical workings. Meditation, visualisation, clarity, focus and honour all play a part in creating magic. If a person’s will is not completely aligned with their workings, then no matter how fancy the spell may be, or carefully worded it is; whatever it is that they are working on will not have the same magical emphasis as if their whole focus had been behind it.

References

Alexander, Skye; The Modern Witchcraft Spellbook; (2012); Adams Medial; Massachusetts, USA; p109

Grimassi, Raven; Encyclopaedia of Wicca and Witchcraft; (2000); Llewellyn Publications; Minnesota, USA pp184-185

Grimassi, Raven; Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition; (2004); Llewellyn Publications; Minnesota, USA p184