Coyote's Den

Why do we say "So Mote it Be?"

I hear lots of witches (and other practitioners of magic) use the words "So Mote it Be". This familiar term (familiar to practitioners of the craft at any rate) is used by many... but why? What does it mean? Certainly, it sounds imposing... but why?

So mote it be is an active, directive statement of will. It is not saying "please let this happen". It does not mean "I sure hope the gods will give me this". It is not a pleading, nor an order.

The term is meant to be used, when a witch or magician has decided on a condition they wish to draw forth. When in conjunction with their own inner will, they choose a rightful path, they do not need to say "please let this happen" or "please allow this to come to pass". They say "This will happen now."

In the mundane sense... so let it be is more of a prayer. A pleading. A "by your leave". So shall it be, while a statement of will, is a passive statement of will. So _mote_ it be is a directed understanding, in words, that something will happen.

It means "make this have to be"

In one witches' words... Mote is the opposite of the word might (as in "it might happen").

It can also imply "this is the way in which it will happen," as in saying "because I have done this spell, because it is my will, because I have said and done these things, this result will now come to pass."

This is the way "So Mote it Be" should be used in magickal working.