why do we say so mote it be at the end of lodge prayers
The phrase serves as an archaic expression of assent, equivalent to "Amen," inherited from the early manuscript constitutions of the operative Craft 24. In the fourteenth-century Regius Manuscript, the text closes its initial benediction with "Amen! Amen! so mote it be!" 2.
This traditional formula was preserved as the Craft formalized its proceedings, appearing alongside "Amen" in James Anderson's 1723 Constitutions 4. Within lodge rituals and Masonic writings, the phrase continues to be used as a solemn concluding affirmation to prayers, invocations, and ritual statements 13.
where does the phrase come from
The phrase originates in the early manuscript constitutions of operative Masonry, where it was used as a concluding assent to formal benedictions 25. In the fourteenth-century Regius Manuscript, the text closes its initial benediction with "Amen! Amen! so mote it be!" 2. Similar usage appears in other early charges of the Craft, where the formula concludes as "Amen, so mote it be" 5.
The word "mote" is an archaic English verb meaning "may" or "might" 2. Its general usage during that period is illustrated in an early fifteenth-century manuscript cited by Newton, which records the question "What mote it be?" in the sense of "What may it be?" 2.
When the Craft formalized its published records, James Anderson retained the exact formula, printing "AMEN SO MOTE IT BE" at the end of introductory material in the 1723 *Constitutions* 4.
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