Probationer Notes 3: The Motto.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Magical mottos are perhaps the most famous aspect of old-fashioned magical orders. The magician takes on a pseudonym which is aligned with their magical goals so that they can operate within the order under that name. Most people sign their letters or emails off to their superiors using their magical motto, their superiors also address them using this magical motto. Some people may think this to be superfluous and no longer a valuable practice. I humbly disagree.
Using a magical motto within a magical context only allows for that motto to retain a sense of secrecy and importance. We can even go as far to say that it creates a sacred atmosphere around the name. It is a name you take on the beginning of each new step of your journey if you so wish, and so signifies a new birth of yourself. The person you are at the end of your probationer year is not the same person you were at the start. If no change at all has occurred within yourself, you have failed.
Furthermore, I think the use of magical mottos between teacher and student is an important practice. For one thing, it allows for anonymity for both parties involved should the correspondence ever be found or glanced at. People may think this unimportant, but there are those of us in the modern magical community who prefer to remain anonymous, myself included. More importantly, the use of the magical motto allows for the correspondence or interactions to take on a more formal appearance.
This formal appearance matters because the role of the teacher is not to be a friend to the student. Of course, sometimes friendships can blossom and these are okay to maintain on their own plane, but they cannot be allowed to interfere with the guru-chela interaction. Occasionally, the teacher must challenge the student, sometimes they have to tell them that perhaps they are not correct, sometimes they have to tell them they are lazy and idle and need to continue the work!
Being addressed as your magical motto allows you to know it is your role in the order, your magical self being spoken to, not your ego outer self. Within the context of student-teacher no topic, no advice, no information should be considered taboo or off limits. When the teacher addresses the student as their motto it is not a friend they address, it is not an ordinary person they address, it is a plant within their garden which they hope flourishes into an ecosystem of their own one day.
Now that we have discussed the importance of magical mottos, how exactly should you choose one? I think it should be a matter of deep consideration. Traditionally, magical mottos are words or phrases usually in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew. Sometimes they are deity names you wish to emulate. Occasionally, they’re even in English! What, I think, is important, especially for a probationer, is that the motto reflects a goal- what they wish to become at the end of this journey. The probationer changes their motto on becoming a Neophyte because they will probably find their goal or their thoughts change during their probationer period. The very goal of the probationer is to ”Know Thyself” and whilst most beginners think they know themselves, the truth is most do not.
My probationer motto was most likely very incorrect, bad latin. I was 18 years old at the time and like most 18-year-olds believed I knew everything about anything. The goal which I wanted to emulate was ‘To Obtain Light’ which I considered to be the Holy Guardian Angel. Whilst this goal hasn’t changed the steps, my understanding, and thus my wording has. I styled this in (bad) latin as ‘Adipisci Lux’ and my reasoning for this phrasing was because I could sign off as Frater A.L. which points towards Liber AL vel Legis. I thought I was being very clever, aligning myself with the HGA and the central focus of the Thelemic current!
When I became a Neophyte my motto changed once more, I still use that motto in personal work today. So, I won’t share that one. I have not yet shedded that skin and become reborn into a new direction. My probationer motto is buried, dead under dirt. It's still growing within my soul, but no longer the central focus of the garden. When it comes to your own mottos try to make the grammar correct, think deeply about what you want to achieve and what you want to align yourself with, treat your new name with respect.
Love is the law, love under will.
Frater 370.