The Meaning Of Chirrut's Mantra Is Simple

It's hard to ignore the potency and adaptability of certain lines from Rogue One for everyday life. Such a line that's destined to become part of the pop culture lexicon is, "The Force is with me. I am one with the Force." But what does Chirrut's Rogue One mantra actually mean? The line itself is gaining importance among Rogue One fans as time goes on, indicating that they have embraced this quote and truly made it their own. But as this is happening, I occasionally find myself wondering what the line itself really means and whether or not it has a secret history or message that we could eke out.

It may surprise you to think of the Star Wars veteran Yoda when you think of Rogue One, but the connection is there. Chirrut's mantra recalls Yoda's unusual way of speaking, with his tendency to reverse his subject with his predicates and clauses. That's not to say that two characters who can channel the Force automatically give meaning to words simply because they speak them unusually, but rather that the sageness and Force-wielding abilities of both characters seems bound up in their Force-channeling and the phrases they use to conjure it.

But if moving away from the symbolic and toward the literal, Chirrut's mantra is relatively easy to parse. "The Force is with me" is the first half of the mantra. It's a simple summoning of the Force. It's how Chirrut gets into the right headspace and aligns himself with the thing he is about to summon for strength and guidance. While he literally does it to see and function, if you (an adoring fan) were to try and use it in real life, then you'd simply be using it to calm yourself and bring yourself to a place where you're on the same level as the Force.

The second part is even easier to pick apart: "I am one with the Force." After he takes the time to actually bring himself to the same plane of existence as the Force, Chirrut actually has to synchronize himself with it. The Force brings harmony, and you cannot project that harmony outwards unless you're aligned with it. Once Chirrut finishes repeating that mantra, all bets are off. His foes can say "adios" because they are about to meet their end at the hands of one of the Guardians of the Whills.

"The Force is with me. I am one with the Force" is simply a phrase meant to really sink the speaker into the right headspace. It's a meditative, deep, and real kind of place that brings the speaker out of their body and into a kind of expansive, omnipotent state, just as the Force is on a daily basis. Its meaning may seem complicated because the Force, like many unknowns, is initially scary. Once you begin to unpack it, the mantra's meaning becomes accessible and freeing.