how good is B.O.T.A.

nuttyprofessor

Twenty years ago I was divided about following Paul Case or Crowley. I chose for Crowley, but after ten years had to confess to myself that this was not my path. I forgot about hebrew letters and tree of life, and went for tarot de Marseille.

Recently my mother had to move to another resting house because of renovations. The place happens to be predominantly jewish, and as a matter of fact I do like the culture here. My interest in qabbalah is rekindled, but I find judaism too strict, and feel drawn to the teachings of Paul Case.

I read on the Wikipedia that B.O.T.A. has only 5000 members worldwide, while it is operating for more than half a century. So I wonder how effective the teachings of Paul Case are. If it had produced some number of torchbearers with mystical experiences, I guess that people would have drawn in by themselves.

So how good is B.O.T.A.?
 

Barleywine

I went through all of the course material back in the '80s, up to about half-way through the Ann Davies stuff (Case's successor). It's basically a much more in-depth treatment of what he presented in The Tarot, with some Esoteric Astrology and number/color symbolism as well, all in separate mini-courses. I'm not sure how it's delivered now, but then it was by snail-mail, one lesson every two weeks. I still have all of it, and still use the number/color stuff. It's in four thick binders, so it's hard to find anything in it. I would say it was "good," if a bit drawn-out.
 

Richard

I think BOTA may be the best of the esoteric correspondence organizations, but others may disagree. I read somewhere that when Whare Ra closed in New Zealand, many of its members joined BOTA. It is generally compatible with Golden Dawn teachings. Of course, the ultimate focus of BOTA is on the return path of the Tree of Life, which is the reason I joined. Unfortunately, being on a relatively small fixed income, I had to quit after the intermediate Tarot course because I couldn't continue to justify the expense.
 

Abrac

Case says, on page 20 of his The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages:

In the present work, the twenty-two illustrations are reproductions of the Tarot Keys used by the Builders of the Adytum. They were drawn by Jessie Burns Parke, of Boston, under the supervision of the present writer. This was felt to be necessary for two reasons: 1. the obscuration of certain details in the symbolism, so that captious critics might find reason for doubting the interpretations; 2. the alteration of other Keys, so as to make them expressions of Dr. Waite's personal ideas, rather than correct statements of their original meaning.​

It may be obvious to some what he's saying here but I'm not exactly sure it's clear to me. Specifically nos. 1 and 2. Anyone have any thoughts?
 

Aeon418

It may be obvious to some what he's saying here but I'm not exactly sure it's clear to me. Specifically nos. 1 and 2. Anyone have any thoughts?
It's a criticism of Waite and the RWS deck. Case's previous Tarot book, Introduction to the study of the Tarot, was based on the RWS designs. For the 'Key' Case felt they should be redrawn without blinds and Waite's personal spin.
 

Abrac

After more consideration of this quote, I believe I understand it now. To paraphrase no. 1:

"1. the obscuration of certain details in the symbolism (in the Waite-Smith), so that captious critics might find reason for doubting the (our) interpretations;"​

He seems to be saying that Waite intentionally obscured some of the symbolism in the Waite-Smith, which the BOTA version clarifies. Case's system was starting to have major differences from the Waite-Smith imagery and he felt the redraw was necessary to avoid criticism from those who would say his interpretations didn't match Waite's symbolism. Fair enough. In his following paragraph he uses as an example of the Lovers. The flames on the tree behind the man, he says, should each have a triple flame; but this isn't obvious in the Waite-Smith, so the BOTA version has clarified it. Another example he gives is the iris flowers in Temperance, which, he says, Waite uses as cover (not Case's exact word but implied) for the rainbow. But he seems to be assuming a lot. It's quite possible the flames on the tree were never intended to each have a triple flame; and likewise, the iris flower does have a connection to the rainbow, but to say Waite has used it as camouflage for a rainbow takes the symbolism in a direction Waite may never have intended.

And no. 2:

"2. the alteration of other Keys (by Waite), so as to make them expressions of Dr. Waite's personal ideas, rather than correct statements of their original meaning."​

"Original meaning" is a little vague and I'm not sure what he's referring to. The subtitle of Waite's Pictorial Key is, "Being Fragments of a Secret Tradition Under the Veil of Divination." This was his position, i.e., the trumps were keys to the Secret Doctrine. It didn't have anything to do with his personal opinion, at least not as far as I can tell. For Waite the Secret Doctrine wasn't anything that could be learned from books or occult schools, and it certainly wasn't a matter of personal opinion; it was something taught by God directly to the soul:

"The existence of a concealed doctrine of religion perpetuated from antiquity cannot be proved by recourse to Kabalistic literature, and in so far as this notion has been rested thereon, it is to that extent discounted, yet the question itself does not stand or fall by the Kabalah. Speaking from the transcendental standpoint for the first time, as I feel warranted to do in concluding, I venture to say that it is in Christian channels that this doctrine must be sought by those who assume it, by which I mean that the transcendental succession has passed into the Church of Christ. The question, however, is not approachable from the historical side, and in no real sense of the term can it be said to possess such a side. It is therefore outside the common channels of inquiry, and assuming for the moment that any person now living in the flesh is entitled to affirm its existence, then he best of all, though not he only, is aware that the secret doctrine is not of this world."—Doctrine and Literature of the Kabalah, 1902, (final chapter last paragraph).​

Case's system is supposedly a "key to the Wisdom of the Ages," or more specifically, occult science. It's not bad as far as that goes, I've gotten some good insights from him. But the impression I get as I read him is he believed Waite was trying to conceal the secrets of occult science in the Waite-Smith tarot, which could not be further from reality in my opinion. He tries to fit Waite into his mold.
 

Barleywine

After more consideration of this quote, I believe I understand it now. To paraphrase no. 1:

"1. the obscuration of certain details in the symbolism (in the Waite-Smith), so that captious critics might find reason for doubting the (our) interpretations;"​

He seems to be saying that Waite intentionally obscured some of the symbolism in the Waite-Smith, which the BOTA version clarifies. Case's system was starting to have major differences from the Waite-Smith imagery and he felt the redraw was necessary to avoid criticism from those who would say his interpretations didn't match Waite's symbolism. Fair enough. In his following paragraph he uses as an example of the Lovers. The flames on the tree behind the man, he says, should each have a triple flame; but this isn't obvious in the Waite-Smith, so the BOTA version has clarified it. Another example he gives is the iris flowers in Temperance, which, he says, Waite uses as cover (not Case's exact word but implied) for the rainbow. But he seems to be assuming a lot. It's quite possible the flames on the tree were never intended to each have a triple flame; and likewise, the iris flower does have a connection to the rainbow, but to say Waite has used it as camouflage for a rainbow takes the symbolism in a direction Waite may never have intended.

And no. 2:

"2. the alteration of other Keys (by Waite), so as to make them expressions of Dr. Waite's personal ideas, rather than correct statements of their original meaning."​

"Original meaning" is a little vague and I'm not sure what he's referring to. The subtitle of Waite's Pictorial Key is, "Being Fragments of a Secret Tradition Under the Veil of Divination." This was his position, i.e., the trumps were keys to the Secret Doctrine. It didn't have anything to do with his personal opinion, at least not as far as I can tell. For Waite the Secret Doctrine wasn't anything that could be learned from books or occult schools, and it certainly wasn't a matter of personal opinion; it was something taught by God directly to the soul:

"The existence of a concealed doctrine of religion perpetuated from antiquity cannot be proved by recourse to Kabalistic literature, and in so far as this notion has been rested thereon, it is to that extent discounted, yet the question itself does not stand or fall by the Kabalah. Speaking from the transcendental standpoint for the first time, as I feel warranted to do in concluding, I venture to say that it is in Christian channels that this doctrine must be sought by those who assume it, by which I mean that the transcendental succession has passed into the Church of Christ. The question, however, is not approachable from the historical side, and in no real sense of the term can it be said to possess such a side. It is therefore outside the common channels of inquiry, and assuming for the moment that any person now living in the flesh is entitled to affirm its existence, then he best of all, though not he only, is aware that the secret doctrine is not of this world."—Doctrine and Literature of the Kabalah, 1902, (final chapter last paragraph).​

Case's system is supposedly a "key to the Wisdom of the Ages," or more specifically, occult science. It's not bad as far as that goes, I've gotten some good insights from him. But the impression I get as I read him is he believed Waite was trying to conceal the secrets of occult science in the Waite-Smith tarot, which could not be further from reality in my opinion. He tries to fit Waite into his mold.

I have to agree that Case seems more than a little presumptuous in some of his statements. At the time I first read Case, I had only the PKT for comparison, and I did think that Waite was being too starchy and willfully inscrutable, but it was more the disdainful way he made his case than the fact he felt compelled to do so that put me off. I really don't see that Waite was transparent enough about what he was ostensibly "hiding" for Case to draw his conclusions from the text, so he (Case) makes some vaulting assumptions based on his Golden Dawn knowledge and experience.
 

EmpyreanKnight

I'm rather interested in the BOTA, but I live in these far-flung islands so I don't think I'd be attending a Pronaos meeting anytime soon. But you guys say that the real cream in the BOTA is in their correspondence courses. If, theoretically, a person is somehow able to source the monographs for the following lectures:

Seven Steps
Introduction to Tarot
Tarot Fundamentals
Developing Supersensory Powers
Interpretation of Tarot
Master Pattern
Tree of Life
32 Paths of Wisdom
Sound and Color
The Great Work

Would you say that it would still be worth it to join the BOTA, specially if there's no way that the said person can attend their meetings? This covers the first five years of their courses if I'm not mistaken? I don't think they offer teleconferenced sessions, although to be fair I don't know of any esoteric society that does.
 

Gwynydd

It's ok. I joined the facebook group for about two minutes then left, because the people freaked me out :D I love weird people, but this was some next level stuff.

I personally would prefer, instead of having to become a member and getting stuffed around with lessons being sent out, they would just publish it all into book form, then I'd never have to deal with them again.

TL;DR: the course is ok, but it's been a pain :D
 

Barleywine

I personally would prefer, instead of having to become a member and getting stuffed around with lessons being sent out, they would just publish it all into book form, then I'd never have to deal with them again.

My B.O.T.A course material presently fills four loose-leaf binders. That would be some book!