how good is B.O.T.A.

Gwynydd

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

Yes, but if they removed the waffle, it would be less books 😛 We could always buy them as volumes.
 

EmpyreanKnight

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

Thanks Gwynydd! Yup I would very much prefer that the courses be in book form too instead of being doled out as monographs over years and years. Ultimately though, doing so might be a very financially unsound decision for the BOTA for obvious reasons.

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the 7 Steps, Tarot Fundamentals, Interpretation of Tarot and The Great Work courses are covered by the following books by Paul Foster Case:

Occult Fundamentals and Spiritual Unfoldment, Vol. 1: The Early Writings
Esoteric Secrets of Meditation and Magic - Volume 2: The Early Writings
Esoteric Keys of Alchemy
Hermetic Alchemy: Science and Practice - The Golden Dawn Alchemy Series 2
Tarot Card Meanings: Fundamentals
Tarot Card Meanings: Interpretations
Learning Tarot Essentials: Tarot Cards for Beginners

Perhaps someone who owns the monographs and these books can confirm.
 

Gwynydd

Thanks Gwynydd! Yup I would very much prefer that the courses be in book form too instead of being doled out as monographs over years and years. Ultimately though, doing so might be a very financially unsound decision for the BOTA for obvious reasons.

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the 7 Steps, Tarot Fundamentals, Interpretation of Tarot and The Great Work courses are covered by the following books by Paul Foster Case:

Occult Fundamentals and Spiritual Unfoldment, Vol. 1: The Early Writings
Esoteric Secrets of Meditation and Magic - Volume 2: The Early Writings
Esoteric Keys of Alchemy
Hermetic Alchemy: Science and Practice - The Golden Dawn Alchemy Series 2
Tarot Card Meanings: Fundamentals
Tarot Card Meanings: Interpretations
Learning Tarot Essentials: Tarot Cards for Beginners

Perhaps someone who owns the monographs and these books can confirm.

Thanks for that :) I think that would work much better for me. I've just recently decided to stop doing the course.
 

Ruby Jewel

Of course, the ultimate focus of BOTA is on the return path of the Tree of Life, which is the reason I joined.

I found this most interesting in light of Case's argument with Papus on which card of the tarot, The Fool or the Magician, represented the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. When the Fool comes back around on the return trip, he becomes the first card, but in Papus' version, which is the beginning of the Fool's Journey, the Magician represents the first position...and the Fool #22...as it must in order for the Fool to become first on the next journey. I hope this isn't as confusing as I think it probably is (laugh). I'm just now getting involved in Thoth and the Kabbalah, so plese allow for a few dumb questions.
 

Richard

I found this most interesting in light of Case's argument with Papus on which card of the tarot, The Fool or the Magician, represented the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. When the Fool comes back around on the return trip, he becomes the first card, but in Papus' version, which is the beginning of the Fool's Journey, the Magician represents the first position...and the Fool #22...as it must in order for the Fool to become first on the next journey. I hope this isn't as confusing as I think it probably is (laugh). I'm just now getting involved in Thoth and the Kabbalah, so plese allow for a few dumb questions.

I view the Fool's Journey mainly as a gimmick for learning the cards of the Major Arcana. The role of the Major Arcana in the ten Grades of the Return Path is described in Part Two of Case's The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order.