B.O.T.A.
Mystery tradition deck from Paul Foster Case's B.O.T.A. occult order.
by Paul Foster Case · 1909
Find a copy →We link out and never sell decks. Buying through links may earn us a small commission.
The record
To start with, I had to look up "adytum" in a dictionary, which defines the word as the innermost room or shrine in certain old temples, to be entered only by a priest, or a sanctum. So, there is a mystery tradition associated with this deck. Well, I'm here to talk about the deck I hold in my hand, and not the mysteries the deck may be about. I purchased my deck shrink wrapped, without a box and without a booklet. Just a deck of cards, which cost $7 (US). Just a bit of background: The story is, every initiate in the seminal Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the late 19th Century esoteric society, had to make a personal copy of the master Golden Dawn Tarot. Members of the order included Pamela Coleman-Smith, William Butler Yeats, Aleister Crowley, Arthur Edward Waite and Paul Foster Case. Three of them went on to publish their own decks and found new traditions: Crowley, Waite and Case. The B.O.T.A. is the deck created by Case. This is a 78 card deck. In the Major Arcanum, Strength is 8 and Justice is 11. The suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. The court cards are King, Queen, Knight and Page. The majors and court cards are illustrated; the minors revert to the Marseilles
The cards
