What is the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) about?

Originally posted by Skyfloating

Originally posted by johnny2127


studying the occult is somewhat scary and unsettling.

Occultism is not Satanism

Indeed. As a long time 'seeker' I recently joined Fraternitas L.V.X. Occulta, or the 'Fraternity of Hidden Light' which is a offshoot of BOTA.

I was really very shocked by the belief structures of the group and the prominence of figures such as Jesus.

My personal philosophical background was essentially neo-pagan based mostly on my interaction with the natural world as a country-dwelling hick (I use this term lovingly).

Unsatisfied with this for a number of reasons I reached out for opportunities for uncovering the occult.

I think it is rather humorous that I unwittingly ended up in a situation where Jesus, someone I often used as a target (or at least his present day 'followers') is a central figure in my evolving beliefs. All thanks to occultism.

Originally posted by johnny2127
Can you learn as fast or slow as you are capable, or is the timing set? I am not talking about advancing levels because that is something trivial. However, with information of this sort, I suck it up like a sponge quickly, and knowing me I'd want to keep progressing.

BOTA, Golden Dawn, Rosicrucianism....are systems which deal with spiritual development. It isn't something you just "suck up and learn..." It is more than intellectual knowledge. All of the material in the outer orders is readily available to anyone wishing to learn. However, if you approach the study as just something to read because you are mildly interested...you will miss the wisdom, growth, and esoteric knowledge. In essense, you will end up with nothing but words. No real understanding...

Re: the gay gentleman being refused B.O.T.A. advancement

I am a current B.O.T.A. member, and have been studying its curriculum continuously for five years now. I love my B.O.T.A studies, so it's good to know I have eight more years of lessons. I have found the information provided most useful in many ways and I value it highly. I am not an expert on these matters. I am a heterosexual, but not a homophobe.

I have read the B.O.T.A. reply to the gay gentleman refused B.O.T.A. advancement, and I think he missed the point (thus, not ready to advance, as suggested by another post to this thread). He was refused out of concern for his spiritual safety, not out of any base, homophobic motives. I believe the issue involved here has to do with polarity, which is the basis of physical manifestation (the fourth/last world according to Kabbalah). Homosexuality would seem to go against this fundamental polarity and thus may endanger the person attempting to practice whatever highest-level practices, rites or rituals that promote true spiritual enlightenment.

Shalom,
I too merely stumbled across this site, endeavoring to reawaken the spark I once had many years ago. I was fortunate enough to join the BOTA while Rev. Davies was Prolocuctor General, Harriet Case was still alive and the Rev. Helen Miller was continuing to create lessons from Dr. Davies lectures (lectures that I transcribed from Dictaphone, diving her crazy by transcribing the lectures in too much detail, sorry Helen). Further, I was fortunate enough to serve administratively within the temple, working closely with Rev. Jacob Fuss, Dr. Davies' husband as well as Ann herself.
I knew Joseph Nolan (if I recall correctly Joseph was from the "Laguna" group, an accomplished jeweler and artist whose group painted the Tarot keys that adorned the Temple) as well as Rev.Gene who admonished me, when I told him I aspired to the ministry, to "consider becoming heterosexual" a comment which blew me away as I am not gay. If you knew Gene you would almost certainly have considered him a gay person.
I still can't believe the whole "gay" thing...Why? The Qabalistic view, explained to me by Dr. Davies herself, is this, and most of you who have tread the path already know part of the concept: We are all male and female. We change gender from plane to plane (male on the physical plane, female on the lower mental plane, male again on the higher mental plane, etc., and vice versa). We also change gender from incarnation to incarnation. The change does not occur immediately, male this time female next time, but over the course of several incarnations. While this change is occurring one becomes more of the opposite sex thereby creating effeminate men and masculine women. If I recall correctly she touched on this in her lecture series entitled "Qabalistic doctrines on Love and Marriage" which was astounding and a lecture series that I ascribe to my own successful marriage of 35 years.
It may also be true (and this is strictly my own observation here) that some of those undergoing the transformation may experience instabilities, psychically, due to the inconvenience of being trapped between genders. Those of you that are gay (and I mean no disrespect) have certainly known gay people that are decidedly unstable (have you not?) in social settings. But while I was there (three years in the office) I was intimate with the school and can state there was no bias whatsoever towards gays, although I was not part of the "Inner Circle" called "Chapter" (I pretty much knew them all but was not involved).....
The lessons were incredible, Pronaos was uplifting, I am so sorry I left, I am so sorry to hear of the split. I recognize none of the names now associated with BOTA, no wonder since it's been 30+ years......Dr. Davies was the most incredible human being I've ever met. I can remember attending her lectures and it would seem that the air would be so thick that it appeared hazy in the room. I miss it.
Like all organizations I guess it had to come to pass that things changed once the driving force, the incredible strength of spirit is gone. I clearly remember that Dr. Davies stated she would be the last Prolocutor General for this incarnation of the Golden Dawn (as I recall Ann herself referred to the BOTA as the "current incarnation of the Order of the Golden Dawn") so I'm guessing she knew the school would be at risk once she was gone.....LVX
PS If any of you find that I am inaccurate, please correct me...and I thank you in advance for it.
PSS I am not familiar with Paul Clark though, while I was there, a young man who was in the Air force would make regular trips to attend the "Inner" meetings and I believe his name was Paul. Dr. Davies spoke very highly of him as having been a member from his early teens and I believe too that he was being groomed, he had the "aura" all right. I don't know though......

One of our brothers back in Colorado completed a 13 year course with BOTA. He's a very fascinating individual. His name is Kevin Townley if you want to see his site. He's a real wellspring of info and teaches in Boulder.

I don't think discrimination based on an individual's identity (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) is ever a matter of "spiritually protecting" that person. Since we are all sons and daughters of the Most High, those things which are a part of us are, by definition, a part of God. That is my theological position. BOTA and you are both free to agree or disagree. And I am free, as a gay man, to view any policy BOTA *may* have that says that gays and lesbians cannot be admitted to the inner circle as mere, crude bigotry rather than enlightened spiritual paternalism.

That said, my experience with BOTA is that the lessons were interesting and insightful. Many of the people in the study group and in the ritual group (Pronaus - sp?) were equally interesting and informative. I enjoyed my time in their company probably more than I realized at the time.

But in the end, I found the BOTA process to be so totally "cookie-cutter", controlling and controlled, and non-participatory that I opted out. I have obtained what I sought in BOTA in other organizations, including, in part, Freemasonry without compromise to my values or sacrifice in personal integrity and, ultimately, in a much more satisfactory and richer fashion.

That said, I have recommended BOTA to several people as a place where they can obtain a fairly solid grounding in the Western Esoteric Tradition as transmitted through the Golden Dawn.

I do wish BOTA were more of a .... living organization. Somehow, it's spirituality always seemed to me to have that same odd feeling that a house does after it has been abandoned for a time. The rooms have the same shape and the roof may be solid, but there is no mistaking an empty house for a home. Your experience may differ and, frankly, I rather hope that it does.

BOTA is organized as an ancient mystery school. As they grow spiritually members attempt to live out the truth of the Oneness of God, the brotherhood of man, and the kinship of all life. Their social outlook is stated in seven values: 1. Universal Peace; 2. Universal Political Freedom; 3. Universal Religious Freedom; 4. Universal Education; 5. Universal Health; 6. Universal Prosperity; and 7. Universal Spiritual Unfoldment. Members engage in a program of high magic aimed at the transmutation of personality using the Qabalah and Tarot. Once transformed, individuals are able to alter their environment as they desire.
BOTA is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It is headed by a board of stewards. There is both an outer school and an inner school for the more serious students. A procurator general coordinates the activities of the two schools. There are a number of groups called pronaos located across the United States and in various countries of the world where members may gather for study and group work.



Read more: www.answers.com...

Very interesting thread about B.O.T.A. which I was a member of for about 10 years in the 1980s and 90s,, thankfully avoiding the secrecy and one-upmanship issues of outer initiations by remaining a solitary student. I've noticed that most discussions of the organization on the internet in the past few years have focused on secrecy, homosexuality and Paul Clarke's breakaway group, so I thought I'd try to add some new thoughts about these topics.
If anyone here is familiar with astrology, then I think that the outer planet cycles shed some light on all the secret societies, and why Ann Davies knew that she would be the last Prolocutor of BOTA. Paul Case was born in the 1880s, and had the generational Neptune-Pluto conjunction prominently in his horoscope. Even though the planet Pluto had not been discovered externally in the sky (Percival Lowell discovered it in Arizona in 1930), its psychological correlations would be felt by people born in that era. And like so many spiritual teachers born in that era, like Yogananda and Alice Bailey, the focus was on Plutonian secrecy and control was intimately connected to one's sense of spirituality (Neptune). Pluto, as ruler of Scorpio, also rules sex, so, as I remember Ann Davies once saying in her lessons that what one is doing with one's sex energy (kundalini) determines one's path of initiation.
If we fast-forward to the 20th century, to the 1990s, which seems to be a pivotal decade in people's rebellion against the "old guards" of BOTA and occult societies in general, we see the Uranus-Neptune conjunction of 1992/3. Whereas previously, spirituality and the subconscious realization that everything is connected in Oneness (Neptune, The Hanged Man) had been controlled through Plutonian secrecy and control, Neptune was now liberated into a more Aquarian and democratic freedom tied to the planet Uranus. Everyone now has the opportunity to realize their Crown chakra, through their own individual study and meditation, aided by the internet and modern technology if they chose. Psychism and hidden masters have been replaced by critical thinking and science, Master R with Richard Dawkins...
Personally, my study of kabala solved the issue of homosexuality in a very satisfactory way - it's about meditation, not physical acts or increasing the population of our already overpopulated planet through sperm banks. I think that we sometimes forget that qabalah is the root of Christianity, which ultimately is about sacrifice. It's not however about being a doormat, which I think some people end up being when they get sucked into the outer initiation system, maybe because they want to "belong" and feel accepted. By today's social standards much of BOTA's tactics would be seen as social bullying. It's worrying too that the Hebrew alphabet is used for people's sense of aggrandizement in these ritual initiations, when clearly many participants have never had to suffer the humiliation of religious prejudice against Jews in this incarnation.
So, whether it is BOTA, or Paul Clarke's Hidden Light group or any organization where one must sell one's soul to vows of secrecy in order to feel accepted, we should remember that they were all dreamed up in the Piscean age of beliefs, not the Aquarian age of more rational thinking.

Originally posted by GoldenPawn

So, whether it is BOTA, or Paul Clarke's Hidden Light group or any organization where one must sell one's soul to vows of secrecy in order to feel accepted, we should remember that they were all dreamed up in the Piscean age of beliefs, not the Aquarian age of more rational thinking.

Not precisley. Vows of secrecy were not instituted just on a lark, for the fun of it. They were necessary at the time to avoid religious persecution.

Originally posted by Masonic Light

Originally posted by GoldenPawn

So, whether it is BOTA, or Paul Clarke's Hidden Light group or any organization where one must sell one's soul to vows of secrecy in order to feel accepted, we should remember that they were all dreamed up in the Piscean age of beliefs, not the Aquarian age of more rational thinking.

Not precisley. Vows of secrecy were not instituted just on a lark, for the fun of it. They were necessary at the time to avoid religious persecution.

Also to add that some things are Hermetically sealed.
Information is to be enlightened of that information
However information is a double edged sword due to the duality of Human Nature
IE It can be put to good or ill use
In reality there is nothing that is hidden that can not be discerned by one's own soul
Yet one's intention or attitude dictates the degree of one's own understanding
If one lived under a tyranny who's doctrine said, I must do and think what it dictated yet this went against my truth.
Should I declare that truth and be branded a Heretic worthy of death by flame
Some choose for good reason to keep their silence in the face of ignorance
It is rather like trying to have a conversation with a drunken man - best wait while he sobers up
Strategy not disaster is true strength
Why do any wish to know what is held in secret by others
Is it to condemn the secret holder or a true intention to learn
Yet there is nothing any can tell another that you can discern by your own efforts if you wish to do so

reply to post by artistpoet


Amazingly well spoken....and couldn't be more true.

But people often want instant gratification because that is the society we have become. They don't want to do the personal and spiritual work necessary to receive enlightenment. They want it handed to them where they think some instant magickal alchemy will make it all make sense.

Alas....it doesn't work that way, does it?

Originally posted by CIAGypsy
reply to post by artistpoet

 

Amazingly well spoken....and couldn't be more true.

But people often want instant gratification because that is the society we have become. They don't want to do the personal and spiritual work necessary to receive enlightenment. They want it handed to them where they think some instant magickal alchemy will make it all make sense.

Alas....it doesn't work that way, does it?

I agree - Many people have told me things that later I think "Oh now I understand what that person meant"
But at the time it may have just sounded like a good idea.
It was hermetically sealed not because it was hidden but because I did not understand at the time. So yes you are right no one can hand you a truth on a plate you have to know it to be so for self.

Hi johnny2127

The teachings of the Hidden Light group seem to be pretty identical with BOTA, and they also use the Paul Foster Case / Ann Davies material. The only difference with BOTA appears to be Order government. Their website is here.

I had my membership accepted by the Fraternity of the Hidden Light and after been exchanged a couple of emails with the Australian Melbourne supervisor asking trivial questions about the studies he send me a message saying the I was excluded from the studies because "FLO is not for everyone". I never met that guy and I never sent any message containing anything offensive or that may cause this kind of replay. I was on the contrary very enthusiastic about my studies and I started myself already studying PFC's books long before that.

Anyone on this forum might know why this could happen?

fralvx: impossible for anyone to speculate unless you post those emails.

I found this thread today and registered simply to participate. I know it is an old one but I believe that I know at least one person who has commented and would love to reconnect so I have used my initiation name. I was active in Boulder, CO. My initials are RS for confirmation. Feel free to PM me.

I was a member of BOTA for about nine years, from 1991 to 2000. I was a member of the FLO for several years, perhaps 1997-2002. I have not been active in any type of mystic study or practice in the dozen years since, instead having chosen to pursue a more "worldly" path.

The BOTA outer order lessons are hands down the most accessible and effective self-training materials available as far as I know. They inspired me to join and eventually serve as an officer in two different Pronaos groups. The people I met in those groups were wonderful, caring, generous and above all, exhibited a humility I couldn't appreciate at the time. I was shocked to see this thread claiming that the BOTA groups had an exclusionary attitude. At the time, I was often egotistical, self-centered, and ignorant... and yet these groups took me in, believed in me, and gave me their trust that I don't feel I deserved. And I thank them to this day for it.

There were several gay members of these groups and they were accepted the same as everyone else. I never sensed any discrimination and if they had, I suspect they would have quit coming. Quite remarkable in fact as those times weren't as tolerant as now.

I can't speak for Paul. But we had some nice conversations and if I did anything right, I paid attention. If I triangulate those and my discussions with other well-placed BOTA and FLO folks, I conclude that the schism wasn't due to personality issues. It was allegedly direct instruction from the inner school (and I tell you now that I am not and never was in a position to know this for myself). The body of the BOTA had grown old and no longer fit for use so a new form was necessary. This is the way of the world, should this be that surprising? Old worn out forms must make room for newer, stronger ones.

A previous poster pointed out that there is solid metaphysical reasoning for the exclusion of gays at higher levels. Again, I cannot speak authoritatively to this but it makes sense. But the irony is that one of the most accepting and tolerant occult groups of that time is now being called "anti-gay". No, it's more than ironic. It's shameful. BOTA deserves so much more credit than certain shallow individuals on this thread have given them. I am glad that they have not lowered themselves to respond to such accusations. One does not spread the light by trying to combat darkness.

A parting thought: I believe that BOTA did not have a problem with homosexuals but it did have a problem with masculinity. The order had become overtly matriarchal. Anne Davies was a hard act to follow and the reality is that occultism isn't known for breeding strong leaders with vision. Paul was one of those rare leaders and for whatever reason (I don't know why), BOTA was not the appropriate stage for him. He has done the world a great service by making the rituals more accessible than they would otherwise be and I am ever so grateful to him, more than a decade later.

Frater S.A.

a reply to: dragonseeker

Posting this in 2017

Builders of the Adytum does not discriminate against homosexuals. Gay people are welcome and are involved on all levels of the organization including ritual work. Neither do they discriminate on transgender either. If you are LGBTQ you are welcome just as anyone else. If you doubt them ask them yourselves. If you quit in the past because you thought they did discriminate you can rejoin. Builders of the Adytum offers amazing lessons and training.

Like any organization you may find individuals who are homophobic, but as for policy and leadership there is no discrimination.