Builders of the Adytum

1. Introduction

Version followed: Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) as it describes itself on bota.org ("About Us", the introductory brochure The Open Door, the Pronaos page) and in its Los Angeles temple's public event listings, with Paul Foster Case's tarot books as the order's founding texts; independent detail from a 2023 NZ Skeptics profile. Initiatory, ritual and member-only lesson content is given in public outline only.

What it is. B.O.T.A. describes itself as "a religious non-profit, tax-exempt, California Corporation" and a modern Mystery School whose teaching is "based on the Holy Qabalah and the Sacred Tarot"; it names Paul Foster Case as founder and Ann Davies as its second leader, and states that its purpose is "to hasten the true Brotherhood of mankind" [source: bota.org About Us]. Case (a musician, formerly of the Golden Dawn offshoot Alpha et Omega) founded it in the United States around 1921–22; Davies's account gives 21 March 1922, a correspondence school followed in 1923, and the order later settled in Los Angeles; Case died in 1954 and Davies became the public leader [source: NZ Skeptics 2023; dates conflict across accounts, so treat as uncertain]. A reference-work entry (Barrett, in Clarke (ed.), Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, 2006) is cited by Wikipedia for a membership of about 5,000 [source: Wikipedia; uncertain: secondary, unverified].

The order's own idea of change. B.O.T.A. teaches that daily life is the aspirant's "schoolroom, his meditation place, and his alchemical laboratory": graded correspondence lessons in "Hermetic psychology", followed by sustained study of and meditation on the Tarot Keys and the Tree of Life, are said to bring increased awareness, objectivity about one's motives, compassion and "self-transformation" in service of others [source: The Open Door]. Tarot is explicitly for "study, meditation, and imagery", not fortune-telling [source: The Open Door; Case's separation of divination from "vulgar" fortune-telling, as summarised by Wen 2021]. Group ritual (Pronaos) is described as healing, "prayer in motion" [source: bota.org Pronaos].

Evidence status (one line): no controlled research on B.O.T.A.'s claimed effects (health, prosperity, expanded consciousness, healing by ritual, colour and sound) is known [uncertain: not verified]; the order does not claim predictive tarot.

For the therapist, this is an esoteric order, not a therapy. The guide below gives (a) the order's publicly described practices so a clinician can recognise what a client is doing, and (b) the clinician's own procedures for working with a member, former member or family member. Related guides: Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (032), Hermetic Qabalah and pathworking (033), Lévi and Papus (047), Rosicrucianism (029); divination guides in this domain: Tarot (192), Oracle and angel decks (193), Lenormand and cartomancy (194), Numerology, gematria and isopsephy (199), Western astrology (189), I Ching (195).

2. Framework

2a. The order's structure as published

• Membership and dues: lessons "cannot be purchased, but are a privilege of membership"; dues are set to roughly cover production and operating costs and may be paid monthly to annually; Pronaos groups set their own dues; donations are invited [source: The Open Door]. One independent writer reported NZ$10 a month in 2023 [source: NZ Skeptics 2023].
• Delivery: graded lessons by post or download, in English, Spanish, French and German; self-paced and private; members can ask more advanced members for help [source: The Open Door].
• Sequence (as the brochure states it): about two months of foundational lessons and "experiments" in Hermetic psychology (including how problems relate to karma); about three months of familiarisation with the Tarot Keys, which are then posted to the student; a following year of "Fundamentals of Tarot"; then advanced work on balancing the personality through colour and sound, Tarot meditation methods, the Tree of Life and alchemy [source: The Open Door]. Course names and lesson contents beyond this are member material [uncertain: not verified].
• Group work: Open Forum study groups open to members and non-members, in person or online [source: The Open Door]; in Los Angeles, a free weekly Sunday "Qabalistic Healing Service" with chanting and a talk, a monthly "Vibratory Attunement Ritual" of colour and sound, seasonal rituals and a study group followed by guided Qabalistic meditation, led by B.O.T.A. ministers or senior members [source: Meetup, B.O.T.A. Los Angeles].
• Pronaos (initiatory group work): open only to members who have completed the first two courses and commit to regular attendance; full participation requires initiation, after which the member is a "Pronaon" and "Apprentice Builder" and may serve as an officer [source: bota.org Pronaos]. An oath of secrecy is reported [source: Wikipedia; uncertain: secondary, unverified]; the brochure says historic secrecy pledges are no longer necessary for the teaching itself [source: The Open Door]. No ritual content is given here.
• Leadership: the website lists Case and Davies as founders; the names of current officers are [uncertain: not verified].

2b. The therapist's framework [synthesis]

No source gives session counts for clinical work with B.O.T.A. members; none are stated here.

1. Engagement and meaning: learn what membership means to the client in their own words; whether membership is a resource, a neutral background or part of the presenting problem. Move on when you can state the role it plays.
2. Assessment: Cultural Formulation Interview (including its spirituality, religion and moral traditions supplementary module) [uncertain: module wording not verified]; mental-state and risk assessment; differential assessment (Section 4, B3). Move on when you can say whether any distress is a religious or spiritual problem, a disorder, or both. ICD-10-CM lists "Religious or spiritual problem" under Z65.8 [source: Unbound Medicine ICD-10-CM]; DSM-5-TR wording [uncertain: not verified].
3. Focused work on the presenting problem, using membership only as the client chooses (reflective use of their own Keys, practice balance, finances, group relationships).
4. Transitions: support continuing, reducing or leaving membership, family conflict, and referral or community contact if the client wishes.

3. Guiding principles

• Describe, do not adjudicate: B.O.T.A.'s claims (Inner School, karma, healing by ritual) are its teachings; you neither endorse nor debunk. Practical meaning: use the client's terms ("Keys", "Pronaos", "the Work") with your own short gloss in notes [source for terms: bota.org].
• Tarot here is contemplative, not predictive: do not assume a B.O.T.A. member uses tarot for fortune-telling; ask. Practical meaning: the divination concerns in XIV 192 may not apply [source: The Open Door].
• You are not a teacher, reader, initiator or minister: never colour, interpret or meditate on Keys for the client, never perform readings, never act as the client's guide in the order's curriculum [synthesis].
• Respect confidentiality the client owes the order: do not ask for ritual, initiation or member-lesson content; ask how it feels and what it means [synthesis].
• Spiritual and religious competence: attitudes, knowledge and skills in this area are expected of psychologists (16 proposed competencies, Vieten et al. 2013). Practical meaning: seek consultation if Western esotericism is unfamiliar [source: Vieten et al. 2013 via IONS].
• Belief is not symptom: unusual but culturally shared beliefs are assessed in their context; content alone never establishes psychosis [synthesis].
• Watch the whole life, not the practice: functioning, sleep, relationships, money and autonomy are the markers you track [synthesis].
• Client autonomy on staying or leaving: no agenda either way [synthesis].
• Keep roles separate: a therapist who is also a B.O.T.A. member or tarot practitioner discloses only as clinically useful and keeps the two roles apart [synthesis].

4. Intervention inventory

Part A outlines the order's own practices as B.O.T.A. publishes them, so you can recognise and talk about them; the "Steps" there are for the therapist's exploration, not instructions in the practice. Part B gives the therapist's procedures. Exercises are outlines only; the detailed methods are in member lessons and Case's books.

A1. Graded correspondence study ("Hermetic psychology")

• Purpose (as published): private, self-paced lessons that build self-observation, objectivity about motives and a view of problems as opportunities for growth; early lessons include "experiments" and teaching on how problems relate to karma [source: The Open Door].
• Steps for the therapist: (1) ask which stage the client is at and how long they spend on lessons; (2) ask what the current lesson asks of them in everyday life, in general terms; (3) note any lesson themes that link to the presenting problem (for example, karma framing of a loss); (4) explore whether the teaching helps or adds burden.
• Example language (illustrative): "You don't need to tell me what the lessons say. What has studying them been like for you this month?" "When you think of this problem as karma, does that ease it or make it heavier?"
• Watch for: karma framing that becomes self-blame for illness, abuse or loss; study replacing needed action or care; private study as a route to isolation (an independent writer notes the correspondence format lets members avoid contact with others [source: NZ Skeptics 2023]). Working signs: the client uses the teaching flexibly and can hold other explanations alongside it.

A2. Colouring the Tarot Keys (outline only)

• Purpose (as published): members receive the B.O.T.A. Keys (drawn by Jessie Burns Parke) uncoloured and colour them themselves [source: NZ Skeptics 2023; Wen 2021]. Case called this practice the necessary foundation for advanced tarot work and held that colouring impresses the symbolism on the student [source: Case, Highlights of the Tarot, 1931, as quoted by Wen 2021]. Colouring instructions for Major and Minor Arcana are published in Highlights of the Tarot (later editions) and Tarot Fundamentals [source: Wen 2021; Case, Highlights of the Tarot, later editions].
• Outline: the student works one Key at a time, following Case's published colour assignments for each symbol, as part of the lesson sequence; the colours carry Qabalistic correspondences in the order's system. Colour assignments are not reproduced here.
• Steps for the therapist: (1) if the client brings coloured Keys, let them choose whether to show them; (2) ask about the experience of colouring (absorption, calm, frustration, perfectionism); (3) ask what a Key they are working on stands for in their own words; (4) link, only if the client wishes, to current concerns.
• Example language (illustrative): "What is it like to sit with one card and colour it?" "You said you redid this one three times. What happens if it isn't exactly right?"
• Watch for: perfectionism or checking ("wrong colour ruins the Key") that suggests scrupulosity or OCD; anxiety that mistakes carry spiritual danger; colouring as a calming, absorbing activity that helps (a working sign).

A3. Tarot contemplation and meditation (outline only)

• Purpose (as published): the Keys are used for "study, meditation, and imagery" and Tarot meditation is presented as a method of opening higher consciousness; advanced lessons cover Tarot meditation methods and the Tree of Life [source: The Open Door]. Case read the final seven Major Keys as "seven steps in the spiritual unfoldment of man" [source: Case, as quoted by Wen 2021].
• Outline: the student studies one Key's symbolism with the lesson text, then contemplates the image, letting its symbols and meanings occupy attention, and notes insights; practice time is self-chosen, with results said to be proportional to effort [source: The Open Door; contemplation outline is a general description, details in member lessons, uncertain: not verified].
• Steps for the therapist: (1) ask what Key or theme is current; (2) ask what the image evokes and how they relate it to their life; (3) treat the client's associations as their own reflective material, not as a reading; (4) check the amount and timing of practice and its effect on sleep and mood.
• Example language (illustrative): "Which Key keeps coming back to you lately? What does it stir up?" "After a long meditation, how do you feel for the rest of the day?"
• Watch for: unusual perceptual experiences, derealisation or depersonalisation after prolonged practice; images experienced as commands; meditation crowding out sleep or relationships. Working signs: insight the client can use and put down.

A4. Group chanting and the Qabalistic Healing Service (outline only)

• Purpose (as published): a public weekly service using "Qabalistic chanting" and a talk, followed by refreshments, free with donations welcome; the service ritual was developed by Ann Davies [source: Meetup, B.O.T.A. Los Angeles]. Pronaos work is described as healing for oneself and "the Healing of the Nations" [source: bota.org Pronaos].
• Outline: congregational chanting within a set service led by ministers or senior members. No words or sequence are given here.
• Steps for the therapist: (1) ask what attending gives the client (community, calm, belonging); (2) ask how they understand the "healing" in the service; (3) check whether anyone in the family is relying on it in place of medical care.
• Example language (illustrative): "What do you take away from Sunday?" "When you say the service heals, is that alongside your doctor's treatment, or instead of it?"
• Watch for: substitution of ritual for medical care (the order's own healing language is about wholeness of personality [source: The Open Door], but clients may read it more broadly); social benefit of a regular, welcoming group (a working sign).

A5. Vibratory Attunement (outline only)

• Purpose (as published): a monthly "guided, active meditation of color and sound" for the "healing of nations"; advanced lessons address balancing the personality through colour and sound [source: Meetup, B.O.T.A. Los Angeles; The Open Door].
• Outline: a led group meditation combining sound and imagined colour. No procedure is given here.
• Steps, language, watch for: as A3 and A4. Ask about after-effects (feeling expanded, disoriented, unable to sleep).

A6. Open Forum and study groups

• Purpose (as published): discussion of Tarot and Qabalah, in person or online, open to non-members, sometimes followed by guided Qabalistic meditation [source: The Open Door; Meetup, B.O.T.A. Los Angeles].
• Steps for the therapist: explore what the group offers socially and intellectually, and the client's freedom to question within it.
• Example language (illustrative): "What happens in the group when someone disagrees?"
• Watch for: a group as the client's only social world; working sign: the client describes room to disagree.

A7. Pronaos initiation and ritual work (public outline only)

• Purpose (as published): initiatory group work linking the member to fellow Pronaons and to the "Inner School" said to guide the order; entry needs the first two courses, regular attendance and, per the brochure, "harmonious fraternal qualities"; rituals dramatise the deck's symbolism [source: bota.org Pronaos; The Open Door; the dramatisation point is secondary, uncertain].
• Outline only: no oath, ritual, sign or word is described. Do not ask for them.
• Steps for the therapist: explore commitments made (time, money, attendance), the meaning of being an "Apprentice Builder", and any conflict between confidentiality to the order and the client's need to talk.
• Example language (illustrative): "You don't need to tell me anything you've promised to keep. Can we talk about how being part of it affects you?"
• Watch for: guilt or fear about having said too much; status anxiety about advancement; working sign: the client can set limits on attendance without fear.

B1. Client-led exploration of meaning [synthesis]

• Purpose: understand what B.O.T.A. membership means in the client's life before deciding whether it is relevant to treatment. Use at intake and whenever the client raises it.
• Steps: (1) ask permission to discuss it; (2) ask how they came to the order and what drew them (Tarot, Qabalah, community, healing); (3) ask what it gives and what it costs; (4) reflect back using their terms; (5) agree whether it will be a focus.
• Example language (illustrative): "Would it be OK to hear more about the Builders? I'd like to understand it the way you do." "What would be missing from your life without it?"
• Watch for: defensiveness from expecting ridicule; working sign: the client talks freely and corrects your understanding.

B2. Cultural Formulation Interview with the spirituality, religion and moral traditions module

• Purpose: structure assessment of cultural identity, explanations of distress, supports and stressors, including religious and spiritual practice. Use at assessment or when membership appears linked to distress [source: DSM-5-TR CFI, uncertain: not verified].
• Steps: (1) use the core CFI questions on how the client understands the problem; (2) add the supplementary module on spirituality, religion and moral traditions; (3) ask how the order's teaching explains the problem (for example as karma or a lesson) and what help it suggests; (4) ask about other helpers (ministers, senior members, family, GP).
• Example language (illustrative): "How would your teachers in the order understand what you're going through?" "Is there anyone in the group you'd want to talk to about this?"
• Watch for: explanations that conflict with medical advice; working sign: a shared formulation that includes the client's own framework.

B3. Differential assessment without pathologising belief [synthesis]

• Purpose: distinguish ordinary esoteric belief and contemplative experience from psychosis, mania, dissociation, OCD or complicated grief. Use when practice coincides with new symptoms.
• Steps: (1) establish onset, course and functioning before and since practice changes; (2) ask whether co-members would recognise the experience as part of the Work; (3) screen sleep, energy, speech, grandiosity (mania), fixed beliefs held outside the shared framework and hallucinations outside practice (psychosis), detachment and unreality (dissociation), intrusive fear and compulsive rituals (OCD); (4) check substance use and family history; (5) code "Religious or spiritual problem" (ICD-10-CM Z65.8) only where it fits [source: Unbound Medicine ICD-10-CM]; (6) refer for psychiatric review where indicated.
• Example language (illustrative): "When you meditate on a Key and images come, do they stay in the meditation, or follow you into the rest of the day?" "Would others in your group see this as part of the Work, or would they be worried?"
• Watch for: magical thinking that a mis-coloured Key or missed practice causes harm (consider OCD and refer for ERP where indicated); fear of spiritual danger or curses; new grandiose mission beliefs with reduced sleep (mania).

B4. Working with the client's own Keys as reflective material [synthesis]

• Purpose: when the client chooses, use a Key they are studying as a projective prompt for their own meaning, as with any personal image. Not a reading. Cross-refer Tarot (192) for working with clients' tarot generally.
• Steps: (1) the client selects a Key and says why; (2) ask what they notice and feel; (3) ask what in their life it connects to; (4) return to the client's own goals; (5) keep the Key the client's material, not yours.
• Example language (illustrative): "You brought Key 16. What does it say about this month for you?" "That's your meaning. What would you like to do with it?"
• Watch for: the client asking you to interpret (decline gently); the session becoming a lesson in Qabalah.

B5. Adverse effects of practice [synthesis]

• Purpose: catch and manage unwanted effects of intensive meditation, chanting or ritual. Use if sleep loss, dissociation, panic or unusual experiences appear.
• Steps: (1) ask about practice frequency and length (no targets set by you); (2) map symptoms against practice; (3) agree, with the client, a reduction or pause and grounding activities; (4) suggest the client consult the order's senior members about the effects if they wish; (5) refer for medical or psychiatric review if symptoms persist.
• Example language (illustrative): "Would it make sense to try a lighter routine for a couple of weeks and see what changes?"
• Watch for: shame about "failing" the practice; working sign: symptoms settle with adjusted practice.

B6. Money, time and dependency [synthesis]

• Purpose: check that commitment remains proportionate. B.O.T.A. publishes modest dues and voluntary donations [source: The Open Door]; ask anyway.
• Steps: ask about dues, donations, Pronaos dues, purchases, time spent, and whether any of it strains the client or family.
• Example language (illustrative): "Roughly what does membership cost you each month, in money and time? Does that feel right to you?"
• Watch for: giving beyond means, decisions deferred to senior members, inability to miss attendance.

B7. Group dynamics, leaving and religious trauma [synthesis]

• Purpose: support clients who are unsure about staying, who left, or who were hurt. Court or regulator findings about the order: none found in the sources consulted.
• Steps: (1) explore what is good and what troubles the client; (2) assess pressure, isolation, criticism of leaving; (3) for leavers, address loss of community, identity and meaning; (4) address any discrimination experienced, especially around sexuality or gender; (5) offer peer or community support if wanted.
• Example language (illustrative): "What would you miss, and what wouldn't you miss?" "How was it for you as a gay man in the group?"
• Watch for: grief after leaving; continued fear of consequences; working sign: the client makes the choice freely.

B8. Family members' concerns [synthesis]

• Purpose: help relatives worried about a member's involvement.
• Steps: (1) gather concrete concerns (money, time, health care, withdrawal); (2) give accurate information from the order's public pages; (3) encourage curious, non-hostile contact; (4) clarify safeguarding if children's medical care is affected.
• Example language (illustrative): "What exactly worries you, beyond the beliefs themselves?"
• Watch for: belief disagreement mistaken for harm; real neglect of care needs (escalate).

B9. Boundaries and referral [synthesis]

• Purpose: keep the therapeutic role clear and route needs appropriately.
• Steps: decline readings, interpretation or initiation roles; disclose your own involvement in esoteric practice only if clinically useful; involve the client's ministers or senior members only at the client's request and with consent; refer for psychiatric, medical or specialist OCD care as needed.
• Example language (illustrative): "I'm not the right person to interpret the Keys, but I'm glad to help you think about what they mean to you."
• Watch for: pull toward a teacher role; working sign: the client keeps the order and therapy distinct.

5. Handling problems

The order's public sources do not address clinical problems; all guidance in this section is [synthesis] unless a source is named.

• Client expects judgement or ridicule: name your non-judgemental stance; ask to be corrected when you misunderstand terms. Response (illustrative): "I don't know much about Qabalah. Tell me when I get it wrong."
• Client wants you to interpret Keys or do a reading: decline, explain the role, redirect to their meaning (B4, B9). Cross-refer Tarot (192), Oracle and angel decks (193) and Lenormand and cartomancy (194) where a client also uses tarot or cards for prediction; Numerology, gematria and isopsephy (199) and Western astrology (189) where Qabalistic number or astrological correspondences become a focus.
• Client cannot or will not describe initiatory content: do not press; work with effects and meaning (A7).
• Stuck in a karma frame ("I deserve this"): explore the teaching's wider meaning with the client, separate responsibility from blame, and, if the client wishes, suggest they raise the question with a senior member or minister.
• Scrupulosity or compulsive ritual (re-colouring Keys, fear of a missed practice causing harm, fear of curses): assess for OCD; refer for ERP or deliver it if trained, framing it as reducing fear rather than attacking belief; involve a trusted member of the community only with consent.
• Overwhelm, derealisation or unusual experiences after meditation, chanting or Vibratory Attunement: grounding, reduction or pause of practice by the client's choice (B5), sleep protection, urgent psychiatric review for psychotic or manic features. Do not frame these as spiritual attainment or as pathology before assessment.
• Ritual healing in place of medical care: the order frames healing as wholeness of personality [source: The Open Door]; clarify with the client; route all medical decisions to their doctors; where a child's care is affected, follow local safeguarding procedures.
• Non-adherence to therapy because of practice commitments: renegotiate times; explore whether attendance has become obligatory or anxious.
• Rupture after a comment about beliefs: acknowledge, apologise for any dismissiveness, repair, and invite feedback.
• Conflict over advancement, exclusion or discrimination (including sexuality and gender): validate, explore options (raise it within the order, change group, leave), and support identity work.
• Leaving: plan for loss of community and meaning, identify replacement supports, and expect ambivalence; avoid pushing either way.
• Family conflict: see B8; distinguish disagreement about beliefs from concrete harm.
• Therapist's own esoteric practice: keep it out of the room unless disclosure clearly serves the client; seek supervision for dual-role risks.
• Unknown or uncertain facts about the order: say so, use the order's public pages with the client, and avoid relying on unsourced online claims.

Sources

• About Us - BOTA, Builders of the Adytum
• The Open Door - BOTA, Builders of the Adytum
• What is a Pronaos? - BOTA, Builders of the Adytum
• B.O.T.A. Los Angeles (Meetup group page)
• Builders of the Adytum: The tarot cards and Qabalah in Naenae (NZ Skeptics, 2023)
• The B.O.T.A. Tarot and Paul Foster Case (Benebell Wen, 2021)
• Builders of the Adytum (Wikipedia) [uncertain: secondary, unverified]
• ICD-10-CM Z65.8 "Other specified problems related to psychosocial circumstances" (Includes: religious or spiritual problem): ICD-10-CM Z65.8 (Unbound Medicine)
• Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists (Institute of Noetic Sciences)

Books and articles cited:

• Case, P. F. (1931). Highlights of the Tarot. Builders of the Adytum (as cited by Wen 2021; later editions include colouring instructions) [uncertain: edition details].
• Case, P. F. (1936). Tarot Fundamentals (as cited by Wen 2021) [uncertain: not verified].
• Barrett, D. V. (2006). Builders of the Adytum. In P. B. Clarke (Ed.), Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements (as cited by Wikipedia) [uncertain: not verified].
• Vieten, C., Scammell, S., Pilato, R., Ammondson, I., Pargament, K. I., & Lukoff, D. (2013). Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(3), 129–144.
• American Psychiatric Association (2022). DSM-5-TR, Cultural Formulation Interview and supplementary modules [uncertain: not verified].