(i) Introduction to the B.O.T.A. Tarot Deck
B.O.T.A. (from which the The B.O.T.A. Tarot Deck derives its name) stands for Builders of the Adytum and is a religious organization created by Paul Foster Case (October 3, 1884 – March 2, 1954) dedicated to spiritual attunement through study, practice and meditation in the Tradition of the Western Mysteries. Adytum is the Greek word for Inner Shrine or Holy of Holies.
The B.O.T.A. Tarot Deck was created by Paul Foster Case using the artist Jessie Burns Parke. It closely follows the Rider Waite Deck but Case felt it necessary to create his own deck due to reasons he states below in his Book ‘Tarot : A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages’ :
- Waite deliberately OBSCURES or OMITS detailed symbols in his deck which limit the true depth of meaning of each card.
- Some cards are changed to include Waites personal preferences and deviate too far from their original meaning. (p.20)
Case even points out that his own artist Miss Parke copies too closely the style of the Waite deck drawn by Pamela Coleman-Smith but indicates that he is happy with the finished product with :
“No ‘blinds’ in this version, and every symbol is intended to mean just what it is said to signify in the explanations” (given) (pp.20 -21)
He adamantly believed that each student needed to color his or her own Tarot deck and refused to issue a colored deck; finally his students, long after his death, issued his Tarot book with colored trumps. These coloured trumps can be seen below and in my YouTube presentation.
You can see a slide show of the major arcana on my YouTube Channel : DavidH071
(ii) B.O.T.A. Tarot Deck Major Arcana Illustrations
0. The Fool
1. The Magician
2. The High Priestess
3. The Empress
4. The Emperor
5. The Hierophant
6. The Lovers
7. The Chariot
8. Strength
9. The Hermit
10. The Wheel of Fortune
11. Justice
12. The Hanged Man
13. Death
14. Temperance
15. The Devil
16. The Tower
17. The Star
18. The Moon
19. The Sun
20. Judgement
21. The World
(iv) Links
20
Do you have the colored minor arcana of the pfc tarot?
Thanks.
Scott
I am interested in the colored version of the Minor Arcana of the B.O.T.A please.
Hello, do you know how can i get the the minor arcana cards of the B.O.T.A. Tarot in color ? Thank you.
To the best of my knowledge there is no edition of the BOTA manor arcana keys that are colored. All editions of the minor arcana are in black and white.
But, why not buy the deck and simply color the keys? It’s not difficult and the set then becomes a very personalized spiritual tool.
That’s right! It’s pasion art .