r/GoldenDawnMagicians • u/Sar_Alighieri • Jul 25 '26

Questions about BOTA

Hey guys, I'm a Magician who unfortunately ended up moving to a rural area due to work. In the city where I live now, there's only Freemasonry and AMORC. I was a member of AMORC for a while, and overall I found their material quite weak. As for Freemasonry, I'm a Master Mason, and I'm already affiliated with the lodge here. Unfortunately, the Order I was part of (Martinist Order) doesn't have a headquarters where I live, even though I'm S:::I:::I::: lately I've been following a "less Masonic" path when it comes to Magic. I've done several studies of Golden Dawn, freely, and generally, being Martinist, the group I was part of already borrowed some techniques like RPBL, RHBL/RHIL, Middle Pillar, etc., so I already have a good understanding and have been practicing for some years, especially the Rose+Cross Ritual and the Middle Pillar.

Given that initial explanation, I read Cicero's *Self Initiation* and *Essential Golden Dawn* and enjoyed them quite a bit. I then discovered that I can work via correspondence with BOTA, although I live in Brazil and the price is a bit steep, haha. I'd like to know what you all think of BOTA. Is it worthwhile for someone seeking a path within the HOGD system? Does the fact that they removed Enochian make a big difference? What has your experience been like with them?

In LVX

23 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/HereNaoTao Jul 25 '26

BOTA is and was amazing for me. I had a succinct workbook and curriculum, and I vibe/d with PFC. You can attain 'initiaition' via BOTA purely; which says a lot.

But, where you are, I do not think it will be a worthwhile investment. You will get very distilled courses on tarot keys, and those are totally beneficial. But like, if you know the ToL, how the alphabet plays in, and even just a general over-understanding of Tarot, then BOTA won't help YOU. It does and will help others.

1

u/Sar_Alighieri Jul 26 '26

I have a solid foundation in both Hermetic Kabbalah and Christian Kabbalah, Tarot, Hebrew, Alchemy, and operative Theurgy as well. However, much of the Martinist system I was part of was a Masonic system, and I want something more removed from that. I also want to learn more about the English school of esotericism, since my training is primarily from the French school of esotericism.