Paul Foster Case

Copyright Michael D. Robbins 2005

Astro-Rayological Interpretation & Charts
Quotes
Biography
Images and Physiognomic Interpretation

to Volume 3 Table of Contents

Paul Foster Case—Astrologer, Occultist, Founder of Builders of the
Adytum

October 3, 1884, Fairport, New York, 11:00 AM, EST (Source: According to
LMR, Dane Rudhyar quotes him) or, alternatively, 6:00 AM, EST. (Source:
Sabian Symbols)
(Ascendant, Sagittarius; MC, Virgo; Sun in Libra conjunct NN; Moon in Pisces;
Mercury and Uranus in Virgo widely conjuncted; Venus conjunct Jupiter in Leo;
Mars in Scorpio; Saturn and Pluto in Gemini; Pluto in Taurus)

Founded a school of Western Occultism, wrote much on the Tarot.

The "One Reality is the field of its own manifestation, the vehicle of its own existence;
and that One Reality is the directive principle in human beings."

"We are Spirit, not only in mind but in body!" "That One sees through our eyes, hears
through our ears, speaks through our lips."
"Since the Life Power at work and through any given form perfectly knows itself and its
powers, it also knows that even an incomplete or unperfected form is not a failure. The
One Identity knows all truth because it is...and therefore knows... the beginning, middle of
all creatures."

"…no form is permanent, nor does any form separate a portion of the One Identity from
the Whole of that Identity."

"The Greater Adept recognizes the necessity for the continual transformation of the outer
vehicles of the Life Power. He understands the real significance of the appearance that
Man calls death. He is no longer the victim of that appearance, because he has become
identified with the power that produces it. Thus, he maintains self-conscious identity
through all the transformations. He has overcome death."

"That same Self is at once the substance and the integrating and disintegrating power
that manifests itself as our environment, beginning with that aspect of our environment
that we call mind, and continuing...outward from mind, the body, and out to the most
distant galaxies in the heaven."
Paul foster Case

October 3, 1884 - March 2, 1954

Founder of the Los Angeles occult school, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), Paul
Foster Case also wrote such books as The Book of Tokens, a collection of inspired
meditations on the 22 Tarot Keys of the Major Arcana.

He was initiated into the Second Order of the Thoth-Hermes Temple of the Golden Dawn
(Alpha et Omega) on May 16, 1920, while in New York.

Bro. Case was Initiated into Freemasonry, March 22, 1926, Passed, April 12, 1926 and
Raised, June 28, 1926 in Fairport Lodge No. 476, Fairport, New York.

On September 5, 1944, he affiliated with Hollenbeck Lodge No. 319 (now Norwalk Lodge
No. 315 of Whittier) located at 2130 East Fifth Street, Los Angeles. He withdrew from this
Lodge on June 2, 1953. Case affiliated with Eagle Rock Lodge No. 422 (now South
Pasadena Lodge No. 290 of Los Angeles), located at 5016 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, on
June 2, 1953.

Paul Foster Case was born in Fairport, New York. His mother was a teacher and his
father was the head librarian of the town library, in which Paul Case was literally born.
For a man whose thirst for hidden knowledge was unquenchable, he could not have been
born into more fortunate circumstances.

Paul learned to read at a very young age. By the age of four he was found pouring over
"forbidden books" in the attic of his father's library. He was also found to have
extraordinary musical talent at an early age, and at the age of three began training in
piano and organ. At the age of nine, he was the organist at the Congregational Church in
which his father was deacon.

At the age of seven, Case began correspondence with Rudyard Kipling, who verified the
"fourth-dimensional" experiences Case was having as being not merely imaginary, but
actual states of being. At this early age, Case found that he had the ability to consciously
manipulate his dreams.

At sixteen, Case met the occultist Claude Bragdon, as they had both donated their talents
to a charity performance. It was in this meeting that Paul Case got his first "directive".
Bragdon asked Case, "Where do you think the playing cards come from?" This simple
question sparked an immediate search for the origins and uses of Tarot. Within a very
short period of time, Case had collected every book and every set of Tarot Keys
available. He spent years researching, studying, and meditating on these archetypal
iimages.

Case described his experience at the time as definitely "guided" by an inner voice. In his
view, the experience with Tarot had stimulated an "inner hearing", through which he was
guided to the many attributes of Tarot which were published before he was 21 years old.
Perhaps Eliphas Levi's statement on Tarot best summarized its influence on the young
Paul Case: "As an erudite Kabalistic book... A prisoner devoid of books, had he only a
Tarot of which he knew how to make use, could in a few years acquire a universal
science, and converse with unequaled doctrine and inexhaustible eloquence."

While in New York, Case was approached by Michael Whitty, the Praemonstrator of the
Thoth-Hermes Temple of the Golden Dawn (Alpha et Omega). Whitty, having heard of
Case's extensive knowledge of the Western Mystery Tradition and having read some of
his published works, invited Case into the Order. Case naturally accepted the offer, and
moved through the Outer Grades quickly. He was initiated into the Second Order on May
16, 1920, with the magical motto, Perseverantia. Just three weeks later, he was the Third
Adept in the annual Corpus Christi ceremony.

He soon became known as the most knowledgeable occultist in the New York temple,
and succeeded Michael Whitty as Praemonstrator within a year of his acceptance into the
Second Order. Despite Case's attainments, he did have considerable difficulty with the
system of Enochian Magic. Ultimately, he concluded that the Enochian system was
demonic rather than angelic. His Order, the B.O.T.A., excludes all mention of Enochian
from its curriculum.

Because of his quick advancement through the Grades of the Order, Case may have
sparked some jealousy among the other Adepts. Moreover, others may have thought
some of his teachings inappropriate. On July 18, 1921, Moina Mathers wrote Case
regarding complaints she had received regarding some of his teachings.

Apparently, Case had begun discussing the topic of sex magic, which at the time had no
official place in the Order curriculum. Since no knowledge lectures exist on the subject,
whether sex practices were ever taught in the Golden Dawn has been a long standing
question. In her correspondence with Case, Moina wrote, "...I have seen the results of
this superficial sex teaching in several Occult Societies as well as in individual cases. I
have never met with one happy result."

But to Case, sexuality became an increasingly important subject. In his Book of Tokens,
a collection of inspired meditations on the 22 Tarot Keys of the Major Arcana, Case
comments on the sex function, "You must wholly alter your conception of sex in order to
comprehend the Ancient Wisdom... It is the interior nervous organism, not the external
organs, that is always meant in phallic symbolism, and the force that works through these
interior centers is the Great Magical Agent, the divine serpent fire." In his works, The True
and Invisible Rosicrucian Order and The Masonic Letter G, he writes of certain practices
involving the redirection of the sexual force to the higher centers of the brain where
experience of supersensory states of consciousness becomes possible.

Some members also complained about a personal relationship between Case and a
soror, Lilli Geise. Case confessed the matter to Moina: "The Hierophantria and I were
observed to exchange significant glances over the altar during the Mystic Repast... My
conscience acquits me... Our relation to each other we submit to no other Judge than that
Lord of Love and Justice whom we all adore." In time, Case married Geise, who died a
few years later.

Perhaps Moina's correspondence also touched a sensitive area for Case. In her July 18th
letter, she tells Case, "You evidently have reached a point in your mystical Way where
there would appear to exist certain cross-roads. The artist in you, which I recognize, and
with whom I deeply sympathize, would probably choose to learn the Truth through the joy
and beauty of physical life." She continued, "You who have studied the Pantheons, do
you know of that enchanting God, the Celtic Angus, the Ever Young? He who is
sometimes called Lord of the Land of Heart's Desire?" Angus rescued Etain, the Moon,
who had been turned into a golden fly. But Etain had to choose between bodily existence
in the land of mortals and everlasting life. She continued still, "The artist in us may have
lingered in that land for a moment. But you and I who would be teachers and pioneers in
this Purgatorial World must be prepared before all the Gods to be the servants of the
greatest of them all... the Osiris, the Christ, the God of the Sacrifice of the Self." Moina
then asked Case to resign from his position as Praemonstrator.

Case resigned as Praemonstrator, responding to Moina, "...I have no desire to be a

'teacher and pioneer in this Purgatorial World.' Guidance seems to have removed me
from the high place to which I have never really aspired. The relief is great." This seems
odd coming from a man who would, in a few years, abandon his artistic endeavors to
start his own occult school, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.). Perhaps this struggle
between his artistic soul and his mystical soul pre-existed his involvement with the Order,
and maybe Moina knew this. Archives at the B.O.T.A. state that on one occasion years
before he joined the Order, Case was approached by a stranger on the streets of
Chicago who called him by name and told him many things about himself. "Your teacher
is my teacher," the man told him. He told Case that he must choose between a life of
material comfort as a musician and a life of suffering and renunciation as a vitally needed
teacher of the Mysteries. The former would offer him "more of this world's goods than
most"; the latter, important service to mankind and eternal life, and that, "In the end, you
will not starve to death."

After Case was expelled from the Order, he pursued the creation of his own occult
school, the School of Ageless Wisdom. This organization failed within a few years.
However, he soon moved to Los Angeles, abandoning his lucrative career as a musician,
and established the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.). Still in existence today, it has
proven to be a successful correspondence course on Tarot.

Geise wrote to Moina that students from other temples were flocking to hear Case speak
prior to his being expelled. Mrs. Elma Dame, The Imperatrix of the Philadelphia Temple,
who resigned due to the numerous problems in the Order at the time, pointed to the need
for a knowledgeable teacher in America. She wrote to Moina: "When you got rid of Mr.
Case, you 'killed the goose that laid the golden egg.'" Dr. Pullen Burry, a former Order
member, concluded that Case was the one to bring "the light of the old R.C. [Rosicrucian]
teachings" into the light of Aquarian consciousness. Case's book, The True and Invisible
Rosicrucian Order, stands as a classic Qabalistic interpretation of the Rosicrucian Fama
Fraternitatis and Confessio.

Case died easily while vacationing in Mexico with his second wife, Harriet. Fortunately,
he left behind extensive writings on Tarot and Qabalah, and is considered by many to be
a true "teacher and pioneer in this Purgatorial World."

Paul Foster Case was born in New York. His father was a librarian which fueled his thirst
for knowledge.

At the age of seven, Case began corresponding with author Rudyard Kipling, who verified
the "fourth-dimensional" experiences Case was having as being not merely imaginary. It
was at this age that Case started to become proficient at Lucid Dreaming.

While in New York, Case met Michael Whitty, the Praemonstrator of the Thoth-Hermes
Temple of the Golden Dawn. Whitty heard of Case's extensive knowledge of the Western
Mystery Tradition and, having read some of his works, invited Case to join the Order.
Case accepted the offer, and moved through the Outer Grades very quickly.

He was initiated into the Second Order in May of 1920, with the magical motto,
Perseverantia. Three weeks later, he was the Third Adept in the annual Corpus Christi
ceremony.

Case was soon known as the most knowledgeable occultist in the temple, and
succeeded Michael Whitty as Praemonstrator within a year of his acceptance into the
Second Order. Jealously soon turned many against Case, and he was promptly expelled
from the Order.

After his expultion, Case pursued the creation of his own occult school, the School of
Ageless Wisdom. This organization failed within a few years. He soon moved to Los
Angeles, abandoning his career as a musician, and established the Builders of the
Adytum (B.O.T.A.).

Paul Case died while vacationing in Mexico. He left behind a great deal of writings on
Tarot and Kabbalah.

Despite his lofty attainments in magick, Case had much difficulty with Enochian Magic.
Ultimately, he concluded that Enochiana was demonic rather than angelic in nature. His
B.O.T.A. order excludes Enochian from its curriculum. They don't even mention it.

Case Timeline

The following is a timeline I have been collecting on Paul Foster Case. I would like to
eventually put together a "proper" narrative history based on whatever sources are
available.

These listings may seem patchy and incomplete. But, having been a student of Case's
material almost 10 years, I can only plead that the average person rarely has an
opportunity to learn more about Case (and Ann Davies) than is publicly available in a
brief biographical sheet.

Although this timeline brings to view some items about Paul Case that have not been
shared with the general public, my own experience has been that it makes him a more
sympathetic person and highlights the great struggles he underwent in spreading the
Light.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this work. I welcome more historical information
and insights. In some instances, the sources differ in details and dates. I have preserved
these differences in the timelines.

1884 - October 3, 5:28 PM, in Perendor NY (now called Fairport), Paul Foster Case was
born. His father was caretaker of a private library and Deacon at a Congregational
church. His mother was half-Gypsy. [2]

Case was a direct descendant of Miles Standish (on his Mother's side). His Father was
head librarian of the town library.[1]

Editor's note: Fairport is ESE of Rochester, only about 10 miles from Palmyra NY, where
Joseph Smith grew up and where Smith is said to have received the revelation that
became the Book Of Mormon(!)

1886 - Case demonstrated his ability to read books.[1]

1887 - Young Case was found to have musical talent, by his mother. She began training
him in piano and organ.[1]

1891 - Case had been able to manipulate his dream states. He corresponded with
Rudyard Kipling, who assured him of the reality of the supersensory states that Case had
been experiencing.[1]

Case became the organist for the Congregational church where his father was
Deacon.[1]

1900 - Case played at a charity performance, where occultist Claude Bragdon was also
performing. Bragdon asked Case where he thought playing cards came from. Case
discovered, in his father's library, that they come from Tarot (orginally called The Game
Of Man). This began Case's search into Tarot. Case started collecting books on Tarot.[1]

1905-1908 - Case undertook extensive yoga practice, including much pranayama, from
various published sources. This and other circumstances of the time appear to have
psychically opened him "wide open" without safeguards or protection. His psychic
sensitivity became intolerable until he learned to close the psychic doors, practically by
brute force![10]

1907, Summer (approx) - While in Chicago, Case read The Secret Of Mental Magic, by
William W. Atkinson (aka Ramachakraka) and wrote to the author. The two met and
became well-acquainted. This eventually led to their collaboration on The Kybalion (the
"Three Initiates" being Case, Atkinson, and a certain Inner Voice that had been assisting
Case for years.)[10]

1907 - Case had visions of himself as a rabbi in a previous life. [2]

1909-10- Case was approached on the streets of Chicago by a stranger who called him
by name, and revealed Case's "most secret thoughts, hopes, and activities". The stranger
told Case he came from the Master of Wisdom who was the teacher of them both. Case
was at a crossroads. He could either continue with his musical career and have a life of
relative ease and comfort, or dedicate himself to fully serve humanity and play a vital part
in its evolution for this coming Aquarian Age. He was told that road would be hard, with
much trials and sorrow. From that moment on, although Case went on to become an
orchestral conductor, every spare moment went into his dedicated service.[1]

The man was Dr. Fludd, a prominent Chicago physician.[10]

1916 - Case published attributions of the Tarot Keys in the magazine The Word.

1918 - Case met Michael Whitty, editor of Azoth, and Cancellarius of Thoth-Hermes
Lodge of The Rosicrucian Order of the Alpha et Omega (A.'.O.'.) (S. L. MacGregor
Mathers' post-Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn group.). Whitty recognized Case's
abilities and invited him to join Thoth-Hermes. Case accepted, and was initiated into
A.'.O.'., taking the aspiration name Perseverantia (perseverance).[10]

Whitty published Case's attribution of the Tarot Keys (with corrections of some errors in
the previous articles) in Azoth.[10]

1918 - Case was appointed Sub-Praemonstrator of the Thoth-Hermes Lodge (Whitty was
the Praemonstrator).[8]

1919 - Case began his correspondence with Dr. John Brodie-Innes (Frater Sub Spe),
according to one private source which is usually, but not invariably, correct.[10]

1919-20 - Case and Michael Whitty "received" the text for most of the Book of Tokens.
The source behind the text is The Master R., although no name was attached to the
source at that time.[10]

1920 - May 16, Case was initiated into the Second Order of Alpha et Omega. He was
named Third Adept three weeks later.[3]

Case's Portal ritual was held on either Sunday, May 2 or May 9, 1920, in the evening; his
5=6 initiation took place on Sunday, May 16. Corpus Christi (the annual Second Order
holiday as celebrated by the HOGD tradition) was June 6, and he was asked to serve as
Third Adept.[10]

December 27, 1920 - Michael Whitty died in Los Angeles. Whitty was holding
Praemonstrator office in A.'.O.'. at the time.[10]

Case attributed the failure of Whitty's health to "magical practices based on Order
formulae." (Enochian magic)[8]

Dec 1920 / Jan 1921. Between the period of Michael's death and Case being officially
named Praemonstrator, he began to receive letters from Dr. Henry Pullen-Burry (Frater
Animus Pura Sit). These are enormously important. They constitute much of what he
would later quote as direct Third Order authorization for one or another things. The
December 18, 1920 letter from Pullen-Burry appears to be the first that was addressed to
Case directly, though he had corresponded with Whitty previously. Pullen-Burry was
apparently 7=4 at the time. He confirmed the Inner Plane authenticity of the Order Case
had already been building for some time. Pullen-Burry, in the letter, called this new Outer
Vehicle by its (confidential) Esoteric Name. He referred to it as Case's "first centre," of
which the Alpha et Omega was its parent (in the sense of a Piscean predecessor to an
Aquarian heir). This implies knowledge that what later became B.O.T.A. -- and which may
already have been called B.O.T.A., but which, at least, already had its Inner Plane "call
letters" -- preexisted Case's Alpha et Omega membership.[10]

The Order was VERY secret at that time. Case wrote to Israel Regardie that B.O.T.A.
had pre-existed his A.'.O.'. membership, and that the Thoth-Hermes Chiefs knew of this.
It is implied, but not said anywhere, that the name B.O.T.A. already existed; and we know
for sure that the Esoteric Name of the Order pre-existed this era. When they actively
began, with Case and others from the A.'.O.'., in 1921, they therefore veiled their
activities under the name of the Hermetic Order of Atlantis (H.O.A. -- probably a pun on
HVA, Hu, "He," the name of the Archangel of the Most High who witnesses the most
sacred obligation any of them had taken up to that point). Membership was TOTALLY
secret -- highly selective, with absolutely no disclosure by anyone AT ALL of their
participation, on penalty of immediate removal.[10]

February 1921 - Case is named Praemonstrator of Thoth-Hermes Lodge soon after

Whitty's death.[9]

1921 - Moina Mathers (widow of S. L. MacGregor Mathers), who was the Imperator of
A.'.O.'., wrote Case questioning his discussion of sex magic in the Lodge. Case later
resigned as Praemonstrator of the Thoth-Hermes Lodge of Alpha et Omega.[3]

Moina Mathers was NOT the actual head of the A.'.O.'; Brodie-Innes was. But Case didn't
know that. As part of the governing triad, she was handling the Imperator function -- the
hands on, Geburan management of things. Brodie-Innes was in the Praemonstratorial
role of the Order at large, and seems to have played this quite privately -- as stated, Case
and others were in regular correspondence with him, but it never leaked out. In Mather's
final letter to the Order, he left control of to a triad of Moina, Dr. Berridge, and Brodie-
Innes, all of whom were identified by him as 7=4; and he specifically designated Brodie-
Innes as his "direct successor" and "Supreme Chief of the Order, representing the Secret
Chiefs," under the motto Fidei Tenax.[10]

1921, Summer - Various vague reports all indicate this as the approximate time of the
famous phone call from The Master Rococzy. If this is so, it would seem to be just after
his formal resignation of all of his offices (his term as Chief Adept expired in June 1921).
People who have passed through the system may also place some importance on the
fact that this is also just a little more than one year after his admission to the Second
Order -- a very significant juncture for many people.[10]

Case met The Master R. in person at the Hotel Roosevelt in NYC (Madison and
Lexington Avenues at 43rd Street)[2]

1921, December- Case, Lilly Geise, and others finally resigned from the A.'.O.'.. Elsa
Barker followed a month or two later.[10]

1922, June- Case's final resignation, right after summer solstice (and not long after
Corpus Christi). He had been serving as Chief Adept at the time, and did not want to
resign until his term of office expired -- he didn't want to leave the Order lacking someone
in the position that formally linked to the Inner contacts.[10]

1922, Summer - The first efforts were undertaken at preparing a comprehensive

correspondence course. He essentially put into one year what is, at present, extended
over five years. The course was called The Ageless Wisdom, and it covered just about
the whole of Hermeticism.

1923 - The School of Ageless Wisdom was organized by Case, probably in Boston.[2]

1924, May 9 - Lilly Geise (Mrs. Case) died.[10]

1926 - Case moved from NYC back to his hometown of Fairport. He did extensive travel
and lecturing.[10]

1926, March 22 - Case was initiated into Freemasonry (1st Deg, E.'.A.'.) in Fairport.[10]

1926, April 12 - Case was passed to 2nd Degree Mason (F.'.C.'.).[10]

1926, April 26 - The Boston office of B.O.T.A. was set up.[10]

1926, June 28 - Case was raised to 3rd Degree Mason (M.'.M.'.).[10]

1926-27 - Case began the intensive work of building Chapter, and fully activating it within
B.O.T.A.. He reconstructed A.'.O.'. rituals from a combination of his memory and a copy
of The Equinox, then rewrote them extensively. By 1927 he had finished: 0=0 ritual, 0=0
Knowledge Lecture, 1=10 ritual, 1=10 Knowledge Lecture, a paper on an important magic
ritual (mostly adapted from the old Section D course material), and the Equinox ritual.[10]

1927 - The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order (First Edition) emerged.[10]

1927, April - A really substantial shift in the entire direction of the correspondence course-
work began, coincidental with his launching Chapter. It seems that the detailed instruction
in meditation and magic were taken out of public circulation at the same time that
Chapter working was begun. A new 48-week course, called the EXTENSION or FIRST
YEAR COURSE replaced the old system altogether. Tarot was discussed more
extensively than previously, and most of the other material was now gone.[10]

1927, Autumn - Sound & Color course was added. Esoteric Astrology [NOT Ann's course
-- Case's course!] and 12 lessons on Alchemy (a precursor to The Great Work) followed
in short order.[10]

1928, January - Boston Chapter #2 was opened. (It was called #2, despite the fact that
#1 hadn't yet been consecrated.)

1928, March - Chapter #5 in Washington, DC was going, and New York Chapter #1 was
about to be formalized. Buffalo and Rochester followed in short order (probably being #3
and #4, respectively). About the same time, Case and his wife Astra moved from Fairport
to Melrose, MA, near Boston.[10]

1928, April - The first of a regular set of "Prolocutor-General's Messages" sent to all the
Chapters. These continued until 1934. Among the most important material in them is a
detailed discussion of the main B.O.T.A. Chapter ritual, later adapted into a series of
papers that persist into modern times.[10]

1928, October - The B.O.T.A. Foundation was incorporated in Massachusettes, as an

educational institution.[10]

1929, September 4 - The School of Ageless Wisdom, Inc., was created in Boston as the
new name for "the outer administration of Builders of the Adytum." Its existence (as
replacing the prior Foundation) was announced to the Chapters on September 24 (a
Tuesday, which was the regular meeting day of all Chapters -- so this was their official
Equinox celebration).[10]

1930 - The Great Seal of the United States was in process by March. Paul and Astra
Case moved to Boston from Melrose, and moved HQ into their home.[10]

1931, May - For most of the preceeding year, Case had been in declining health. His
sensitivity was "off the map," he was emotional and testy -- very much pushed to the
edge. It was abysmal. Associates arranged for him to vacation in the Carribbean, and the
records of the time reflect that he reestablished his Third Order link following this horrible
period. Upon his return, he began changing things around, preparing to announce some
revampings to the Order the following Equinox.[10]

1931 September 20 - Case announced what was going on, to all the Chapters --
concerning his health, his recovery, and where things were going. This particular Equinox
also marked the 10th Anniversary of B.O.T.A.'s active work. The biggest change was that
he modified the Neophyte's oath in its first two paragraphs, removing for the first time a
condition that prevented members from talking about the Order. This occurred "After
consulting with Him who has been the inspiration of this work from the beginning," he
wrote to the Chapters. "By this change in the obligation the B.O.T.A. ceases to be a
'secret society,' and becomes a 'society with secrets,'" the latter to be "guard[ed] as
carefully as ever." He then actively encouraged them to very actively move to do
everything legitimate that they could to push the work and get the Chapters to grow in
membership. This one "P.G. Letter" is of pivotal historic importance, and redefined the
Order from that point forward.[10]

1931-1932 - With Ms. J. Craik Patten, Case brought through a lengthy Inner School
instruction on the Cube of Space (not published).[10]

Late 1932 - Case moved to L.A. He eventually divorced Astra, to marry Dorothy Spring.
With two exceptions, his last two official letters to the Chapters in the East were dated
November and December, 1932.[10]

1933 - Case wrote the first of many letters to Israeli Regardie.[8]

1943 - Ann Davies was introduced to Case.[1]

In another place, Ann said this was 1944. She walked into one of his classes with her
sister.[10]

Ann and her small daughter Bonnie moved into Case's house, and helped him by fixing
meals, mimeographing lessons, etc.[5]

1943(?) - Case marries Harriet. Paul, Ann, and Bonnie move into Harriet's larger house in
Eagle Rock. Harriet puts B.O.T.A. on a solid financial footing. She purchases the Temple
on Figueroa for B.O.T.A.[5]

1947 - The important cycle of regular Communications from The Master R began
February 16, 1947, and ended, 49 communications later, on November 4, 1948. Among
the material transmitted was the last part of The Book of Tokens.[10]

The Epilogue for the Book of Tokens was received by Paul, Harriet, and Ann, through
Ouija board communications.[7]

1954 - Paul Foster Case died in Mexico, while on a vacation train trip with Harriet. His
body was never returned to USA.[2]

Another well-placed source says he was told that Case's body is in Forest Lawn
Cemetery, in the same section as Ann, Harriet, Gene Emard, and others -- a little section
that othes have called "Adept's Row."

OTHER ITEMS

Case was married 5 times, twice to the same woman.[2]

Case was led to move from New York to Los Angeles by Master R.[2]

Case was a member of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), advancing to the Third Degree
(probably early 1917 to mid-1918). Case received initiations directly from Aleister
Crowley . Case later resigned out of dissatisfaction.[3][10]

Case had a Doctorate in Music.[6] At one point, he conducted orchestras for silent
movies.[2] His doctorate was honorary.[2]

Case's early life

A modern scholar of the Tarot and Qabalah, Paul Foster Case was born at 5:28 p.m.,
October 3, 1884 in Fairport, New York.

His father was the town librarian and a Deacon at the local Congregational church. When
he was five years old, his mother began teaching him to play the piano and organ, and
later in his youth, Case performed as organist in his family's church. A talented musician,
he embarked on a successful career as a violinist, and orchestra conductor.

Case was early on attracted to the occult. While still a child he reported experiences that
today are called lucid dreaming. He corresponded about these experiences with Rudyard
Kipling who encouraged him as to the validity of his paranormal pursuits.

In the year 1900, Case met the occultist Claude Bragdon while both were performing at a
charity performance. Bragdon asked Case what he thought the origin of playing cards
was. After pursuing the question in his father's library, Case discovered a link to Tarot,
called 'The Game of Man,' thus began what would become Case's lifelong study of the
Tarot.

Between 1905 and 1908 (aged 20-24), Case began practicing yoga, and in particular
pranayama, from what published sources were available. His early experiences appear to
have caused him some mental and emotional difficulties and left him with a lifelong
concern that so called "occult" practice be done with proper guidance and training.

In the summer of 1907, Case read The Secret of Mental Magic, by William W. Atkinson
(aka Ramacharacka) which led him to correspond with the then popular new thought
author. These two are popularly considered to be two of the three anonymous authors of
The Kybalion, an influential Theosophical text.

Case's dilemma: music or the mysteries

Case reported a meeting on the streets of Chicago, in 1909 or 1910, that was to change
the course of his life. A "Dr. Fludd," a prominent Chicago physician approached the
young Case and greeting him by name, claimed to have a message from a "Master of
Wisdom" who, the Doctor said, "is my teacher as well as yours."

The stranger said that Case was being offered a choice. He could continue with his
successful musical career and live comfortable, or he could dedicate himself to "serve
humanity" and thereby play a role in the coming age.

From that time on, Case began to study and formulate the lessons that served as the
core curricula of the Builders of the Adytum, the school of Tarot and Qabalah that Case
founded and that continues in operation.

In 1916 Case published a groundbreaking series of articles on the Tarot Keys, titled "The
Secret Doctrine of the Tarot," in the popular occult magazine The Word. The articles
attracted wide notice in the occult community as organizing and clarifying what had been
confusing and scattered threads of occult knowledge as illustrated and illuminated by the
Tarot.

Whitty and Alpha et Omega

In 1918, Case met Michael Whitty, who was the editor of the magazine Azoth (and would
become a close friend) Whitty was serving as the Cancellarius (Treasurer/Office
Manager) for the Thoth-Hermes Lodge of the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega.
Alpha et Omega was S. L. MacGregor Mathers' group that formed after the demise of the
original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Whitty invited Case to join Thoth-Hermes,
which Case did. Case's aspiration name in A.'.O.'. was Perserverantia (perseverance).

Whitty republished Case's attribution of the Tarot keys (with corrections) in Azoth. That
same year, Case was became Sub-Praemonstrator (Assistant Chief-Instructor) at the
Thoth-Hermes Lodge. The following year, he began to correspond with Dr. John Brodie-
Innes (Fr. Sub Spe)

Between 1919 and 1920, Case and Michael Whitty collaborated in the development of
the text which would later be published as The Book of Tokens. This book was written as
a received text, whether through meditation, automatic writing, or some other means. It
later surfaced that Master R. was the source. On May 16, 1920 Case was initiated into
Alpha et Omega's Second Order. Three weeks later, according to the Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn's bio-page on Case, he was named Third Adept.

In December of 1920, Michael Whitty died. Case believed Whitty's health problems were
attributable to the dangers that arise or may arise in the handling of Enochian magic. He
later corresponded with Israel Regardie about those concerns.

The controversy with Mathers

Some have alleged that it was "because of his quick advancement through the Grades of
the Order [that] sparked some jealousy among the other Adepts" or that some of his
teachings seemed unsuitable. Whatever the real facts, on July 18, 1921, Moina Mathers
wrote to Case about concerns that had been voiced to her about some of his teachings.

In her July 18th letter, she told Case, "You evidently have reached a point in your
mystical Way where there would appear to exist certain cross-roads. The artist in you,
which I recognize, and with whom I deeply sympathize, would probably choose to learn
the Truth through the joy and beauty of physical life."

"You who have studied the Pantheons, do you know of that enchanting God, the Celtic
Angus, the Ever Young? He who is sometimes called Lord of the Land of Heart's Desire?
The artist in us may have lingered in that land for a moment. But you and I who would be
teachers and pioneers in this Purgatorial World must be prepared before all the Gods to
be the servants of the greatest of them all... the Osiris, the Christ, the God of the Sacrifice
of the Self."

And so Moina Mathers asked Case to resign as Praemonstrator which he did. Apparently
Case had already begun work on establishing a Mystery School of his own.

Builders of the Adytum

After Case left Alpha et Omega, he vigorously pursued the organization of his own
Mystery School. In the summer of 1922, Case put his first efforts together preparing a
comprehensive correspondence course. In one year it covered what the B.O.T.A.
presently cover in over five years. He called the course The Ageless Wisdom, and it
covered just about the whole of Hermeticism. By 1923 Case formed The School of
Ageless Wisdom, probably in Boston.

Within a few years he moved to Los Angeles, abandoning once and for all, his career as
a musician, and established the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.). Still in existence
today, B.O.T.A. is an authentic Mystery School. Over the next three decades, Case
organized the curriculum of correspondence lessons covering practically the whole
corpus of what is called the Western Mystery Tradition; Tarot, Qabalah, and Alchemy.

Case's Views on Enochian

In the "Wheel of Life" Magazine, in March 1937, Case described B.O.T.A.'s relationship
to the Golden Dawn, and his views on the Golden Dawn's use of Enochian material.

"B.O.T.A. is a direct off-shoot of the Golden Dawn, but its work has been purged of all the
dangerous and dubious magic incorporated into the Golden Dawn's curriculum by the
late S.L. MacGregor Mathers, who was responsible for the inclusion of the ceremonials
based on the skrying of Sir Edward Kelly.

"There is much in these Golden Dawn rituals and ceremonies that is of the greatest
value; but from the first grade to the last it is all vitiated by these dangerous elements
taken from Dee and Kelly. Furthermore, in many places, the practical working is not
provided with adequate safeguards, so that, to the present writer's personal knowledge,
an operator working with the Golden Dawn rituals runs very grave risks of breaking down
his physical organism, or of obsession by evil entities."

Case's death
Case died easily while vacationing in Mexico with his second wife, Harriet. His ashes lie
in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Significant influences in Case's life

Master R.
In the summer of 1921, Case received a phone call from The Master Rococzy. Case later
met The Master R. in person at the Hotel Roosevelt in NYC (Madison and Lexington
Avenues at 43rd Street).

The Adytum News described it this way: "One day the phone rang, and much to his
surprise the same voice which had been inwardly instructing him in his researches for
many years spoke to him on the phone. It was the Master R. who had come personally to
New York for the purpose of preparing Paul Case to begin the next incarnation of the
Qabalistic Way of Return. ... After three weeks of personal instruction with the Master R.,
Builders of the Adytum was formed."

Lilli Geise
Case married a soror from Alpha et Omega named Lilli Geise. On May 9, 1924 Lilly
Geise died.

Harriet B. Case (1893-1972)

In 1943 Case married Harriet.

Ann Davies (1912-1975)

In 1943 Case was introduced to Ann Davies. She walked into one of his classes with her
sister. Later, Ann and her small daughter Bonnie moved into the Cases' house where
they helped by fixing meals, mimeographing lessons, etc.

Masonic Affiliations
According to the membership archives of the Grand Lodge, F. & A.M. of California and an
unpublished biography of Case written by the archivist of the Builders of the Adytum.

Fairport Lodge No. 476, Fairport, New York.

Initiated: March 22, 1926

Passed: April 12, 1926
Raised, June 28, 1926
Hollenbeck Lodge No. 319, Los Angeles

Affiliated: September 5, 1944

Demitted: June 2, 1953
Eagle Rock Lodge No. 422, Los Angeles

Affiliated: June 2, 1953

Paul Foster Case
October 3, 1884 - March 2, 1954

Paul Foster Case was born in Fairport, New York. His mother was a teacher and his
father was the head librarian of the town library, in which Paul Case was literally born.
For a man whose thirst for hidden knowledge was unquenchable, he could not have been
born into more fortunate circumstances.

Paul learned to read at a very young age. By the age of four he was found pouring over
"forbidden books" in the attic of his father's library. He was also found to have
extraordinary musical talent at an early age, and at the age of three began training in
piano and organ. At the age of nine, he was the organist at the Congregational Church in
which his father was deacon.

At the age of seven, Case began correspondence with Rudyard Kipling, who verified the
"fourth-dimensional" experiences Case was having as being not merely imaginary, but
actual states of being. At this early age, Case found that he had the ability to consciously
manipulate his dreams.

At sixteen, Case met the occultist Claude Bragdon, as they had both donated their talents
to a charity performance. It was in this meeting that Paul Case got his first "directive".
Bragdon asked Case, "Where do you think the playing cards come from?" This simple
question sparked an immediate search for the origins and uses of Tarot. Within a very
short period of time, Case had collected every book and every set of Tarot Keys
available. He spent years researching, studying, and meditating on these archetypal
iimages.

Case described his experience at the time as definitely "guided" by an inner voice. In his
view, the experience with Tarot had stimulated an "inner hearing", through which he was
guided to the many attributes of Tarot which were published before he was 21 years old.
Perhaps Eliphas Levi's statement on Tarot best summarized its influence on the young
Paul Case: "As an erudite Kabalistic book... A prisoner devoid of books, had he only a
Tarot of which he knew how to make use, could in a few years acquire a universal
science, and converse with unequaled doctrine and inexhaustible eloquence."

While in New York, Case was approached by Michael Whitty, the Praemonstrator of the
Thoth-Hermes Temple of the Golden Dawn (Alpha et Omega). Whitty, having heard of
Case's extensive knowledge of the Western Mystery Tradition and having read some of
his published works, invited Case into the Order. Case naturally accepted the offer, and
moved through the Outer Grades quickly. He was initiated into the Second Order on May
16, 1920, with the magical motto, Perseverantia. Just three weeks later, he was the Third
Adept in the annual Corpus Christi ceremony.

He soon became known as the most knowledgeable occultist in the New York temple,
and succeeded Michael Whitty as Praemonstrator within a year of his acceptance into the
Second Order. Despite Case's attainments, he did have considerable difficulty with the
system of Enochian Magic. Ultimately, he concluded that the Enochian system was
demonic rather than angelic. His Order, the B.O.T.A., excludes all mention of Enochian
from its curriculum.

Because of his quick advancement through the Grades of the Order, Case may have
sparked some jealousy among the other Adepts. Moreover, others may have thought
some of his teachings inappropriate. On July 18, 1921, Moina Mathers wrote Case
regarding complaints she had received regarding some of his teachings. Apparently,
Case had begun discussing the topic of sex magic, which at the time had no official place
in the Order curriculum. Since no knowledge lectures exist on the subject, whether sex
practices were ever taught in the Golden Dawn has been a long standing question. In her
correspondence with Case, Moina wrote, "...I have seen the results of this superficial sex
teaching in several Occult Societies as well as in individual cases. I have never met with
one happy result."

But to Case, sexuality became an increasingly important subject. In his Book of Tokens,
a collection of inspired meditations on the 22 Tarot Keys of the Major Arcana, Case
comments on the sex function, "You must wholly alter your conception of sex in order to
comprehend the Ancient Wisdom... It is the interior nervous organism, not the external
organs, that is always meant in phallic symbolism, and the force that works through these
interior centers is the Great Magical Agent, the divine serpent fire." In his works, The True
and Invisible Rosicrucian Order and The Masonic Letter G, he writes of certain practices
involving the redirection of the sexual force to the higher centers of the brain where
experience of supersensory states of consciousness becomes possible.

Some members also complained about a personal relationship between Case and a
soror, Lilli Geise. Case confessed the matter to Moina: "The Hierophantria and I were
observed to exchange significant glances over the altar during the Mystic Repast... My
conscience acquits me... Our relation to each other we submit to no other Judge than that
Lord of Love and Justice whom we all adore." In time, Case married Geise, who died a
few years later.
Perhaps Moina's correspondence also touched a sensitive area for Case. In her July 18th
letter, she tells Case, "You evidently have reached a point in your mystical Way where
there would appear to exist certain cross-roads. The artist in you, which I recognize, and
with whom I deeply sympathize, would probably choose to learn the Truth through the joy
and beauty of physical life." She continued, "You who have studied the Pantheons, do
you know of that enchanting God, the Celtic Angus, the Ever Young? He who is
sometimes called Lord of the Land of Heart's Desire?" Angus rescued Etain, the Moon,
who had been turned into a golden fly. But Etain had to choose between bodily existence
in the land of mortals and everlasting life. She continued still, "The artist in us may have
lingered in that land for a moment. But you and I who would be teachers and pioneers in
this Purgatorial World must be prepared before all the Gods to be the servants of the
greatest of them all... the Osiris, the Christ, the God of the Sacrifice of the Self." Moina
then asked Case to resign from his position as Praemonstrator.

Case resigned as Praemonstrator, responding to Moina, "...I have no desire to be a

'teacher and pioneer in this Purgatorial World.' Guidance seems to have removed me
from the high place to which I have never really aspired. The relief is great." This seems
odd coming from a man who would, in a few years, abandon his artistic endeavors to
start his own occult school, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.). Perhaps this struggle
between his artistic soul and his mystical soul pre-existed his involvement with the Order,
and maybe Moina knew this. Archives at the B.O.T.A. state that on one occasion years
before he joined the Order, Case was approached by a stranger on the streets of
Chicago who called him by name and told him many things about himself. "Your teacher
is my teacher," the man told him. He told Case that he must choose between a life of
material comfort as a musician and a life of suffering and renunciation as a vitally needed
teacher of the Mysteries. The former would offer him "more of this world's goods than
most"; the latter, important service to mankind and eternal life, and that, "In the end, you
will not starve to death."

After Case was expelled from the Order, he pursued the creation of his own occult
school, the School of Ageless Wisdom. This organization failed within a few years.
However, he soon moved to Los Angeles, abandoning his lucrative career as a musician,
and established the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.). Still in existence today, it has
proven to be a successful correspondence course on Tarot.

Geise wrote to Moina that students from other temples were flocking to hear Case speak
prior to his being expelled. Mrs. Elma Dame, The Imperatrix of the Philadelphia Temple,
who resigned due to the numerous problems in the Order at the time, pointed to the need
for a knowledgeable teacher in America. She wrote to Moina: "When you got rid of Mr.
Case, you 'killed the goose that laid the golden egg.'" Dr. Pullen Burry, a former Order
member, concluded that Case was the one to bring "the light of the old R.C. [Rosicrucian]
teachings" into the light of Aquarian consciousness. Case's book, The True and Invisible
Rosicrucian Order, stands as a classic Qabalistic interpretation of the Rosicrucian Fama
Fraternitatis and Confessio.

Case died easily while vacationing in Mexico with his second wife, Harriet. Fortunately,
he left behind extensive writings on Tarot and Qabalah, and is considered by many to be
a true "teacher and pioneer in this Purgatorial World."
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