Tarot Card Meanings: Fundamentals Paperback – April 29, 2009

Tarot Fundamentals is a course of esoteric Tarot instruction by one of the greatest modern occult teachers, Paul Foster Case. This book is the first published version of the correspondence course which was formerly the exclusive possession of BOTA students. Now, anyone with interest can pursue this course of Tarot mastery. Paul Case chose to copyright this particular series of lessons in the 1930's but never published them. Case probably knew that one day these books would see their way into wide circulation, and he couldn't have planned for a better time! Concomitant to the explosion of interest in Tarot in the past few years, it is a true blessing.Many recent books have moved beyond reading the cards for divination, and into psychology and intuitive development. The writings of Paul Case go much further, revealing a true esoteric wisdom contained within the Tarot keys. The Tarot is essentially a story of consciousness, both personal and cosmic.The introduction explains the purpose of using Tarot as a path to spiritual unfoldment: "This course on Tarot Fundamentals will show you how to use the Tarot Keys for the purpose of evoking thought, thus bringing to the surface of your consciousness, where you can see and understand them, those fundamental principles of practical occultism that lie hidden in the hearts of all mankind. Its rich symbolism and ingenious construction make Tarot the best of all instruments for true occult education: that is, for drawing out the wisdom hidden within you."The chapters take the form of a lesson, with Case as the teacher, and indicate how to work with the system. For example, he suggests having a regular study period, looking intently at the cards during this time. The student begins by systematically going over the card, from top to bottom, right to left, then meditating on the symbols. Each card should be given a week or two of study, rereading the text from the book, and making notes on any feelings or impressions that come to you. Each of the 22 keys is given two lessons: the first imparts the general pattern and gives detailed coloring instructions; the second goes into detail on the esoteric meanings of every single symbol shown on the card. Before the lessons on the keys themselves, there is a lesson on the symbolism of numbers, the numbers from 0 to 9, and their esoteric meanings.Paul Case felt the need to design and print a Tarot deck that he felt would best display the esoteric symbolism and wisdom of the ages. Known as the BOTA Tarot, it is the one presented in most of Cases's writings on the Tarot. It must be obtained uncolored, and the student's initiation involves coloring the deck. The deck can be obtained from the BOTA, The Builders of the Adytum. "Tarot Fundamentals" contains instructions for coloring the deck.Those who enjoyed his marvelous book, "The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages" will be delighted by this recent addition to the literature. While "The Tarot" details the correspondences of the major arcana keys with Hebrew letters, astrology symbols, directions on the cube of space, paths on the Tree of Life, colors, tones, and modes of consciousness, it is lacking in detailed explanations of basic occult principles. Those principles find their explanation here in "Tarot Fundamentals". Combined, they yield a treasure of knowledge to the serious student.In summary, this is a fantastic book that must be read and studied by all serious students of Tarot, and will also find a home in the hearts of Qabalists, occultists, magicians, alchemists, and Hermeticists in general. It is truly a book that must be studied, read over and over, and meditated upon. But it will work for beginners as well, provided they understand it will require dedication. With such effort, the esoteric student can expect to find the "wisdom hidden within you." This is the true meaning of Tarot Mastery.

By title and book cover, it is easy to be mislead - This book is filled with Profound Sacred Life- Liberating Enlightening information. It is as though. It is mind -bending mental science with deeper understanding of the symbols in the cards than elsewhere. Paul Foster Case was the founder of the international tarot organization Builders Of The Adytum (BOTA)

Paul Foster Case is a top teacher in the Western Mystery Tradition. His books are readable and understandable by the lay reader in all phases of your path. I've re-read his classics multiple times and always discover more on the second, or third, or fourth pass through his books. He writes with clarity and authority to all levels of practitioners.

This is the whole course work on Tarot Fundamentals that the BOTA gives their students. If you are already a student, this book makes an excellent way to carry the 48+ lessons. For the price, it is a great buy. I highly recommend becoming a student of the BOTA because they offer 14 years of course work. This best way to study each card is to read the lesson, then color the card, and study the key for 2 weeks. After this move on to the next card. All you need to do is meditate with the card for 5 minutes a day.

I completed all of the course work of the BOTA some years back. I can think of nobetter source for Tarot work than Paul Case's writings, especially in the lesson formatthe BOTA publishes. However it is also good to see his work showing up in book form.It can happen that new or old students would need a quick reference to locate some pointand this book is a good start in providing such a reference.

Do not judge a book by its cover. This book is jam packed with more info about Tarot than most libraries! Wow!

Paul Foster Case's writing deserves a better cover than this one, which looks like a poor illustration from a pulp fiction book about fortune telling.

Never judge a book by its cover!Note: This book is the same as 'Wisdom of Tarot - The Golden Dawn Tarot Series 1', This presentation is illustrated with the Keys whereas 'Wisdom of Tarot' is not.