The "Original Edition" of The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order was first published in 1927 with a limited print run of 64 copies. It was followed almost immediately by a second edition in 1928. The second edition was only a moderate revision but Paul Foster Case removed much of the sound and color practices that were presented in the original edition. These practices can now be found in slightly altered form relatively far along in the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) curriculum (approximately during the fourteenth and fifteenth years of the coursework). The fourth edition which is the most expanded edition represents Paul Foster Case's most complete thought on this subject is still in print currently published by Weiser and is highly recommended to the readers of this edition on its own merits. The "Original Edition" provides content not present in the fourth and final edition and contains valuable insight into the Work of Paul Case during an earlier and more formative period of his life.
"The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order is a book by Paul Foster Case that unites the Kabbalah with Hermetic ranks or grades of attainment, as seen through a Rosicrucian lens. It is one of the first major attempts at reducing a vast body of esoteric teachings into an understandable format. The Golden Dawn philosophy is very evident throughout this text, plus many of the new innovations that Case developed.
"The value of this book is that it presents an American A.O. window of how the rungs of the ladder in the Golden Dawn learning system were viewed. Case wanted more structure from the Golden Dawn and what it did not supply, he developed. This work tries to explain the Rosicrucian philosophy from a Golden Dawn and Kabbalistic perspective and goes further than many of the early order papers did. This was one of the catalysts that helped Case work out his B.O.T.A. philosophy. In many respects this work reflects the cross-over point between the Golden Dawn and the formation of Case's B.O.T.A philosophy and as such has a foot in both realms of Hermetic thought. It is a book that should be on the shelf of those interested in modern hermetic literature." - from the foreword by Pat Zalewski, author of the best selling modern classic Alchemy and Golden Dawn Ritual
