A Teacher
Denning & Phillips
Practical Qabalah & creative visualization
The transmission
Melita Denning (1920–1997) and Osborne Phillips (b. 1942) were the pen names of Vivian Godfrey and Leon Barcynski, senior officers of the Aurum Solis, a Western magical order founded in 1897. Working as a writing partnership, they became among the most widely read authors of accessible practical occultism in the late 20th century, especially through Llewellyn Publications.
Their multi-volume The Magical Philosophy laid out the Aurum Solis system in depth, while popular standalone works such as Practical Guide to Creative Visualization, Practical Guide to Astral Projection, and Practical Guide to Psychic Self-Defense brought disciplined esoteric technique to a mass audience.
Their hallmark was clear, step-by-step instruction in the trained use of imagination as a magical and self-developmental tool.
What they gave
Creative visualization as a trainable skill: Their Practical Guide to Creative Visualization presented mental imagery as a structured, progressive discipline rather than vague positive thinking.
- Practical Qabalah: Made the Hermetic Tree of Life usable as a map for inner work and ritual.
- Astral projection method: Provided clear protocols for OBE-type practice within a Western magical frame.
- Democratized ceremonial technique: Their accessible Llewellyn titles brought trained magical imagination to home practitioners.
The line they stand in
Influenced by: the Golden Dawn and Hermetic Qabalah; the Aurum Solis tradition; Dion Fortune’s psychologized magic.
- Influenced: a generation of self-initiating practical magicians; the broad creative-visualization and magical-imagination current.
Revelations they taught
Essential Works
- The Llewellyn Practical Guide to Astral Projection1979
- The Magical Philosophy1974-1981
- Mysteria Magica1986