I am Sean, one of the foundling members of the Kansas City Sorcerous Arts Collective. My writings can appear under S.P. Manning, S. Patrick Manning, or under the nom de plume Chirotus Infinitum. I have done academic work in history, creative writing, and religious studies, and I especially enjoy areas of overlap between these fields.
After many years as a solely technical magician, I have embraced devotional paganism, and am currently working with the Hekatean current that is becoming more emergent. I have a background in Hermetic ceremonial magick, chaos magic, tarot, and astrology. I seem to have a knack for elemental magic, talismans, wards and shields, and sigil magic. Tarot is constant in my work, and I enjoy collecting unusual, rare, or kitschy decks.
I was raised Roman Catholic, and though I was separated from the Irish and Italian folk traditions that should have been in my family background, I always felt the world was richer than it seemed. My involvement in the occult began in an effort to attract the favor of a girl (no, it didn’t work), and I just kept going deeper. I studied Crowley and Carroll, Regardie and Hine, explored the interconnected symbols of the tarot and astrology, and surveyed other forms of religious and non-religious witchcraft. Eventually I found myself in leadership roles, beginning with a college pagan group at the University of Kansas, until I found myself helping to organize a major pagan festival. Over the years I have led workshops and classes on many topics, including tarot, basic astrology, chaos magic theory, sigil magic, and shielding.
My academic background has equipped me to find and evaluate sources and compare magical theories and techniques. Tracing traditions through history, and seeing what they have influenced or been influenced by, has proven a very powerful skill in bringing ideas and symbols together into new and interesting ritual expressions. As a scholar I can see what the sources have to offer relative to the task at hand, and as a chaos magician I am willing to experiment to see what can be adjusted or cut out to make the ritual experience more effective.
I still have issues with belonging and purpose in my life, and I hope to provide ritual experiences and practices that can help others find answers where I have not.