groovy, baby
Paranormal x Queer Newsletter Issue 21 - July 2026
Dear Readers & Preservationists ──୨ৎ──
I am incredibly happy to announce that The Association of Paranormal Study has published the 2025 Paranormal Symposium Journal for your reading pleasure!!! You can read “Groove Theory: Using Shufflemancy to Strengthen Psychic Connections,” which is the first iteration of Groove Theory. I paused the work when I was diagnosed with cancer because I wanted to take my time with some particular research, and it still is not time to get back to it, but I’m incredibly happy and grateful that the first piece of the pie is ready for paranormal enthusiasts and investigators.
Groove Theory has been something that’s transformed over time, too. Back in fall of 2025, I presented my lecture Shufflemancy & The Supernatural at a few events other than the Symposium, and people expressed interest in the method, the mythological underpinnings, and paranormal alignment. I, a writer for the people, hope great things for Groove Theory when it emerges in full drag because I know you’ll love it.
Pride in Perry was a huge success! Although I may have slowed down some of my archival happenings online, I’ve been very active locally. I’m getting paranormal work out there, into the hands of readers, and I’m proud of that. For this event, and with a focus on Pride, I wanted to showcase the archive like a little museum nook. People could look at my booklist, peruse the zine library, observe The Spell Jar, and see the tools in my paranormal investigation equipment bag, and more! It was fun to present the archive this way for folks, and the reception from the Pride in Perry crowd was better than I could have imagined.
For as many interested, there were as many disinterested. I appreciated the gay way of “not my business” instead of the skeptical heckling of people who want you to “prove” something to incite embarrassment or discord regarding paranormal subjects. Queers know how to get out of the way so someone else who is actually down-to-clown can be there, yk? However, I’m not so sure that some of that disinterest wasn’t also confusion of “what is happening right here?” because the table aesthetic was chaotic by choice, haha. Mostly, I was happy to engage with people who wanted to chat and learn about the effort! 💙 Resoundingly, people had the opinion that areas of Medical Lake are haunting and creepy.
My wife was also very present at this event and the queer love filled her cup. It was cute to watch. 🥹💝 I hope y’all had a rebellious, happy pride. 🌈
I wanted to confess something, too: I often find success in my failures. Not in the sort of way that’s like—well, duh, triumph and opportunity and all that... It’s more like—I really have to give up and announce I’m giving up, or announce that I’m destined to fail. I had this theory in high school, even when I was in higher-stakes Running Start courses, that when I expected my failure, I often did better than if I was just nervous to take the test or do the thing. It didn’t matter how much I studied because I was a faithful student. I always studied for tests. Expecting failure turned into a weird sort of confidence booster because it felt less like giving up, and more like shedding skin. I was raised to be the “Good, Eldest Daughter,” or just the smart and capable one who fixes things for the whole family. I feel my freedom blossom when I abandon my own expectations. (It often makes me queerer.) Then, I’m not thinking of anyone else, either. I’m truly just living in the moment. That’s hard to do living with neurodiversity, and I’m realizing that by explaining all this makes me seem more so. I’m explaining this because it’s seemed to be how my work with the archive is going. But because I haven’t been thinking like a young student in so long, I forgot how to break my cycle with failure by engaging with it with purpose.
For example, I expected to loose the grant. I know it’s stupid, and like against manifestation rules, but is it? I manifested so much to make that grant application exist, and the work done isn’t paid for by the grant, but the programming still exists. Also, I was recently hired onto a job where the people interviewing me, other artists, complimented the work I do, which was unexpected. It was a compliment I’m not used to getting. People often meet me with blank stares, so I never know what people really think of my art. (More neurodivergence in social situations…) Anyways, I was hired on to do programming, to facilitate. The nature of the job is interesting and they’ll accommodate my health. It’s a win, a big one, because I’ve worked for it. It will be the first time I’ll get paid like a real adult in the last like 5 years. Besides the bit about manifestation, I testify to the power of Etsy witches. (A hot tip for chronically ill or disabled people who need help with magic: Pay an Etsy witch. It’s far easier than sourcing your own magic for situations where you might not have it all. In my experience as a multidisciplinary sorta witch, I need my reserves for a few select things, so I resource certain spell work elsewhere. I’ve found it effective, and the person who gave me the hot tip is a real one.)
I was talking to my wife, my dear Hayley, and she told me, “You should really be celebrating right now. You’ve been working incredibly hard for the last few years and even though you got sick, you kick more ass than anyone I know.”
I’m more unsure of where the archive stands, but the momentum is encouraging. I suppose that people, overwhelmingly, don’t know what they want, or don’t know that they’ve got a good thing until they don’t have it anymore. Where I see potential, people see a question mark, especially as it relates to the economic reality. However, the vision for the archive is not one that fits into a version of normalcy where the rules are followed just because. No. The vision for the archive is outlandish and deviant because it must be if it meets the needs of folks in the future. It is designed to be another option for thought production and cultural production. While there are many places that produce culture, there are very few places where thought production is public, and accessible. Think tanks are the biggest competition I face outside of academic institutions, and both are paid large sums to produce standards of thought for the public based on the funding. (If you didn’t know your thoughts are paid for, news flash.) On top of all that, it’s an attempt to meet a moment in our educational history where a.) students hate school and b.) no one reads anymore.
For just a moment, imagine that the standard of knowledge wasn’t intended for neocolonial or fascist agendas. Where in the world do you think we’d be if the public could take responsibility for, and reclaim their agency to literally THINK? (My guess is we’d be on our way to infrastructure change, and that’s ultimately what this entity of the archive is.)
I have what I need for now and for the rest of the year. I forgot this year was topsy-turvy, loopy-curvy, and out of sorts in terms of the numerology/tarot. Further, this reminder served as a pivot to what I know is good for me. Regardless of the loose-fitting momentum of the year, I choose myself and my dream.
Stay Groovy,
✨💙✨ Skyler Louise
Shufflemancy Readings are available for $33 on my ko-fi! I’m one of the only readers who offers music-based divination for folks to purchase!! Each reading comes with a typed summary and 10-song playlist to deepen the meaning for you. Get your personal reading here:
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Spotlights ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
(Things I enjoyed, things you might enjoy, too)
Spotlight Posts from Substack:
Spotlight Books:
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune
I enjoyed this one so much!! It’s giving Twin Peaks/X-Files energy with two himbo gay dudes at the helm. The focus in the beginning builds nicely to the twists, so I couldn’t stop reading. The narration is one of those where you can see yourself as the MC, and I like that because my imagination is immersive. I felt the story as much as I read it. The humor was a bonus I didn’t expect, and I appreciate authors who can make me laugh while fantastic drama unfolds.
Spotlight Songs:
✮✰Stay Groovy✰✮⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄✮