Since I'm enjoying a brief but much needed trip out of town, the Magical Mondays feature is on hiatus this week -- it will be back next Monday with a brand new not-so-magical item for us to discuss. In the meantime, take a look at some of the great ideas people have come up with for our other items!

• Beehive
• Sweetgum Balls
• Cheese Grater
• Rain Boots
• Salt & Pepper Shakers
• Buttons
• Snakeskin.

Hi all! I'm actually in warm, muggy Charleston, South Carolina right now, where I had a chance yesterday to speak at Pagan Unity Days. It was an absolutely amazing event hosted by the folks at Lowcountry CAST, and they all made me feel so welcome. I love the gentle beauty of the Lowcountry, and the energy of this event was just stunning. After a whole day of workshops, we concluded the afternoon with a Great Spiral Dance. There were probably about 80 people forming a triple spiral, chanting and dancing, and it was one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced. It was truly an honor to be part of this group this weekend.

An absolutely HUGE shout-out to Mary Dellucci of CAST, who put the whole thing together and is like my new soul-sister -- by the way, Happy Birthday once again, Mary! Also, thank-yous to blog readers Amber, Laura and Rose, who stopped by my table to say hi, and Dana Victorston, an absolute sweetheart who drove all the way from Savannah just to meet me. Thanks so much to all of you for your kind words and love, and it was a real treat to be able to attend, despite those threats of Hurricane Hanna dangling over us! Thank you all once again, from the bottom of my heart.

For those of you who were there and sat in on my discussion group (and even those of you who weren't, but wonder what the heck we talked about), I'll be posting a link in the next couple of days to an article covering all the things we talked about -- Using New Technology to Study the Ancient Ways -- as well as useful and handy linkage for you!

This is kind of nifty. Nearly fifty artists have contributed to an exhibition in Yorkshire, England, with pieces following a theme found in a witch's besom. The concept of "Nest - a brush with the media" was developed by artist Janet Rawlins, who found a bird's nest inside a heather broom. The Dales Countryside Museum actually has a besom-making machine on site, and so manager Fiona Rosher thought the exhibit would fit in well with the artifacts already at the museum. The exhibit, which runs through October 1, includes artwork in a variety of media and techniques, from "photography and calligraphy to textiles and sculpture." For more information, you can visit the museum's website at Yorkshire Dales.

As the Republican National Convention drags on in Minnesota, police and protesters have been clashing. Dozens of arrests have been made, and police have fired tear gas at people who have been protesting peacefully. The other night, a journalist from Democracy Now was arrested when she tried to stop the detentions of two other reporters who were filming the demonstrations.

Now, word has trickled out that a few members of Pagan Cluster, a Pagan-based activist group, have been repeatedly tasered by police and denied medical attention. Despite the fact that the young man in the video doesn't appear to be resisting, he is immediately surrounded by police officers in riot gear, and tasered at least three times, and possibly more. There's a video of the entire incident on the local news channel, although you may want to make sure the kidlets leave the room before you view it.

According to some recent blog updates, it appears that they are no longer in jail, but this all-too-frightening situation in St. Paul is something that bears watching.