The Eye of Day

The eye of day, or day’s eye, is the common lawn daisy – bellis perennis. It is called the eye of day because the flowers open at dawn and track the sun across the sky, until the petals close at dusk. I like the term Eye of Day – it seems more descriptive than the noun ‘daisy’. The Eye of Day has animacy, while daisy is simply a noun. I can imagine the Eye(s) of Day tracking the sun in a deliberate act, as if sun tracking was its job. When I think about other beings (including plants) as having animacy, I feel a stronger connection with them – and forging strong connections with the natural world is arguably more important now than it has ever been.

The eye of day is a circular shawl featuring lace and cable stitches.