THE FULL MOON, MOON FAIRIES AND MEMORIES OF DAISY

In honor of the full moon tomorrow night, upcoming fairy day, and the memory of the late Daisy Lupin, I present these (mostly) full-moon fairies.



Sometime during the night of June 15-16, 2007, the silken cords that held Daisy Lupin to this world were loosed. Daisy - or as she was known in the real world - Hilary McClennan, slipped the bonds of earth and sailed away into the firmament.

I had only been reading Daisy's blog for three months when she died, unexpectedly, but she affected me profoundly. Daisy was one of those great bloggers who made a huge impact on her readers around the world. She had only just celebrated her first year of blogging, but what a lot she packed into that year!

To me, she was the moon and moonstones. She loved to open the curtains wide on full moon nights, so she could lie in bed and bathe in moonlight. Each month, she would put her moonstones on the window sill so they could absorb moon magic.

Daisy was England's mighty oak and its littlest acorn. She was lore, legends and myths. She was childhood memories of Saturday Shopping Trips, Sunday teas at grandmother's and best-loved books. She was herbs and hares, mystery and magic, Druids and The Green Man and the Celtic Year. She was her dear kitties and her dear kiddies (her grown son and daughter).

She was the exquisite paintings she found to illustrate her blog (definitely an influence on my blog) and the Poetry Fest she created. Daisy believed in fairies, UFOs and liminal places and times. She was equally happy puttering among the birds and flowers in her garden, or having a ripping, rousing, jolly good time with her fellow English Glitter Power Sisters.

Daisy laughed to think that people imagined she was living the perfect life in a picturesque English village, swanning about in her garden in a floaty dress. Yes, she was about trips to her favorite Cornwall, and flights of the imagination, but she was also ordinary daily, modern English life. How I loved her descriptions of her bus rides to the nearest market town - what she saw, what she bought and the special hat that she wore on these trips. This hat, she believed, magically made shopkeepers be courteous and nice to her.

Daisy was relaxing with a glass of wine in a favorite garden chair. She was digging into local history or a good book. She was art dolls and podlings and glitter - lots and lots of glitter.

Daisy was no-nonsense and believed in speaking her mind. Once asked if she swore, she wrote that she wasn't above a few good, sound Anglo Saxon swear words. She was a good blogging friend. She didn't give opinions or advice unless asked. When I solicited advice from her, I received sage answers.

When I first discovered Daisy's blog, I was just in awe of her. I made a few appreciative comments, and was shocked when she answered little old me back and started reading my blog. She was wise and generous and a true kindred spirit to me and so many others.

Now, a year later, Daisy's ashes have scattered in her beloved Cornwall, but she is still with us, still here in our hearts. She is in her precious flowers, birds, bees and dragonflies. She is in the earth and the sky, in the moon and the stars. She is in the wind and the rain. She is that elusive perfume that wafts mysteriously into your window. She is a shining orb in the heavens.

Daisy believed - truly believed, that she was the twelfth princess in the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. She looked all her life for her eleven sisters. I hope she found them at last, and is now dancing with them and the moon as in the painting at the top of this post.

Not long before she died, Daisy decided to have a "Greedy, Juicy, Learning Summer of Personal Delights". She never got to experience it. I think everyone who loved Daisy owes it to her - and to themselves - to make the summer of 2008 such a summer.

For those not familiar with Daisy, her daughter, Sweet Pea (Lydia), left her blog open. It is on my sidebar still, as I read it often. Go to http://www.catsinthekitchenflorainthegarden.blogspot.com/.

NOTE: My moon counter turned to 100% of full while I wrote this post. However, my calendar says it is tomorrow night. I guess it depends on where one lives. No matter - someone is having a full moon right now!