The 12 Full Moon Names: What Each Month's Moon Is Actually For
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Every full moon in the year has a name — and that name is not decorative. The traditional names for each month's moon were given by cultures that organized their entire lives around the lunar calendar, and they describe, with the precision of long experience, what each moon's specific energy is actually for. Knowing the name of the moon you are working under is not trivia. It is practical information about what kind of ritual, what kind of intention, and what kind of release will be most powerfully supported by that particular moon's energy.
Here are all twelve traditional full moon names and what each is genuinely for.
January — Wolf Moon
Named for the howling of wolves in the deep of winter. The Wolf Moon's energy is primal, fierce, and community-oriented. It is for the instincts, for the pack, for the question of who and what you are fiercely loyal to. Full moon rituals under the Wolf Moon have particular power for anything related to community, belonging, and the fierce protection of what you love.
February — Snow Moon
Named for the heaviest snowfall. The Snow Moon is a moon of deep stillness and of what survives the dark. Its energy is enduring, patient, and concerned with what is genuinely strong enough to make it through. Release work under the Snow Moon has particular power for releasing what is not strong enough — what needs to be let go before spring arrives.
March — Worm Moon
Named for the earthworms that emerge as the ground thaws. The Worm Moon is a moon of profound transition — the turn from winter to spring, from underground to above-ground, from dormancy to the first real stirring of growth. Intentions set or released under the Worm Moon carry the energy of genuine seasonal turning.
April — Pink Moon
Named for the pink wildflowers that bloom in early spring. The Pink Moon carries the energy of emergence, of the beauty that comes after the long dark, of what has survived the winter and is now flowering. It is one of the most joyful and abundant of the twelve moons — ideal for abundance acknowledgment and the celebration of what has survived and grown.
May — Flower Moon
Named for the peak flowering of May. The Flower Moon is maximum growth, maximum vitality, maximum aliveness. It is the moon most associated with beauty, sensuality, and the fullness of what is alive in the world right now. Ritual under the Flower Moon has particular resonance for creative work, for beauty, and for the full enjoyment of what is presently growing.
June — Strawberry Moon
Named for the strawberry harvest in the Northern Hemisphere. The Strawberry Moon is a harvest moon, concerned with sweetness, with receiving what has been grown, with the genuine enjoyment of abundance. The gratitude ceremony is especially powerful under the Strawberry Moon.
July — Buck Moon
Named for the new antlers growing on male deer in July. The Buck Moon is a moon of new growth and new direction — what is pushing forward, what is becoming visible, what has been growing invisibly and is now undeniably present. It is a moon of momentum and of the direction that is becoming clearer.
August — Sturgeon Moon
Named for the large sturgeon fish most easily caught in August. The Sturgeon Moon is a moon of depth, of what exists beneath the surface, of patient, slow-growing things that are now ready to be brought up. It has particular resonance for shadow work and for bringing what has been beneath consciousness into the light.
September — Harvest Moon
The most famous of the twelve. The Harvest Moon rises close to sunset and provides extra light for harvesting — it is literally the moon that allows the work to continue. Its energy is abundance, completion of the growing season, and the full reception of what the year has produced. The abundance acknowledgment ritual is most powerful under the Harvest Moon.
October — Hunter's Moon
Named for the preparation for winter. The Hunter's Moon is practical, clear-eyed, and concerned with discernment: what is worth keeping, what needs to be released before the dark months, what is genuinely prepared for what is coming. Release ceremonies under the Hunter's Moon have particular power for practical, grounded, clear-eyed release.
November — Beaver Moon
Named for the beaver activity that preceded the freeze — the building of dams and the gathering of what is needed before winter. The Beaver Moon is about preparation, about building what will hold through the dark, about the practical work of making ready. It is a moon of grounded, steady action.
December — Cold Moon
Named for the cold of deep winter. The Cold Moon is a moon of the interior, of what survives in the dark, of the long stillness before the returning light. It is the most introspective of the twelve moons — concerned with what is most essential, with what remains when everything nonessential has been stripped away by the cold. The most powerful release ceremony of the year happens under the Cold Moon.
Working the Full Year
13 Full Moon Rituals: Lunar Completion includes the complete full moon year with all 12 traditional moon names, their specific energies, and guidance for adapting the 13 rituals to each moon's particular quality. If you are going to build a monthly full moon practice — and for those who do, it becomes one of the most consistent and grounding practices of the year — the complete guide gives you everything you need for all twelve months, plus the rare blue moon. 22 pages. Digital PDF, instant download.
