Every full moon name, month by month, and what each one is good for

Each full moon of the year has a name, and most of the names describe what was happening outside when it rose: an animal, a crop, a kind of weather. Together they work like an old calendar, and that's why they still make good questions to think about. Each one already fits a season of the year.

Where the names come from

The names most people use today were made popular by the Old Farmer's Almanac, which gathered them from Native American, Colonial American and European traditions. There isn't one official list. Different peoples had different names for the same moon, and the neat list of twelve was put together later. It's best enjoyed as a lovely shared shorthand.

The twelve

• January: Wolf Moon. The coldest, quietest part of the year. What would you like this year to be about, in one sentence?
• February: Snow Moon. Deep winter and heavy snow. What are you waiting out, and does waiting still feel right?
• March: Worm Moon. The ground softens again. What are you ready to start, even if you start messily?
• April: Pink Moon. Named after pink spring flowers, not the color of the moon. What's growing in your life that you didn't plan for?
• May: Flower Moon. Everything blooming at once. What are you saying yes to, and what is it leaving less room for?
• June: Strawberry Moon. A short, sweet harvest. What's good right now that won't last forever?
• July: Buck Moon. When deer grow new antlers. What are you growing back after a loss?
• August: Sturgeon Moon. Late summer's big catch. What have you been hoping to catch, and are you going about it the right way?
• September: Corn Moon. Harvesting and storing food. What has this year given you so far?
• October: Hunter's Moon. Getting ready before the cold. What do you want in place before winter?
• November: Beaver Moon. Beavers building their lodges. What are you building up, and who's helping you?
• December: Cold Moon. The longest nights. What are you carrying into next year that you could set down?

The Harvest Moon exception

The Harvest Moon isn't tied to one month. It's the full moon closest to the fall equinox, so it's usually September's, but about every three years it lands in early October. In those years, September keeps the Corn Moon name and October's Hunter's Moon moves aside. The name has a real reason behind it: around the equinox, the moon rises only a little later each night, which once gave farmers several evenings of early moonlight to work by.

Blue moons and thirteenth moons

It takes the moon about 29.5 days to go from full to full, so a year holds a little more than twelve full moons. That means about every two and a half years there's a thirteenth. Today, a blue moon usually means the second full moon in one calendar month. The older almanac meaning is the third full moon in a season that has four. Neither one turns the moon blue, sadly.

How we use them

Each Luna Post edition is named after its moon, like the Buck Moon edition or the Cold Moon edition, and mails early so it reaches you around the full moon itself. The art on the front is made for that moon, so a year of cards also becomes a keepsake of your year.

If you're curious what's happening in the sky, read what actually happens at a full moon. If you'd like ideas for what to do when one arrives, try how to build a full moon ritual you'll actually keep. Or you can simply start with the next one.