Moon Names

The Moon has long been as important in deity worship as the Sun has. For many ancient people believed that without the Moon to allow the Sun to sleep the Sun would not return the next day. For many the month or a period of time passing was from one full Moon to the next. Many tribes had a calendar year of thirteen months to coincide with the number of full Moons. The Celtic/Lunar calendar, still in use today, has thirteen months or Moon cycles to it. The lunar calendar is based on a month that has approximately 29.5 days. This is the reason the full Moon dates change from year to year.

Why does each full Moon have many different names? For that we have to consider that the names come from many different parts of the world. When the old ones naming them were alive they did not have the communication access to other people around the globe as we do now. They were isolated in their own portion of the world and only knew things there. Remember it is only been a few hundred years that the Earth was not thought of having an end you could fall off of in to an abyss.

I am sure I have missed a few of the names the Moon is or has been called by so I do not claim this is a complete list. If you know of other names I have not listed please email the name and month it belongs to, to me at ladybeltane@aol.com, so I can put them on. Thanks!

What and when is a Blue Moon?

Most seasons have only three full moons in them, but because of the variation due to the Moons 29.5 day cycle some seasons have four full moons. The term “blue moon” is used to identify these extra full moons.

All Moon Names are listed in order by regular calendar month names

Some of the Native American names for the Northern and Eastern Tribes/Nations

Wolf

Snow

Worm

Pink

Flower

Strawberry

Buck

Sturgeon

Harvest or Corn

Hunter or Harvest

Beaver

Cold or Long Nights

COLONIAL AMERICA

Winter

Trapper’s

Fish

Planter’s

Milk

Rose

Summer

Dog Day’s

Harvest

Beaver

Christmas

CHINESE

Holiday

Budding

Sleepy

Peony

Dragon

Lotus

Hungry Ghost

Harvest

Chrysanthemum

Kindly

White

Bitter

NATIVE AMERICAN- CHEROKEE

Cold

Bony

Windy

Flower

Planting

Green Corn

Ripe Corn

Fruit

Nut

Harvest

Trading

Snow

NATIVE AMERICAN-CHOCTAW

Cooking

Little Famine

Big Famine

Wild Cat

Panther

Windy

Crane

Women’s

Mulberry

Blackberry

Sassafras

Peach

NATIVE AMERICAN-DAKOTAH SIOUX

Moon of the Terrible

Moon of the Raccoon, Moon when trees pop

Moon when eyes are sore from bright snow

Moon when Geese return in scattered formation

Moon when leaves are green, Moon to plant

Moon when June berries are ripe

Moon of the middle Summer

Moon when all things ripen

Moon when calves grow hair

Moon when quilling sand beading is done

Moon when horns are broken off

Twelfth Moon

NATIVE AMMERICAN-ALGONQUIN

Wolf

Snow

Sap

Seed

Flower

Strawberry

Buck

Sturgeon

Corn

Raven

Hunter’s

Cold

CELTIC-TWO VERSION

(The Celts also you a 13 month lunar calender of Trees. This does not fit into months we are use to.)

Quite or Storm

Moon of Ice or Chaste

Moon of Winds or Seed

Growing or Hare

Bright or Dyan

Moon of Horses or Mead

Moon of Claiming or Corn

Dispute or Barely

Singing or Blood

Harvest or Snow

Dark or Oak

Cold or Wolf

ENGLISH MEDIEVAL

Wolf

Storm

Chaste

Seed

Hare

Dyan

Mead

Corn

Barley

Blood

Snow

Oak

NEO PAGAN

Ice

Snow

Death

Awakening

Grass

Planting

Rose

Lightening

Harvest

Blood

Tree

Long Night

New Guinea

(These do not go by our calender months)

Rainbow Fish Moon

Parriotfish Moon

Palolo Worm Moon

Flying Fish Moon

Black Trevally Moon

Open Sea Moon

Tiger Sharl Moon

Rain & Wind Moon

CELTIC-LUNAR

(This calendar does not have months like we are use to. It has thirteen months based on 29.5 days or from one Full Moon to the next. I have included the dates the coincide with our regular calendar)

Birch (December 24 – January 20)

Elder (November 25 – December 23)

Birch (December 24 – January 20)

Rowan (January 21 – February 17)

Ash (February 18 _ March 17)

Alder (March 18 – April 14)

Willow (April 15 – May 12)

Hawthorn (May 13 – June9)

Oak (June 19 – July 7)

Holly (July 8 – August 4)

Hazel (August 5 – September 1)

Vine (September 2 – September 29)

Ivy (September 30 – October 27)

Reed (October 28 – November 23)

Elder (November 24 – December 23)