Buck Moon 2020

Posted on July 5, 2020

This is my first Buck Moon post. I totally missed 2019 & 2018. There was also a penumbral lunar eclipse happening, as well. Full illumination occurred at 12:44am EDT. Howl for me! ~Vic

The Full Moon in July is the Buck Moon, named after the new antlers that emerge from a buck’s forehead around this time of the year. It is also called Thunder Moon, Hay Moon and Wort Moon. For farmers, high summer [is] the time to cut and cure hay to put away for winter feed.

One of the more common names for this month’s Full Moon is the Thunder Moon, a tribute from the Algonquin to a time of year when spectacular electrical storms rake the northern forests. The Chinese deserve credit for an equally ominous name. The moon coincides with the Hungry Ghost Festival, a time when the living honor the dead by leaving food and drink to the ancestors. Their name? The Moon of the Hungry Ghosts.

Wort Moon [indicates] that July is the time to gather herbs (worts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. Additional names are Halfway Summer Moon (Ojibwe/Chippewa), Blueberry Moon (Ojibwe), Raspberry Moon (Ojibwe), Flying Moon (Ojibwe), Thunderstorm Moon (Catawba), Corn in Tassel [Moon] (Eastern Band Cherokee), Honey Bee Moon (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Wisconsin), String Bean Moon (Oneida) and Little Sister of the Summer Moon (Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana).

Additional Reading & Sources:
Native American Moon Names (American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association)
Full Buck Moon (Farmers’ Almanac 1818)
Full Moon Names (Moon Connection)
Full Thunder Moon (Moon Giant)
Full Moon For July (The Old Farmer’s Almanac 1792)
July: Buck Moon (Time and Date)