Wisdom from Seanmháthair Gealach (Grandmother Moon)
Full Buck Moon in Capricorn arrives on Day 15 of the Lunar Cycle at:
08-July @ 9:06 PM PT
09-July @ 04:06 UTC

Full Buck Moon?

Full Thunder Moon?

What do YOU call the upcoming Full Moon?

I like the idea of creating our own alternate names for the Full Moons, a reflection of what’s happening in our locale… our world… our practices.

Local Himalayan Blackberry

For July, maybe this will be my Yellow Flower Moon because I’m now foraging for St John’s Wort (finally!!!), wild mustard, agrimony, dandelions, and yarrow… all yellow delights!

Or maybe this is simply the 🌿Herb Moon.

Here in North America, the Full Moon names typically come from our First Nations people. Growing up in Ontario, I knew July as the Full Buck Moon, named by the Algonquin people for the time when a buck’s antlers finish growing and transform from bulbous to pointed, and beginning to harden. To the Tlingit of the Pacific. Northwest, this is the Salmon Moon. To other people, July brings the Full Thunder Moon… very dramatic! And clearly a reminder that with summer heat, we also get storms and dramatic displays of thunder and lightning. I’m hearing of tornado and thunderstorm warnings quite often these days.

According to “the Venerable” Bede (an eighth century English monk and scholar), my British ancestors referred to this month as Mild Month. In their language, that word was Litha (OE Liða). Apparently they referred to both June and July as Litha — the period of warm weather before and after MidSummer, aka Summer Solstice — but they also differentiated between the two by calling June “Before-Mild” (Ærraliða) and July “After-Mild” (Æfteraliða)…. and in some years they even added a third “leap” month, Thriliða, the “Third-Mild.” This is the root of the contemporary pagan term for Summer Solstice. [Click here for additional info on the Anglo-Saxon calendar]

Whatever you call the July Full Moon, this celestial event following Solstice is very powerful. Be sure to pay attention to your energy and what you are manifesting in this Full Moon.

Later today I will post TWO more Reflections from Grandmother Moon to support your Full Moon celebration:

Part 2: Reflection on the Full Moon in Capricorn: Soul Work. Includes reflections on LaLuna’s energies, Soul Questions, tips for your altar, and charging under the Full Moon

Part 3: Reflections on the Full Moon in Capricorn, Spellcraft & Ritual This includes a powerful Goddess rite for the Full Moon