I keep my full moon schedule the old-fashioned way: penciled into a paper planner on my sunroom desk, one little hand-drawn circle per month. It started as a practical thing — I kept finding out the moon was full the morning after — and it turned into one of my favorite quiet habits. Knowing the next full moon is coming gives the month a shape. A built-in pause. A night that’s already set aside for candles and honesty.
So here’s the whole thing, done for you: every 2026 full moon date, its traditional name, and a gentle ritual idea for each one. This year is a generous one, moon-wise — thirteen full moons instead of the usual twelve, including a Blue Moon and three supermoons.
Bookmark it, screenshot it, pencil it into your own planner. Take what resonates, leave the rest.
Your 2026 full moon schedule at a glance
Here’s the complete full moon calendar 2026, all thirteen in one table. Dates are for US Eastern time — more on why that matters in a second.
| Month | Date (Eastern) | Moon Name | One-Line Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Saturday, Jan 3 | Wolf Moon (supermoon) | Beginning the year honestly |
| February | Sunday, Feb 1 | Snow Moon | Rest without guilt |
| March | Tuesday, Mar 3 | Worm Moon (total lunar eclipse) | Quiet stirring under the surface |
| April | Wednesday, Apr 1 | Pink Moon | Tender new growth |
| May | Friday, May 1 | Flower Moon | Letting yourself bloom |
| May | Sunday, May 31 | Blue Moon | A rare second chance |
| June | Monday, Jun 29 | Strawberry Moon | Savoring what’s sweet |
| July | Wednesday, Jul 29 | Buck Moon | Noticing how far you’ve grown |
| August | Friday, Aug 28 | Sturgeon Moon (partial lunar eclipse) | Going deeper |
| September | Saturday, Sep 26 | Harvest Moon | Gathering in gratitude |
| October | Monday, Oct 26 | Hunter’s Moon | Preparing and releasing |
| November | Tuesday, Nov 24 | Beaver Moon (supermoon) | Building your cozy inner home |
| December | Wednesday, Dec 23 | Cold Moon (supermoon) | Stillness and year’s-end reflection |
One important honest-friend note: a full moon peaks at a single moment worldwide, so the calendar date can shift depending on your timezone. The Pink Moon, for example, peaks late on April 1 Eastern time — but that’s already April 2 in the UK. Same with December’s Cold Moon: December 23 Eastern, December 24 across most of Europe. If you’re outside North America, double-check your local date with the free Moon Phase Tracker — it does the timezone math so you don’t have to.
And truly, don’t white-knuckle the exact night. The moon looks gloriously full the night before and the night after its peak. Your ritual counts on any of them.
The remaining full moons of 2026 (and a little ritual for each)
We’re partway through the year as I write this — the Buck Moon is up next — so let’s linger on the moons still ahead. For each one: the story behind the name, and one gentle thing to try.
Buck Moon — Wednesday, July 29
July’s moon is named for male deer, whose antlers are in full velvet regrowth by midsummer. I love that image: something that was shed completely, growing back stronger. It peaks at 10:36 a.m. Eastern — a daytime peak, which means the nights of July 28 and 29 will both look beautifully full.
A little ritual: sit outside if you can (my porch in Asheville is non-negotiable for this one) and make two short lists by moonlight or candlelight. First: what has quietly grown in you since January. Second: what you’re ready to shed so something new has room. Read both aloud, softly. That’s it. Growth deserves witnessing, and so does release.
Sturgeon Moon — Friday, August 28
Named for the huge, ancient fish once abundant in the Great Lakes in late summer, the Sturgeon Moon peaks just after midnight Eastern on August 28. This one arrives with a bonus: a partial lunar eclipse, when Earth’s shadow takes a slow, curved bite out of the moon. Nothing ominous — just geometry being gorgeous. Check a moon tracker for eclipse timing where you live.
A little ritual: sturgeon are deep-water creatures, so go deep. Fill a small bowl of water, set it near your candle, and journal on one question: what’s swimming underneath my surface lately that I haven’t said out loud? Write until something true wobbles up. Then say it — even just to the empty room.
Harvest Moon — Saturday, September 26
The Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest the autumn equinox — in 2026, that’s September 26, peaking at 12:49 p.m. Eastern. Its famous golden glow once helped farmers bring in crops after sunset; for the rest of us, it’s the year’s great gratitude checkpoint.
A little ritual: do a “harvest inventory.” Light a candle in the kitchen (harvest energy belongs in kitchens, I don’t make the rules) and write down every single thing this year has yielded so far — big, small, embarrassing-small. The freelance win and the houseplant you kept alive. When I did this two Septembers ago, my list was mostly tiny things, and it still cracked my chest open a little. Abundance is often quiet.
Hunter’s Moon — Monday, October 26
Following the Harvest Moon comes the Hunter’s Moon, peaking just after midnight Eastern on October 26 — historically the moon under which people stocked up and prepared for the cold months. It’s a natural night for asking: what do I actually want to carry into winter, and what can I set down?
A little ritual: a gentle declutter-and-release. Choose one small space — a drawer, a shelf, your bag — and clear it by candlelight. As you go, notice what you’re keeping out of obligation rather than love. Then write one habit or worry you’re leaving behind on a slip of paper and tear it up slowly. Physical release helps the inner kind land. It’s the heart of a simple release ritual, pocket-sized.
Beaver Moon — Tuesday, November 24 (supermoon)
November’s moon honors beavers busily finishing their lodges before the freeze — and in 2026 it’s a supermoon, closer to Earth than usual and noticeably big and bright, peaking at 9:53 a.m. Eastern. Both surrounding nights will glow.
A little ritual: this is my favorite night of the year to charge crystals. Set your stones on a windowsill or porch rail where the moonlight can reach them and leave them overnight — but cleanse them first so they’re not marinating in months of static. While they bathe, do your own version of lodge-building: make your space warmer and softer in one small way. A blanket moved to the couch. A lamp swapped for candlelight. Coziness is a practice.
Cold Moon — Wednesday, December 23 (supermoon)
The year closes with its most dramatic moon: the Cold Moon, the closest and brightest supermoon of 2026, peaking at 8:28 p.m. Eastern on December 23 — perfectly timed for an early-evening ritual during the year’s longest nights. (Fun timezone quirk: it’s officially December 24 in UTC. Eastern-time folks get it two days before Christmas.)
A little ritual: the year-end letter. Wrap up in something warm, light one candle, and write a short letter to yourself one year from now. Tell them what this year taught you, what you hope they’ve been gentle with themselves about, what you’re trusting them to tend. Seal it. Open it under the Cold Moon of 2027. I’ve done this for four years running and reading the old letter is always the tenderest ten minutes of my December.
The 2026 full moons we’ve already danced with
A quick recap of the first half of the year, for the record (and for anyone reading this in January — hello, future moon fam):
- Wolf Moon — January 3 (supermoon). The year opened big and bright, named for midwinter wolves calling to each other.
- Snow Moon — February 1. The deep-winter moon of heavy snows and deliberate rest.
- Worm Moon — March 3 (total lunar eclipse). Named for the earth softening toward spring — and this year it slipped fully into Earth’s shadow and glowed copper-red. If you caught it, you know.
- Pink Moon — April 1. Named for creeping phlox, one of spring’s first wildflowers — not an actually-pink moon, though I forgive everyone who’s disappointed by that.
- Flower Moon — May 1. Peak bloom, inside and out.
- Blue Moon — May 31. The rare second full moon in a single calendar month — the “once in a blue moon” moon itself.
- Strawberry Moon — June 29. Named for the short, sweet berry-picking season. A moon about savoring.
Missed some? So did I (the Worm Moon eclipse peaked before dawn and my alarm lost that negotiation). The lovely thing about a full moon schedule is that there is always another one coming. No moon is ever your last chance.
What to actually do on a full moon
The calendar is the when. Here’s the what, in one honest paragraph: full moons are traditionally the release point of the lunar cycle — the exhale. Where the new moon is for planting intentions, the full moon is for looking at what’s come to light over the past two weeks and letting go of what’s finished: a worry, a grudge, a habit, a version of a plan that isn’t serving you anymore.
You don’t need supplies or ceremony to do that. A candle, twenty minutes, and a willingness to be real with yourself will carry you the whole way. If you want the full step-by-step — the setup, the burn-bowl release, the journal prompts, all of it — that’s exactly what I wrote my full moon release ritual for beginners for. It’s the companion piece to this calendar and the single best place to start if full moons are new to you.
A few extras, if you want them:
- Charge your crystals. Moonlight on a windowsill overnight is the classic. Cleanse them first so you’re charging a clear stone.
- Pair it with the other bookend. About two weeks after each full moon comes the new moon — a natural moment for a new moon ritual to set fresh intentions. Release, then plant. It’s a lovely rhythm.
- Keep it tiny when life is loud. A three-breath pause at the window, looking up, counts. It has always counted.
Supermoons, a Blue Moon, and two eclipses: 2026’s special moons
This year is unusually generous, so here’s the short version of what makes it special:
- Three supermoons: the Wolf Moon (Jan 3), Beaver Moon (Nov 24), and Cold Moon (Dec 23) — with December’s the closest and brightest of the year. A supermoon just means the full moon coincides with the moon’s nearest approach to Earth, so it looks a touch larger and noticeably brighter. Great ritual nights purely because they’re hard to ignore.
- One Blue Moon: May 31, the second full moon within May. Calendar quirk, not color — but a rare one, and a sweet excuse for a bonus ritual.
- Two lunar eclipses: a total lunar eclipse at the Worm Moon (Mar 3) and a partial at the Sturgeon Moon (Aug 28). Some traditions treat eclipses as extra-potent; I just treat them as extra-beautiful. No omens here — only shadow and light doing their slow dance.
Full moon schedule FAQ
When is the next full moon?
As of this update, the next full moon is the Buck Moon on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 (peaking 10:36 a.m. Eastern — so the nights of July 28 and 29 both look full). After that: the Sturgeon Moon on August 28.
How many full moons are there in 2026?
Thirteen — one more than usual, because May holds two (May 1 and May 31). The second one is the Blue Moon.
Is there a supermoon in 2026?
Three: January 3 (Wolf Moon), November 24 (Beaver Moon), and December 23 (Cold Moon), which is the closest and brightest of the year.
Why do full moon dates change every year?
The lunar cycle runs about 29.5 days, which doesn’t divide evenly into our calendar months — so the full moon drifts roughly 11 days earlier each year, and the whole schedule reshuffles annually. (That’s why I re-verify and update this page every year.)
Does the full moon date depend on my timezone?
The peak is one exact moment worldwide, but your local clock can put it on a different calendar date. This page uses US Eastern dates; a few 2026 moons (like the Pink Moon and Cold Moon) land a day later in Europe and Asia. The free Moon Phase Tracker shows your local timing.
Do I have to do my ritual on the exact night of the full moon?
No, and please don’t stress about it. The night before through the night after is a perfectly good window — the moon looks full and the pause is what matters. I’ve done “full moon” rituals two days late in fuzzy socks. They counted.
Bookmark this page — I update it every year
That’s the whole sky-schedule for 2026, moon fam. Save this page somewhere you’ll find it again: I re-verify the dates and refresh this calendar every year, so it will always hold the current year’s full moons, names, and little rituals. Same page, new moons.
And if tonight’s the night you finally pencil a full moon into your planner — one small circle, one set-aside evening — I hope it gives your month the same soft shape it’s given mine.
Stay woke, stay soft. — Willow 🌙