Today’s full moon at 4:20 p.m. is known as the Full Buck Moon. At this time, a buck’s antlers are in full growth mode.This Full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month. 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.
In medieval England, the moon had a more cheerful connotation. Crops were nearing harvest and if the fields were tall and healthy, the farmers went out to celebrate with their favorite drink, a fermented mixture of honey, malt, yeast and water (an acquired taste). Today farmers might call it The Beer Moon, but back then the growers knew it as the Mead Moon.
The Farmer’s Almanac says, “A total lunar eclipse will occur with the full Moon on July 27. However, this eclipse won’t be visible from the U.S. or Canada. (The next total lunar eclipse visible in North America will occur in January 2019.)”