Today’s full moon is known as the Full Buck Moon. At this time, a buck’s antlers are in full growth mode. It reaches its peak at 10:36 a.m. while it’s still below the horizon.This Full Moon is 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 for 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.