June 2025 Full Strawberry Moon

June’s full Strawberry Moon is the last full Moon of spring.  This full Moon happens on Wednesday June 11, at exactly 3:44AM EDT.  But it will not be strawberry red in color.   The Moon then sets a short time later at 5:36AM. All of this happens before most of us are up for the day.  However, even though a full Moon is a specific moment in time the Moon looks fully illuminated for a few days before and after the actual full Moon alignment.  So, to our eye the Moon will look large, round, and golden when it rises at 9:55PM later that night. 

Since ancient times Native Americans used the Moon to track the changing months and seasons. Names were based on what they observed happening in the natural world around them.   During June wild strawberries, which are found throughout America, are one of the first berries to ripen.  This made the strawberry an important spring food for many Native Americans.  The importance of this fruit is why the Algonquin, Chippewa, Dakota, Lakota, Sioux, and Ojibwe named this Moon the Strawberry Moon.  Although Strawberry Moon is the most common name for June’s full Moon there are other berry names for this Moon including the Creek Blackberry Moon, the Shawnee Raspberry Moon and the Haida Berries Ripen Moon.  Berry picking time is limited and many animals also enjoy berry season, so the light of the full Moon would be used to harvest these fruits while they could.  There are also other names for this Moon.  Tribes sometimes had more than one name for a Moon. For instance, the Ojibwe not only call this Moon the Strawberry Moon, but also call it the Flowering Moon or Garden Moon.  Several tribes had Moon names that honored things growing and the need to care for young crops including the Cherokee Plants in Garden are Sprouting Moon and Green Corn Moon, the Anishinaabe Blooming Moon, and the Western Abenaki call it the Hoer Moon.  The Tlingit Moon of Birthing and the Cree Egg Laying Moon and Hatching Moon recognize the abundance of new animals being born.   The Arapaho call this the Moon When the Buffalo Bellows.  There are even some new names.  In 2024 to honor the first white buffalo calf born in Yellowstone National Park the Farmer’s Almanac named June’s full Moon the White Buffalo Moon.  White buffalo are rare and have significant cultural and spiritual meaning for many Native American tribes including the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Sioux. The Lakota revere the white buffalo as a messenger of hope and renewal.  What an appropriate and wonderful name for this Moon!