Next Flower Moon
Flower Moon dates, 2026 and 2027
| Date | Time | Moon at | Also |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, 1 May 2026 | 17:24 UTC | 11° Scorpio | Flower Moon |
| Thu, 20 May 2027 | 10:59 UTC | 29° Scorpio | Flower Moon |
Universal time, calculated from the Moon and Sun positions. “Moon at” is the sign and degree the Moon is in at the moment it is full.
31 May 2026 is a second full moon in May. That one is the calendar Blue Moon and is not counted as a Flower Moon: the name goes to the first full moon of the month.
The sign of each Flower Moon
The name is fixed by the month, but the sign changes, and astrologers read a full moon through its sign.
- 1 May 2026: Moon in Scorpio, Sun in Taurus. Sets intensity against ease, with the Sun in Taurus. Read as a night where what you have been avoiding feeling becomes harder to ignore. Full moon in Scorpio
- 20 May 2027: Moon in Scorpio, Sun in Taurus. Sets intensity against ease, with the Sun in Taurus. Read as a night where what you have been avoiding feeling becomes harder to ignore. Full moon in Scorpio
Where the name Flower Moon comes from
The Old Farmer's Almanac, which popularised the twelve-name calendar in North America, gives May's full Moon the name Flower Moon and attributes it to Algonquian peoples. The logic is plain: in the northern hemisphere May is when blossom and wild flowers arrive in earnest, so the full Moon that falls in it took the season's name.
Attribution to one nation is often loose, and peoples named their moons differently from each other and from year to year, so a claim that a particular nation called it the Flower Moon is worth treating cautiously. Some named this month for planting or for animals rather than for flowers, which is why the almanacs list several names for it.
Other names for the May full moon
- Budding Moon, Egg Laying Moon, Frog Moon and Planting Moon: Alternative May names in the Old Farmer's Almanac, along with the Moon of the Shedding Ponies.
- Corn Planting Moon and Milk Moon: May names listed by the Farmers' Almanac (published in Maine, a separate publication from the Old Farmer's Almanac).
What the name does not mean
A Flower Moon is not a different colour, size or brightness from any other full Moon. The name belongs to the calendar month. In the southern hemisphere May is autumn, so the name fits the season there only by convention.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called the Flower Moon?
Because the full Moon of May falls when flowers bloom across the northern hemisphere. The Old Farmer's Almanac gives the name and attributes it to Algonquian peoples, and popularised it in its calendar of full Moon names.
Is the Flower Moon always in May?
In the almanac calendar, yes: it is the full Moon that falls in May. A lunar month is about 29.5 days, so May occasionally has two. The first keeps the Flower Moon name and the second is the calendar Blue Moon, not a second Flower Moon; the note under the table says when that happens in the years listed.
What does the Flower Moon mean in astrology?
Astrology does not give it a separate meaning. Astrologers read a full Moon by its sign, which changes every year; the table above gives the sign for each date and the card under it gives the tradition's reading of that sign.
Is the Flower Moon a supermoon or a blood moon?
Neither by name. Those terms describe the Moon's distance and an eclipse, which are separate from the month's label. A given Flower Moon can coincide with either, and the eclipses page lists every eclipse by date.
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