What is the Hunter’s Moon?

 

What is the Hunter’s Moon?

The hunter’s moon is the full moon at the end of October.

Generally, it occurs every October; however, it is replaced with the Harvest Moon every three years.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the full moon at the end of October provides light to hunters.

It is the best time of year to start hunting for game.

The full moon acts as an indicator and also provides brighter skies for hunting and seeing prey.

People like objects to have names. While the full Moon is always recognizable—and indeed the only phase that’s out all night long—perhaps most folks wish that each was a bit more special. There are 13 full Moons each year, making each one nice but far from rare. Maybe that’s why we want to attach a unique label to each full Moon, be it blood Moon, super Moon, strawberry Moon, or whatever.

Of course, many Native American tribes had a reason; they named the Moons to track the seasons. The full Moon coming up this month was called the Corn Ripe Moon by the Taos. Similarly, it was named the Ripe Corn Moon by the Laguna. The Nez Perce called this the Falling Leaves Moon and it’s hard to argue with that.