Full Moon July 2025 – Buck Moon And Alternative Names
The full Moon July 2025 comes when nature is in full-growth. Crops are either ripening or beginning to be harvested. The annual rite of you-pick strawberries wraps up in the beginning of the month and folks in the Midwest check to see if the corn is “knee high by the Fourth of July.” But why is the July full Moon traditionally known as the “Buck Moon” and what other names does this summer Moon go by in different cultures?
July 2024 Full Moon: Tuesday, July 10
Peak Illumination: 4:37 p.m. Eastern Time
Full Moon Calendar – Times And Dates
Why Is The July Full Moon The “Buck” Moon?
Male deer antlers begin to grow in late spring. Antlers grow as fast as ¼ inch per day or one and one half inches per week during this period making them the fastest growing bones in the world. Antlers grow from the pedicel in the buck’s skull. The lengthening daylight in spring triggers the hormones that start the growth each spring. Buck antlers can easily be spotted in full velvet come July. Unlike horns, antlers are bones made mostly of calcium and phosphorus that the deer shed after mating season. Buck antlers lose their velvety coating, usually within a 24-hour period, closer to mating season in fall.
The “Salmon” Moon – An Alternative July Full Moon Name
American Indians in Alaska, including the Haida and Tlingit dubbed the July full moon the “Salmon Moon” for its timing with salmon runs. The Wishrams in the Pacific Northwest translates to “Salmon Go Up Rivers In A Group.” (Salmon migrate up rivers to spawn from spring through fall.) The sockeye salmon run typically begins in July and can last through October.
July is also a month when the summer runs of chinook and steelhead take place. Salmon spend anywhere from 1 to 6 years in the oceans before returning to their home rivers to spawn.
Gardening And Growth-Related July Full Moon Names
July’s moon is dubbed the “Time Of Much Ripening” by Mohawk in the Eastern Woodlands. There’s plenty of ripening happening across the United States. For the Shawnee in the Midwestern region, it is the Blackberry moon. (See our June Full Moon article for more berry-related names.) In the Northern Plains the Assiniboine noted the red berries while the Lakota named it “When The Chokecherries Are Black.” For the Algonquin from the Northeast to Great Lakes this is the moon when the “Squash Are Ripe.”
More broadly, the Zuni in New Mexico called it the “Limbs Are Broken By Fruit” Moon. Among Ojibwe it’s the “Blueberry Moon.” To the Oneida it is the “String Bean Moon.”
While the berries and fruits ripen, corn is various stages of readiness. The translation of the Cherokee Nation in the Carolinas is “Ripe Corn Moon.” Though corn in the Great Lakes region has a bit of time to go. The Potawatomi name this the “Moon Of The Young Corn.”
In Celtic culture the July moon names included “Wyrt,” “Herb” and/or “Mead Moon.” Wyrt is derived from an Old English word. A herbal garden in Old English language was a Wyrtyard. Wort is the modernized spelling of the word. Those familiar with the beer brewing process recognize wort as the sugary liquid drained from mash used during the fermentation process.
Gardeners and herbalists spot wort used in plant names like St. John’s wort, bishop’s wort and lousewort. Harvesting herbs should be done once the plants have enough foliage to maintain growth after cuttings. By July, most herbs can withstand harvesting.
In addition to medicinal and cooking applications of herbs, they can be used in the mead making process. Of course, one needs honey to ferment into the alcoholic drink. Come July, there’s plenty of nectar giving flowers in bloom for honeybees to make plenty of honey for mead making.
Hay bales are a staple of fall decorations, but July’s moon was known as the “Hay Moon” among Anglo Saxon culture.
Whatever it is called, the July full Moon is a time to appreciate the glory of summer ripeness!
Join The Discussion
What is your favorite name for July’s full Moon?
If you could rename the Buck Moon, what would you call it?
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Daniel Higgins
Daniel Higgins is a lifestyle writer with two decades of experience who covers a wide variety of interests, from folklore to food and drink. Higgins writes for The New York Times, USA Today, and Yahoo News.
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This is very interesting information. Thank you for sharing.
I sit and watch the moon it charges me up
We love this! Enjoy!
Like setting on porch watching the full moon ? and planting in garden it is a good time of the year
Melvin, we agree!
The moon and the earths gravitational pull is what keeps us here. Without the moon being here neither would We. The design is so fascinating, it’s beyond our comprehension.
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A MOON FREAK CONSISETING MY BIRTHDAY IS JULY THE 9TH. IAM THE MOON CHILDI THINK THAT THE MOON IS SOOOO AMAZING MY MPM TOLD ME ONCE THAT I WAS CONVERGED BY THE MOON!!! GO FIQUIRE HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!!! BE SAFEBOK SS
Thank you for the research & the facts. My friend, Scott Buch, from NY was out walking the city parking lots in ATL tonight looking for this Buck Thunder Hay July moon he has known about his entire life. It must have been behind clouds until 11:30pm. I see it now over my window. So, I came in & began research. Your article is well~written. Thank you.
Love these articles on the full Moons 🙂
Thank you Michelyn, we are glad you enjoy them!
Thanks..Interesting Article
Thank you for the great information about the moon. I have a question to ask and it is when is it the right time of the year to go looking for deers antlers when they start knocking off and also where are some of the best places to look for them? I live in Townsend, Tennessee close to Cave Cove.
Have a great week 🙂
Star
Whitetail bucks typically shed their antlers in March so late March and April are usually the best time to look for them.
As for “blood moons”, back in 1998 our area had a blood moon in early Sept. I remember that I had never seen a moon like that. An elderly relative called everyone and said there would be death and destruction because of the blood moon. During the early morning hours of the next day, we had horrific thunderstorms and winds. Next morning we woke up to no power over the region( almost a week), trees down everywhere,damage to homes and unfortunately some loss of life. We commonly refer to this as our Labor Day Storm. The blood moon story made believers of all of us!
My friend had her baby July 2
Karen, full moon insomnia. Know it well. My husband always laughs at me.
in the ATL area, I would guess that the reddish haze of the moon was due to pollution.
At the very end of the movie “Disney’s The Kid” is a written explaination. Its due to the earth’s axis not allowing blue light rays from the moon, and only allowing red light waves into our atmosphere.
Last night in Atlanta Metro area we had what appeared to be a full moon but it was VERY red. What does a red moon mean?
My mom used to talk about a blood moon and it meant trouble coming. Has anyone heard of it?
Carol, when a second full moon occurs in any given month it is called a blue moon. This is the first full moon so it takes on the name/theme/season recognition for this month. It isn’t different this time…it just isn’t the blue moon yet. That will occur July 31st.
Usually two full moons in one month are called a “blue moon” …..why is this different from those????
have you ever heard of ” blood moons”.
Thanks Ilike this a lot.
. Thanks for the information. I like this article a lot.
Thanks for information. I like this.
Mercury Retrograde is true to its name.it happens three times a year. You should do everything before the Mercury Retrograde. Mercury is the planet of communication,retrograde means backwords.Communication goes backwards..remember with this prefix. RE everyrhing. RE DO, RE ORGANIZE, RE CHECK. DO NOT START ANYTHING NEW .IF YOU STARTED IT BEFORE THE RETROGRADE ITS OK.. Comminication thru technology,sighing important papers,all should be done before or after the retrograde because things will go haywire..important things. Recheck everything a few times…avoid important deals or signing important deals before or after..hope this helps.
I Like the name Full Buck moon, Sounds great & they are in may corn Bucks !
this is why I’m not sleeping-whenever there is a full moon I don’t sleep 2 days before it and the night of it-so I guess I’ll sleep peacefully tomorrow night
I am planting by the Moon phases and my squash are doing spectacular.
… but I love being vague! Really I just wanted to say Hi!… I’m in a mood today… I love these kinds of articles…. Thank you for having them… …apologies for the trouble.. I really have nothing interesting or helpful to say regarding anything at this time…
Have A Nice Day…
Ticia…it’s just wonderful to have a computer isn’t it…did you try doing a “Search” on your question?
I was wondering if you could do an article on Mercury retrograde. My husband keeps on about it and I thought you might be able to give some insight on it. Thank you.
Never heard it called FULL BUCK MOON Bill Meyer
Thanks interesting