Also called June full moon, Ode'imini-giizis, Hot Moon, Hay Moon
The Strawberry Moon is the popular name for June's full moon, from the season when wild strawberries ripen, and it is one of the few names on the list with a clearly documented Ojibwe counterpart. Its rite is a sweetness and gratitude rite shared over berries.
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
Take care: Keep any candle on a fireproof dish and never leave it burning unattended. If you go outside at night, dress for the weather, take a light and tell someone where you are. Moon names tied to specific Native nations belong to living languages and ceremonies. Read them as those nations' own knowledge, not as rites to copy; the steps here are an open seasonal practice anyone can do.
Ojibwe language resources give June as Ode'imini-giizis, Strawberry Moon, and Ode'iminikewi-giizis, Picking Strawberries Moon. The strawberry, ode'imin, carries deep meaning in Anishinaabe teachings, and those teachings are best learned from Anishinaabe sources rather than recreated.
Carver called June the Hot Moon. The strawberry name is absent from his list and comes from other records.
The 1937 Maine Farmers' Almanac's summer moons were the Hay, Grain and Fruit Moons, all farm-work names. A common modern claim ties June weddings and the word honeymoon to this moon, but that link is not well documented, so it is left out here.
The Old Farmer's Almanac says the Strawberry Moon name was used by Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples, among others, for the time when wild strawberries ripen. In this case the Ojibwe record is solid: Ojibwe language sources list Ode'imini-giizis, the Strawberry Moon, for June. The wild strawberry of eastern North America, Fragaria virginiana, is one of the parents of the cultivated garden strawberry.
Because the full moon sits opposite the sun, the June full moon, coming close to the summer solstice when the sun is highest, crosses the sky low for northern viewers and often looks golden or amber near the horizon. Other names for this moon include Hot Moon, from Jonathan Carver's 1778 list, Berries Ripen Moon for the Haida, and Green Corn Moon for the Cherokee, according to the almanac.
On midsummer night, unmarried young women weave flower wreaths, often with a candle, and set them on a river. How the wreath floats tells of love and marriage in the year ahead.
A small jar of honey, sugar or syrup holding a written name, worked with candles over days or weeks so that a person or situation turns sweet toward you. In Hoodoo it is used for love and also for bosses, judges and family peace.
A modern Sunday morning ritual of sunlight, a yellow candle and naming small joys, built on the old association of the sun with Sunday and on folk customs that call good fortune into the home.
Tell us what you need and we will craft a custom spell, charm or reading for it. Or call to book a reading or a road blessing in person.
