Also called August full moon, Ricing Moon, Corn Moon (some lists), Grain Moon
The Sturgeon Moon is the popular name for August's full moon, from the late-summer sturgeon fishing of the Great Lakes region that Jonathan Carver recorded. Its rite is a water and patience rite for long, slow goals, in honor of a fish that can live for many decades.
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.
Carver named August the Sturgeon Moon, the month when large numbers of sturgeon were caught. He recorded it while traveling the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi, where lake sturgeon were a key food.
Ojibwe language resources give August as Manoominike-giizis, the Ricing Moon, for the wild rice harvest, along with berry names. Wild rice harvesting is a living practice with its own protocols and is not something to imitate as a ritual.
The Menominee of Wisconsin have a Sturgeon Clan and hold a Sturgeon Festival, and regard the fish as a protector of wild rice. It is a community tradition to learn about and respect, not a rite for outsiders to copy.
Lake sturgeon are among the largest freshwater fish in North America, reaching about seven feet, and they live in the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain and the rivers around them. Validated ages reach 68 years, and females may not spawn until their teens or later. Jonathan Carver's 1778 list called August the Sturgeon Moon because so many were caught then, and the Old Farmer's Almanac repeats his name.
Commercial fishing in the late 1800s took millions of pounds of sturgeon a year, and the fishery collapsed around 1900 and never recovered. The species is now listed as endangered or threatened across much of its range, and restoration programs raise young fish for release. Other names for this moon in the almanac include Corn Moon for the Algonquin and Ojibwe and Flying Up Moon for the Cree.
A smooth, palm-sized stone, often with a shallow thumb-shaped dip, that you rub between thumb and finger to settle an anxious mind. It is part folk charm, part self-soothing habit, and its many claimed origins are mostly unproven.
On 1 August, the first bread baked from the new wheat was blessed, and an Anglo-Saxon charm book directed that it be broken into four pieces and laid in the four corners of the barn to protect the stored grain.
A full moon ritual is a simple monthly practice done at home on the night of the full moon to give thanks, release what is finished and charge water or tools in the moonlight. This is a complete solo version for beginners, separate from the Wiccan coven esbat.
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