A June full moon hangs low and amber over the strawberry fields. An August moon rises twice in the same month, its second appearance carrying a name that has nothing to do with color. The Strawberry Moon and the Blue Moon are not astronomical opposites. They are different kinds of events entirely: one is a seasonal marker tied to a specific harvest, the other is a calendrical quirk that happens when the moon’s cycle and the Gregorian calendar fall out of sync. The Strawberry Moon is always the June full moon. The Blue Moon can fall in any month, and its name has nothing to do with the moon turning blue.
The Two Events Are Not the Same Kind of Thing
The Strawberry Moon is a seasonal name. The Blue Moon is a calendrical event. They belong to different systems of classification, and comparing them directly is like comparing a Tuesday to a harvest festival. One tells you what time of year it is. The other tells you that the calendar has doubled up.
The Strawberry Moon comes from the Algonquin peoples and other Native American tribes of the northeastern United States. It marks the short window when wild strawberries ripen and are ready for gathering. The name appears in the Maine Farmers’ Almanac as early as the 1930s, though the tradition is far older. The Blue Moon, by contrast, has no agricultural origin. Its modern definition comes from a 1946 article in Sky & Telescope magazine, where amateur astronomer James Hugh Pruett misinterpreted an earlier almanac rule and declared that a Blue Moon was the second full moon in a single calendar month. The error spread. By the 1980s, it had become the standard definition.
That history explains why the two events feel so different. One is rooted in the land. The other is rooted in a misreading.
Where the Strawberry Moon Got Its Name
The Algonquin tribes did not name the June full moon for its color. They named it for what was happening on the ground. Wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) ripen in June across the Great Lakes region and the Northeast. The fruit is small, intensely sweet, and perishable. It must be gathered quickly or it is lost. The Strawberry Moon was the signal to move.
European colonists adopted the name and spread it through almanacs. The Maine Farmers’ Almanac published a list of Native American moon names in the 1930s, and the Strawberry Moon was among them. Other cultures have their own names for the June full moon. In Europe, it was often called the Mead Moon or the Honey Moon, referencing the honey harvest and the tradition of June weddings. The term “honeymoon” may trace back to this association, though linguists disagree on the direct link.
The Strawberry Moon is always the June full moon. It rises low in the sky and often appears amber or orange because of the angle of the sun and the amount of atmospheric scattering at that latitude. This is a visual effect, not a property of the moon itself. The same effect happens with any full moon near the horizon.
How the Blue Moon Became a Calendrical Oddity
The Blue Moon has a more tangled history. The original definition, found in the Maine Farmers’ Almanac before 1946, referred to the third full moon in a season that contained four full moons instead of the usual three. Seasons are defined by the solstices and equinoxes. A season normally has three full moons. When it has four, the third one was called the Blue Moon. This kept the naming system aligned with the liturgical calendar and the timing of Easter.
James Hugh Pruett’s 1946 article in Sky & Telescope simplified this rule. He wrote that a Blue Moon was the second full moon in a calendar month. The simplification was incorrect, but it was easier to understand. By 1980, when the radio program StarDate popularized Pruett’s definition, the older seasonal rule had been largely forgotten. The modern Blue Moon is Pruett’s Blue Moon: the second full moon in a month.
This happens roughly every two and a half years. February can never have a Blue Moon because it is too short. The rest of the months can, though the timing depends on the lunar cycle of 29.5 days and the varying lengths of Gregorian months.
The name “Blue Moon” has nothing to do with color. The moon can appear blue under rare atmospheric conditions, usually after volcanic eruptions or large forest fires that scatter red light and let blue light pass through. This is a separate phenomenon. The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa caused blue moons worldwide for nearly two years. That is a different kind of event, and it has no connection to the calendrical Blue Moon.
What Each Event Means in Practice
The Strawberry Moon is a time marker. It tells you that the strawberry harvest is here, that the growing season has reached its first peak, and that the nights are short and warm. In folk traditions, it is a moon of abundance and quick action. The fruit will not wait. You gather it when it is ripe or you lose it.
The Blue Moon is a calendrical anomaly. It has no agricultural or seasonal meaning. It is a quirk of how we count months. In folklore, the Blue Moon has been associated with rarity and the phrase “once in a blue moon.” It carries no specific ritual significance in most traditions, though some modern practitioners have assigned it meanings of extra potency or unusual timing. These are contemporary inventions, not historical practices.
The difference matters. The Strawberry Moon asks you to pay attention to the land. The Blue Moon asks you to pay attention to the calendar. One is a signal from the natural world. The other is a signal from the human-made system of timekeeping.
How the Two Moons Appear in the Sky
The Strawberry Moon rises low and slow. Because it occurs near the summer solstice, the sun is at its highest point in the sky, and the full moon is at its lowest. This low angle means the moonlight passes through more atmosphere, scattering blue light and leaving red and orange wavelengths. The Strawberry Moon often looks amber, copper, or even reddish. This is the same effect that makes sunsets red. It is not unique to the Strawberry Moon, but it is more pronounced because of the moon’s low trajectory.
The Blue Moon looks like any other full moon. It rises at the same angle as any other full moon in that month. There is no color difference. The only unusual thing about it is its timing. If you see a blue-tinted moon, you are seeing a rare atmospheric effect, not a calendrical event.
The two moons cannot be confused in the sky. One is seasonally low and warm-toned. The other is unremarkable in appearance but unusual in frequency.
Common Misconceptions
The Strawberry Moon is pink or red. It can appear amber or copper near the horizon, but it is not strawberry-colored. The name comes from the fruit, not the color.
The Blue Moon is blue. It is not. The color name comes from the calendrical rule, not from any visual property. The phrase “once in a blue moon” predates the modern definition and originally referred to something absurd or impossible, not something rare.
The Strawberry Moon and the Blue Moon are opposites. They are not opposites. They are different categories. One is seasonal. One is calendrical. They can overlap. A full moon in June could be both the Strawberry Moon and a Blue Moon if it is the second full moon in that month. This is rare but possible.
The Blue Moon has deep pagan roots. It does not. The modern Blue Moon definition is a 20th-century invention. The older seasonal definition has some connection to ecclesiastical calendars, but it is not a pagan tradition. The Strawberry Moon has genuine indigenous roots. The Blue Moon does not.
FAQ
Can the Strawberry Moon ever be a Blue Moon? Yes. If June has two full moons, the second one is both the Strawberry Moon and a Blue Moon. This last happened in 2018 and will happen again in 2037.
How often does a Blue Moon occur? About once every 2.5 years. The exact interval depends on the alignment of the lunar cycle with the Gregorian calendar.
Why is the Strawberry Moon sometimes orange? Atmospheric scattering. The moon is low on the horizon during the June full moon, so its light passes through more air. Blue light scatters away, leaving red and orange.
Is the Blue Moon a real astronomical term? No. It is a folk term with no official status in astronomy. The International Astronomical Union does not recognize it. It is a calendrical nickname, not a scientific classification.
The Strawberry Moon and the Blue Moon are not rivals. They are two different ways of marking time: one by the land, one by the ledger. The Strawberry Moon tells you when to gather. The Blue Moon tells you that the calendar has doubled up. Both are worth knowing, but only one will tell you when the strawberries are ready.
For more on lunar cycles and their meanings, see our guide to moon phases in folk magic. The Strawberry Moon and Blue Moon entries in our glossary contain the full naming lists and historical sources.