There was a flower moon last night (16th May 2022). Did you see it?

The full moon in May

The full moon in May has many popular names, but my favourite is the Flower Moon. I can imagine a big glowing flower wafting across the night sky, scenting it with a soft, fragrant light.

A bunch of moon flowers for my moon jar

When I see the Flower Moon waft across the sky
I sigh,
“My, oh my, oh my!
What wouldn’t I give for a whole bunch of those to put in my moon jar?”

Lesley Scoble (a full moon can make one write strange things) May 2022

My ceramic moon jar on the turntable in the pottery studio

In the Northern hemisphere, the Flower Moon appears when wildflowers are in abundance. 

A little bit of info

Popular traditional names for full moons originate from what occurs at the time it shines. The full moon in May has many names. The Native Americans, the Anglo Saxons, Old English and Pagans all referred to it with what it meant to them. Some names are: Mother’s Moon, Bright Moon, Planting Moon and Hare Moon. The Old English word means the ‘month of three milkings’ because during May, they milked the cows three times a day—thus earning the Old English name of the Milk Moon.

If you saw this year’s Flower Moon, I hope you also saw its total eclipse creating a Blood Moon.

*The flower I chose for my moon flower image at the top of this post is Echinops sphaerocephalus, known by its common name of globe thistle belonging to the thistle/sunflower family.