JACKSON, Wyo. — May’s full moon is on the rise this week in Jackson Hole and, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, this month’s full moon has a number of names associated with it, including the “Flower Moon” and the “Frog Moon.”
The full moon will reach its peak at 9:53 a.m. on Thursday, May 23. Wednesday night’s moon appeared full to the naked eye, waxing at 99% illumination. On Thursday night, it’s expected to appear full once again (if clouds allow visibility), maintaining 100% illumination.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Omàmiwinini (Algonquin) people are credited with naming May’s full moon the “Flower Moon,” a nod to the budding flowers that come with the spring season.
The Nêhiyawak (Cree) nation names for May’s full moon reference the spring activities of animals including the “Egg Laying Moon” and “Frog Moon” as well as the spring blooms with the “Budding Moon” and “Leaf Budding Moon.”
Other names for May’s full moon include the “Moon of the Shedding Ponies” (Oglala) and “Planting Moon” (Sioux Nation).
The “Flower Moon” was a topic of pop-cultural conversation last year, due to the release of Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of the David Grann book “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which chronicles the murders of Osage Nation members by white oil-seekers in the 1920s. In the book, Grann explains the significance of the Flower Moon:
“In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and vast prairies in the Osage territory of Oklahoma. … In May, when coyotes howl beneath an unnervingly large moon, taller plants, such as spiderworts and black-eyed Susans, begin to creep over the tinier blooms. … The necks of the smaller flowers break and their petals flutter away, and before long they are buried underground. This is why the Osage … refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.”
“Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann
