You might be wondering: What, exactly, does the full moon do? It’s been used over and over in various fairy tales and movies in the modern world and ancient myths and legends for even longer, but that doesn’t explain why it’s helpful to know the moon phases. Setting aside werewolf stories and other magical lore, we wanted to cut to the truth and studies around it, from its effects to what the different phases of the moon mean for us.
There’s much more to know than you might think. For example, the moon is very rarely completely full, even if it might look like it. It’s only 100% full when the moon, earth, and the sun are perfectly aligned, producing a lunar eclipse. We also always see the same side of the moon, not both sides, due to the way that the moon rotates.
Here’s everything you need to know about the full moon, according to astrologists Noura Bourni and Betty Andrews.
What does a full moon mean?
The full moon occurs when the moon and the sun are on opposites sides of the Earth — this causes the sun’s light to reflect off of the entire surface of the moon, presenting us with what appears to be a complete sphere.
“The full moon is when it emerges in the night sky fully illuminated and appears as a full circle from the earth’s perspective,” Bourni explains.
When is the next full moon?
The lunar cycle sees the moon go through all of its phases from the New Moon to the Full Moon and back again. It lasts roughly 29.5 days, which means that you can spot the full moon roughly once a month. However, because the lunar cycle is slightly shorter than the average month, the full moon rarely falls on the same date from month to month.
The next full moon (and last full moon of 2024) is due to appear on December 15, 2024.
When is the next supermoon?
The November 15 supermoon was the last one of 2024. Amazingly, there were five supermoons in 2024, and four of them happened in a row (one month after the next).
2025 isn’t looking quite so abundant with supermoons, with the next Super New Moon happening on March 29, 2025. After that, we won’t have a Super Full Moon until November 25, 2025.
What is the 2025 full moon calendar?
These are all the full moons that will grace our skies next year. Most were named by the Native Americans after cues from nature.
