Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Tonight’s “Buck Moon”

Credit: Pixabay/Oregongal

Full moons are rumored to affect the human body and psyche in many strange ways. From inducing labor and epileptic seizures to making animals go Old Yeller on us, it seems the moon gets pinned for a slew of natural occurrences every time it glows round and rotund in the night sky.

Wednesday night’s “buck moon” will surely get some heat for whatever mysterious events take place that day. But whether you believe in the tides influencing your mood or not, it’s at least worth a good look considering this specific kind of full moon only comes around once a year.

Although the buck moon will technically be at its fullest at 6:57 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday night, most east coasters will have to wait another hour or so to actually see it. And if you want to get very technical, it’ll be entering its waning gibbous phase at that point – not that the human eye will notice the difference.

According to CNBC, this month’s full moon gets its name from the prevalence of male deer, aka “bucks,” beginning to grow their antlers in July. In North America, seasonal names for moons trace back to Native American tribes and colonial settlers. A few hundred years ago, naming moons was more about practically tracking the seasons than coming up with a catchy hashtag. For instance, according to the Farmer's Almanac June’s “strawberry moon” and September’s “corn moon” both correspond with ideal harvesting times.

So feel good knowing you’re a little more informed when you look up at the moon tonight. And maybe steer clear of woods densely populated by deer with brand-new antlers. That rarely ends well.