Berry Moon / Hay Moon
Jun 25th 05:31 CDT / 11:31 BST
Hello All,
This new moon arrives mere days after the summer solstice, just in time to start the new season afresh. In my 2025 lunations calendars this lunar month brings us the Berry Moon in the North American version and the Hay Moon the UK version. In other places and times it is/was also known as the Buck Moon, the Salmon Moon, the Feather Moulting Moon, the Thunder Moon, the Claiming Moon, the Wyrt Moon, the Herb Moon, and the Mead Moon.
American History
Moon month names are as varied as the people who named them. Even within the Anishinaabeg region there are variations due to differences in land, food sources, and traditions. My calendar names this month the Berry Moon, but to some Anishinaabeg there are in fact three berry moons. For them, June, July, and August are all named for the individual berry that would be gathered in that month.
Berries are not only an important food source to the Anishinaabeg, but are also spiritually and medicinally important. The strawberry, shaped like a heart, brings reconciliation, peace, and togetherness. The raspberry teaches gentleness and kindness, especially in raising a family. And the blackberry is believed to be one of the first plants put on Mother Earth. It imparts an understanding of teachings that come to man from the Spirit World.
British History
The Hay Moon was named so by the Anglo Saxons, such was the importance of this crop for the sustaining of their livestock through the winter months. This much remains true even to this day, so it is not hard to understand why so much ceremony and superstition grew up around the yearly event of its harvest.
It was recommended to avoid cutting hay on Sundays, as to do so would bring misfortune due to disrespecting the Sabbath.
It was believed that the fields were inhabited by fairies and spirits that guarded the crops. These beings had to be respected or they could cause ruin.
Spilling hay during transport was seen as bad luck as it wasted the field’s bounty and offended the field’s spirits, also leading to potential ruin.
Iron tools carried or placed around the hay were said to ward off evil and to protect the harvested hay.
The first cut of hay was often accompanied by small rituals, such as spitting on the scythe for luck or saying a prayer to bless the harvest. This was believed to ensure the rest of the season went smoothly.
The final sheaf of hay was often treated with reverence. In some regions, it was called the "hare" or "old woman" and was either left in the field as an offering to spirits or brought home ceremonially to ensure future fertility of the land.
Lunar Science
It seems more and more like we are destined for some sort of inter-planetary existence. With all the talk about colonizing Mars and searching distant galaxies for earth-like planets, our moon suddenly seems like a very close neighbor, and small potatoes in terms of space travel.
Scientists are already sprouting seeds in lunar soil, studying the effects of breathing lunar dust, and developing methods of extracting oxygen from the lunar regolith. So what will it be like if/when we turn our moon into a travel hub or an outpost of sorts? Will it take on a green hue as we cover its surface with clear-domed farms? Will we, one night, look up to see that the shadow our earth casts on the moon is spangled with its own lunar-city lights?
And how will clocks and time zones work on a sphere that passes one single day in the time earth passes a whole month? Due to the moon’s weaker gravitational pull, time moves slightly faster on the moon. A clock on the moon synced with a clock on earth will come out 56 microseconds ahead for every 24 hour period. That sounds negligible, but is a real problem once you involve the delicate scheduling of space flights.
While scientists have worked out a way to gently slow clocks so they could keep pace with earth clocks, the current favored idea is to create a time zone just for the moon. It already has a name: CLT (Coordinated Lunar Time). This would entail placing clocks on the moon that would work independently of Earth clocks, allowing the moon to keep its own time naturally.
Lunar Astrology
The new moon on June 25th will be in Cancer, followed by the full phase in Capricorn on July 10th. Cancer and Capricorn form an axis which emphasizes the balance between personal and societal, private and public, nurturing and discipline. Cancer builds a home (the crab in its shell) and protects itself within (with its large claws) while Capricorn builds a society with rules and regulations to keep all of the crabs in order, whether they like it or not.
Yet these two “opposites” have more in common than immediately meets the eye. Are not the rules, regulations, and hierarchies of Capricorn just another form of protection? An ordered society is protected from the chaos of the individual who would wish to disrupt it. Thus, this lunar month seems to be all about building something for protection and stability, be it something as personal as a home or as shared as an overarching law system.
The Cancer new moon is a good time to begin projects that align with Cancer’s nurturing themes. Emotional healing, home projects, family projects, and setting or reinforcing any boundaries that keep you feeling safely in your own space.
Capricorn’s full moon could be a good time for resolving professional goals, finalizing long-term or financial plans, reassessing ambitions and letting go of those that are no longer serving you, or maybe just relinquishing any excessive control you may be trying to hold onto.
Balancing your inner needs and your external stability is the name of the game this month!
All my best, and until the next lunar month,
Claire
