The Spiritual Meaning of the Full Flower Moon

May’s full moon is often called the Flower Moon. This name originated with the Algonquin First Nations people, while the Cree have called it the Budding Moon. We have entered the season of flowers, the post-Beltane period that marks the beginning of the summer season and the march toward the summer solstice.

A Turning Point

Beltane is a traditionally Gaelic holiday celebrated by pagans and Wiccans on May 1st. It mirrors Samhain (Halloween), which similarly marks the midpoint of the season. That means this time of year is a turning point, a movement into the bright, sunshiny half of the year.

Every full moon is an invitation to let go. To look at what we have been growing in our lives, hearts, and minds, and weed what’s no longer serving us. It’s a time to think about completion, the end of a cycle, and to release what’s no longer needed.

[Read: “10 Affirmations for Your Next Full-Moon Ritual.”]

The May full moon is an especially powerful time to look back at what’s been happening over the winter. Perhaps it’s time to think about what habits we have been cultivating from the dark, cold times, and start to move into a new perspective for the light half of the year.

When we are working on letting go, it’s always important to also consider what we are making space for. As we move into this new season, what do we want to have room for? What new habits can we cultivate for this coming part of the year?

Find Some Flowers

The Flower Moon is a wonderful time to get outside. Depending on where you live, you might like the practice of blossom hunting: go out in your neighborhood and try to find flowers. Look at what’s in bloom. Smell the flowers, if you can, take their pictures, and soak up the bright colors and the beauty.

Naturally, spring and summer are the seasons when many of us want to get out and socialize a little bit more, while the fall and winter are more about hibernating and introverting. If you are feeling the call to be around people more, doing so outside has always been a safer option in these times. Perhaps it’s time to call up a friend you haven’t seen in a while and meet from a distance if your local regulations allow it.

This year has come with some big feelings and big changes, and the full moons tend to intensify whatever it is we’re feeling. Part of a letting-go practice is a willingness to feel. Often when we are in a stage of release, we want to push away the feelings we’ve been dealing with, to get rid of them and move on, so to speak. Ironically, the best way to move on from whatever we’re dealing with is to actually sit down and deal with it. As the old adage goes, you can’t heal what you can’t feel.

On this May Flower Moon, take the time to pause and let yourself feel. Get outside, find some flowers, meditate, and most of all, enjoy.

Julie shares her personal ritual for the new moon.