Full Moon August 2025: Sturgeon Moon

The Sturgeon Moon doesn’t shimmer with softness—it glows like bone beneath water. Named for the prehistoric fish once pulled from the Great Lakes in late summer, this moon carries the weight of survival. Sturgeons live long, reproduce rarely, and stir the silt when they feed. They are creatures of patience and persistence. So is this moon. This full moon marks a period of transition as summer shifts towards harvest season, making it the perfect time for reflection and personal growth.

This year, the Sturgeon Moon rises just before the Perseid meteor shower peaks, casting brightness across the sky and making stargazing a little more difficult—but ritual work? That’s another story.

This full moon has many other names such as: Blackberry Moon, Flying Moon, Dry Moon, Corn Moon, Hot Moon, Lynx Moon, Dispute Moon, and the Grain Moon.

No matter what you call this upcoming full moon, it invites us to celebrate the fruits of out labor and encourages us to connect with the spiritual energies of the season. As always take everything I say with a grain of salt, I am one person simply sharing my experiences, there is no right or wrong way to practice.

What is Lunar Energy?

To put it simply lunar energy is the spiritual and metaphysical qualities associated with the moon. How it can influence our emotions, intuition, and natural cycle. It is often linked to the phases of the moon. For example:

New moon: typically associated with new beginnings and fresh start. a good time for setting intentions.

Waxing Crescent: Associated with hope and promise. This would be the time for taking those first steps towards your goals. A time of growth and transformation

First Quarter: A time for action, decision making and to take risks. Plans are to be put into action and to push forward with determination.

Waxing Gibbous: Associated with trust, faith and staying focused. A time to keep moving forward and believe in your process.

Full Moon: A full moon signifies peak energy and intensity. This is a time of illumination, manifestation, and fulfillment. Where you'll see results of your efforts.

Waning Gibbous: Reflects fine-tuning, analysis and refining your plans. It is a time to assess your progress and make any necessary adjustments.

Third Quarter: This time is associated with facing challenges, overcoming obstacles, and taking time to reevaluate your goals and make changes.

Waning Crescent: This is the end of the lunar cycle, a time for reflection and letting go of things that no longer serve you.

As each phase affects people differently, each full moon holds different energies throughout the years. Which is why I'm writing specifically about the sturgeon moon. The sturgeon moon symbolizes abundance, strength, and resilience. A time for rising from deep emotions and embracing your authentic self that may have been hiding. It also encourages you to connect with nature, manifest desires, and tap into your hidden power. While also pulling in the energies from Lammas/Lughnasdah to celebrate the fruits of your labor and foster a deeper sense of purpose.

Rituals

There is so much you can do for full moon rituals, from cleansing baths, to altars, to simply journaling nothing is ever to big or small. Let's start off with smaller more lowkey things you can do, perfect for those low-energy days.

JOURNALING

Probably my favorite thing to do on days where my witchy energy is low, but I still want to feel like I did something. Theres a multitude of journal prompts out there and that can make it hard to decide so let me help you narrow some down. You can write as much or as little as you like, remember there is no "wrong" way to journal and express your thoughts.

What do you need to release?

What resistance are you facing in reaching your goals and how can you push through?

What does your most authentic self look and feel like?

How does the phase of the moon influence your mood and energy levels?

What achievements are you most proud of this month?

How do you feel about your current life path?

CLEANSING BATH

Nothing beats a nice warm bath after a long day, or month. Let's be honest the past year has been exhausting, so let's get our relaxation as we can get it. Setting aside time to breathe and relax is essential. Here is one of many ways you can set up your space.

Prepare your space: Tidy up your bathroom, maybe put some clothes in the hamper or wipe up the countertop. Cleanse the space to purify the environment and get rid of stagnant energy.

Gather Supplies: You will need warm water, bath salts (like Epsom or sea salts), BODY SAFE essential oils, like lavender, ylang ylang, or eucalyptus. Note: if you don't want to use essential oils a scented bubble bath or soap will work as well. Optionally you could add herbs like rosemary or chamomile to the water.

Prepare the bath: Fill your bathtub with warm water and add your bath salts be sure to mix them well. You could also add crystals around the edge of the tub, do not put them actually into the water. And finally charge the water, this can be spoken aloud or simply in your mind. Anything along the lines of "I charge this water to rejuvenate my mind, body, and soul."

Add flowers and herbs (optional): If you'd like you can add in dried herbs or flowers to the water, white flower petals or dried lavender or rosemary.

Soak: Submerge in the bath for at least 15 minutes and just allow the moons energy to cleanse your spirit.

Optional: Light some candles or incense to create a calming atmosphere

SET UP A FULL MOON ALTAR

Setting up an altar is something almost every witch does or has done. Altars are a good way to have a designated space for offerings and can be a large or as small as you feel necessary. Some have multiple altars set for each deity, and sabbat, while some only have one that they use for multiple things. This section will cover both the large and the small altars.

Large altars offer a ton of space for you to add and decorate as much as your heart desires. Artworks, crystals, candles, incense, food, drink and more.

Small altars are perfect for those with limited space or who are still in the broom closet. They still hold just as much meaning as large altars and neither of the two are better than the other. I've seen altars inside of breath mint tins and shoe boxes.

But what should be on your altar? That will be its own post so for right now let's focus on your full moon altar.

Ideally you want to choose a quiet space, indoors or outdoors, like a shelf, stool, tree stump, shoe box or mint tin. Whatever works for you (be sure if working outside to clean up after yourself and not litter. we want to respect mother nature.)

Next you need to gather your items. Heres a few ideas:

Crystals: selenite, moonstone, clear quartz, opal, pearl, any white crystals and polishes circular or sphere-shaped crystals.

Plants/Herbs: Jasime, dandelion, any white or pale blue flower, rosemary, chamomile, basil, yarrow, and parsley.

Candles: pretty much any candles will work but if you can get the little tea light candles those would be great.

MAKE MOON WATER

It is the perfect time to make yourself some moon water. Moon water has almost endless uses, you can add it into baths, spell work, cooking, cleaning, watering plants, cleansing, etc. It's honestly super easy to make, simply get you a covered container of your choice (but make sure its transparent, glass works best) fill with water (that's safe to drink) and set outside to soak in the moon's energy. But be sure to bring it inside before the sun comes up.

It's really that simple! Some may jazz up the water by adding a pinch of salt (cleansing) and some will add herbs to their water. Theres really a multitude of uses and ways to use moon water, I'll make a whole post about it one day.

TAKE A MOONLIT WALK

If you live in an area that it's safe to do so moonlit walks are a great time to reflect. The world is slower and quieter and it's a perfect opportunity to clear your head and reflect on the month ahead.

CLEANSING

As a whole the full moon is a perfect time for cleansing. Whether it's your crystals, tarot decks or yourself, the full moon is a time for cleansing and renewal. You can smoke cleanse your space, crystals and tarot decks with incense. Or you can set them in a windowsill/ outside to cleanse in the moon light.

New River Gorge Bridge in WV. Photo by Beth Foster

The full moon asks nothing and everything of us. It doesn’t demand perfection—it demands presence. Whether your rituals are loud or quiet, chaotic or still, this lunar light sees them all. It becomes a witness to what we release, what we call in, and what we’re still learning to hold. So, gather your petals and your grief, your fire and your joy. Spell with intention or simply sit beneath the sky and listen. Whatever you do, make it yours. This is your path and no one else's so do what feels right to you.

May the moon hold your secrets and soothe your shadows. May your rituals be remembered, your intentions heard. May you walk lit by your own magic, gentle, wild, and wholly yourself. And may every cycle bring you closer— to healing, to truth, to home.

Signed, your favorite emotionally unstable folklore cryptid <3