The Full Flower Moon: May's Moon Guide

Here are highlights of the May 2012 Full Flower Moon! The Almanac's monthly Moon guide keeps you informed about full Moon names, Moon phase dates, and Best Days by the Moon.

Full Moon Names

The full Moon in May is called the Full Flower Moon.

May's Full Flower Moon, also called Mother's Moon, Milk Moon, and Corn Planting Moon, marks a time of increasing fertility with temperatures warm enough for safely bearing young, a near end to late frosts, and plants in bloom.

See all Full Moon names and their meanings.

Moon Phase Dates 2012

All dates and times are ET. See the Moon Phase Calender for your city/state.

	Full Moon: May 5, 11:35 P.M.
	Last Quarter: May 12, 5:47 P.M.
	New Moon: May 20, 7:47 P.M.
	First Quarter: May 28, 4:16 P.M.

For your next full Moon, see our Full Moon Dates chart.

Full Moon Video

Each month, we will explain the traditional names of the full Moon along with some Moon facts.  Click below to watch the video and learn about May's Full Flower Moon.

Best Days in May 2012

Below are the best days for activities, based on the Moon's sign and phase in May.

For Planting:

• Aboveground crops: 5, 23, 24
• Belowground crops: 13, 14

For Setting Eggs:

• 2–4, 11, 12, 29–31

For Fishing:

• 1–5, 20–31

See Best Days for more activities.

Full Moon Facts & Folklore

• The Moon, gloriously full, reaches perigee (its closest point to Earth) before midnight on May 5, 2012.
• Mars, its retrograde finished, pulls away from Regulus and sits above the Moon on the 25th.
• An annual solar eclipse, visible with eye protection as a partial solar eclipse over most of North America, occurs in the early evening on the 20th. See "The Sky is Falling!" in The 2012 Old Farmer's Almanac (page 96).
• Clothes washed for the first time in the full Moon will not last long.
• The full Moon is an ideal time to accept a proposal of marriage.
   

Share your thoughts about this month's Moon below!