Feast Your Eyes on the Harvest Moon!
September’s full Harvest Moon reaches its peak in the early morning hours of September 29, 2023. Learn how the Harvest Moon got its name—plus, see Moon phase dates, Best Days by the Moon, folklore, and more!
When to See the Full Moon in September 2023
This year, look for September’s full Harvest Moon to appear just after sunset on Friday, September 29. It then reaches peak illumination at 5:58 A.M. Eastern Time on Saturday the 30th, drifting below the horizon shortly thereafter.
Why Is It Called the Harvest Moon?
The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred and through all of the Moon’s phases—not only the full Moon. The Harvest Moon, however, is a bit different!
Read Next
The Harvest Moon
The full Moon that happens nearest to the fall equinox (September 22 or 23) always takes on the name “Harvest Moon.” Unlike other full Moons, this full Moon rises at nearly the same time—around sunset—for several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive. Read more about the Harvest Moon!
While September’s full Moon is usually known as the Harvest Moon, if October’s full Moon happens to occur closer to the equinox than September’s, it takes on the name “Harvest Moon” instead. In this case, September’s full Moon is referred to as the Corn Moon.
The Corn Moon
This time of year—late summer into early fall—corresponds with the time of harvesting corn in much of the northern United States. For this reason, a number of Native American peoples traditionally used some variation of the name “Corn Moon” to refer to the Moon of either August or September. Examples include Corn Maker Moon (Western Abenaki) and Corn Harvest Moon (Dakota).
Alternative September Moon Names
Other Moon names for this month highlight how September is the transitional period between summer and fall:
- Autumn Moon (Cree)
- Falling Leaves Moon (Ojibwe)
- Leaves Turning Moon (Anishinaabe)
- Moon of Brown Leaves (Lakota)
- Yellow Leaf Moon (Assiniboine)
The behavior of animals is also a common theme, with Child Moon (Tlingit) referring to the time when young animals are weaned, and Mating Moon and Rutting Moon (both Cree) describing the time of year when certain animals, like moose, elk, and deer, are looking to mate.
→ Read more about full Moon names and their traditional meanings here.
Moon Phases for September 2023
Here are the Moon phase dates and times (EDT) for the month of September. Check our Moon Phase Calendar for dates and times in your city.
 | Last Quarter: September 6, 6:21 P.M. EDT |
 | New Moon: September 14, 9:40 P.M. EDT |
 | First Quarter: September 22, 3:32 P.M. EDT |
 | Full Moon: September 29, 5:58 A.M. EDT |
When is the next full Moon? Consult our Full Moon Calendar to find out.
September Full Moon Video
Why does the Moon ride high or low in the sky? Find out the answer to this question—and learn more about September’s Full Moon—in this entertaining video.
Photo Credit: Almanac reader, Robin Osbon
Best Days in September 2023
Below are the best days for activities, based on the Moon’s sign and phase in September.
| Activity | Best Days |
| Harvesting aboveground crops | 23, 24 |
| Harvesting belowground crops | 3-5 |
| Canning and Pickling | 8, 9 |
| Fishing | 14-29 |
→ See Best Days for more activities.
Moon Facts & Folklore
- Usually, the Moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, but around the time of the autumnal equinox, it rises only around 30 minutes later in the United States—even less in Canada.
- Frost occurring in the dark of the moon kills fruit buds and blossoms, but frost in the light of the moon will not.
Are you a full Moon lover? Share your thoughts below!
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I love watching the cycles happen and was provided the opportunity to watch 2 full cycles during the quarantine. I have always been locked in to the moon for some reason. I am a Sagittarius born at 12:17 on 12/19/1963. If anyone has input as to why, I would love to hear it .
GRAND RISING GEORGE, TRY USING TimePassages mobile app for more detailed information on yourself! Its an amazing ride of self exploration! Good luck in your search!!
ITS PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE SHRINKYDINK PHASE THAT CAUSES THE MOON TO BE OUT OF ALIGNMENT FOR YOU. THE CURRENT CONDITION IS A GOOD CONDITION FOR ITS CURRENT SET OF CONDITIONS
Three beautiful full moons coming-up, Corn Moon, Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon, here in the Ohio Valley. Just lovely.
Feel so lucky to live in the gorgeous Catalina Mountains in Oro Valley AZ. The moon coming up over these mountains is beyond breathtaking. I can't stop watching, want to sit all nite taking in such a glorious sight. So still, so erie, so peaceful, and always amazed at the brightness of the full moon and the shadows it creates. It is beautiful and bittersweet at the same time. I always think how nature will in the end endure, despite all the havoc we are wreaking to our planet.
Not sure how or why this is but when it is a full moon or close to it I always feel a lot happier, optimistic, positive, refreshed etc. Full moons do for whatever reason improve my mental state. Don't know why. I'm sure it has to do with something
The full moons always make me happy too. I love the Native Americans names for the moons!! So suiting. I love the fall moons most of all!!!
It had to have been a wonderful time back then, when there were no headlights or flashlights, floodlights or streetlights. The only lights were the moon and the stars, and fires if you made one.
People must have just marveled at the night skies, and they did, to the point of being able to tell there was something different about some of the illuminated objects. How many nights observing the planet Venus (they had no idea that it was a planet, but they figured out that it was the same object every night, and paddled out to an island to view it when it was very low in the sky) how many generations of Mayans, watching the night sky, did it take for them to create their calendar.
Places like Stonehenge and other prehistoric monoliths were all created based on the sun and moon and stars. The darkness put people together (for safety), the stories of the night skies brought and kept them together, all these artificial lights allowed them to wander apart.
Google "pale blue dot" sometime, to see what life-forms "out there" see of our planet.
I was born on the Autumnal Equinox, 60 years ago this year, and up until tonight I have always heard the September full moon called the Full Barley Moon, never the Corn Moon. Didn't the native Americans call what Europeans called corn, maize? It doesn't really matter what anyone else wants to call it, it will always be the Full Barley moon to me.
One full moon was given a special name by slaves that was best for running away light. During the time when the Underground Railway was operating, they had to reach a known destination by moonlight. I can't remember what it was.
Maybe they called a full moon, Freedom Moon, but I found this info about the instructions given to them to keep the Drinking Gourd (Big Dipper) in sight when travelling on starlit nights. “Follow the Drinking Gourd” was a song used in the Underground Railroad to help give directions to the escaping slaves. The “drinking gourd” was the name for a hollow gourd that the slaves would use to collect water.
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