November: Beaver Moon
The Full Moon in November is named after beavers. It can also be the Hunter’s Moon, if it follows the Harvest Moon, or Mourning Moon, depending on the December solstice.
The November Full Moon is also known as the Frost Moon.
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Busy Beavers in the Moonlight
According to some sources, the Full Moon for November is named after beavers because, at this time, they become particularly active in building their winter dams in preparation for the cold season. The beaver is mainly nocturnal, so they work under the light of the Full Moon.
Native American names for the November Full Moon are Frost Moon, Freezing Moon, Trading Moon, and Snow Moon, although the latter is more common for the February Full Moon. Oak Moon can be either the Full Moon in November or December, depending on which source you use.
Hunter’s Moon Some Years
The Hunter’s Moon follows the Harvest Moon. Every three years or so, the Harvest Moon falls in October, which makes November’s Full Moon the Hunter’s Moon.
This happens in 2025. The closest Full Moon to the September equinox (on September 22) was on October 7: This was the Harvest Moon. The following Full Moon is November 5—this becomes the Hunter’s Moon.
Mourning Moon
In Celtic tradition, the last Full Moon before the December solstice has also been named the Mourning Moon or the Darkest Depths Moon.
The astronomical seasons do not match up with the lunar months. Therefore, the month of the Mourning Moon in the Northern Hemisphere varies. In some years, the Mourning Moon is in November, while in others, it is in December.
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12 Full Moon Names
The Full Moon has been integral to tracking the change of months and seasons since ancient times.
Today, we use many of these ancient month names as Full Moon names, and many of them come from Colonial Americans adopting Native American names into their calendars.
Although the most commonly used Full Moon names are English interpretations of Native American names, some are also Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, medieval English, and Neo-Pagan.