Full moon May 2026: Flower Moon in Scorpio

What time is it where you are?

The same instant falls on different dates around the world, so check the date as well as the time.

Moonrise and the highest point

A full moon rises around sunset and climbs highest around the middle of the night. These are the moonrise nearest the exact moment and the Moon's highest point after it, in local time.

Of these cities, it rides highest in São Paulo, at 88°, and lowest in London, at 17°.

Height is the angle above the horizon, where 90° would be straight overhead. A full moon near the horizon is the same size as a high one. It only looks bigger.

Why it's called the Flower Moon

May is when wildflowers are at their most abundant in much of the Northern Hemisphere, and its full moon carries the name.

The stars behind this full moon

Signs follow the seasons and constellations are patterns of stars, and the two have drifted apart over the centuries. At 11°21′ Scorpio, the Moon actually stands in front of Libra, the scales, not the constellation Scorpio is named after. The Sun, on the far side of the sky at 11°20′ Taurus, is in front of Aries.

More about LibraWhy signs and constellations differSee the real sky at your own birth

How close is the Moon?

At 401,990 km from Earth, this is the 11th closest of the 13 full moons of 2026. It looks 1% wider than the farthest full moon of the year, on 31 May 2026, a difference that is easier to measure than to see.

Perigee, the closest point of this orbit, comes on 19 April 2026 at 06:55 UTC, 12 days before the exact full moon, at 361,618 km. Apogee, the farthest point, comes on 4 May 2026 at 405,828 km.

The planets at this full moon

Where everything else stands at the exact moment, and any major aspect each planet makes to the Moon, using the same orbs Hali uses in every chart.

The tightest contact is a square from Pluto, 5.9° from exact. A square from Pluto adds some friction, which often gets things moving. A trine from Jupiter tends to make its themes easy to draw on. No planet is retrograde at this moment.

Planets to look for

The bright Moon washes out faint stars, but the planets still shine through.

• Mercury is too close to the Sun to see.
• Venus is in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Taurus.
• Mars is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Pisces.
• Jupiter is in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Gemini.
• Saturn is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Cetus.

Eclipse season

The Moon is 64.5° from the South Node, one of the two points where its path crosses the Sun's. Eclipses only happen when a new or full moon falls near a node, so this one falls outside eclipse season. The next eclipse is the total solar eclipse at the new moon of August 2026.

What the lunar nodes are

This lunar cycle

This full moon is the peak of the cycle that began with the new moon in Aries on 17 April 2026. The cycle ends with the new moon on 16 May 2026.

A full moon in Scorpio

With the Sun opposite in Taurus, this full moon digs under the surface. Trust, intimacy and shared resources come up, and it is a good moment to be honest about what you really feel.

Astrology reads full and new moons as moments for reflection, not predictions. Take what helps and leave the rest.

When the Moon is in Scorpio

Scorpio Moon days run deep. Feelings grow stronger, secrets surface and small talk feels hollow, so it's a good time for honest conversations and for letting something go.

More about the Moon in Scorpio

The same moon in other years

• Last yearFull moon May 2025, Scorpio
• Next yearFull moon May 2027, Scorpio
• Next full moon in ScorpioFull moon April 2027, Scorpio