There is something about a Full Moon that has always made me want to slow down.
Maybe it is the hippie in me. Maybe it is the witchy side of me. Maybe it is simply the reminder to step outside, look up and remember that life is so much bigger than whatever has been consuming my thoughts lately.
But this Full Moon feels a little different.
The August 2026 Full Sturgeon Moon arrives August 27 into August 28 alongside a partial lunar eclipse.
And August 28 just happens to be a pretty special day in my little world too.
One year ago, on August 28, Cody and I went on our first date.
Where it all began.
And now, one year later, I get to step outside underneath this beautiful moon and think about just how much can change in a year.
The Full Sturgeon Moon & Lunar Eclipse
August's Full Moon is traditionally known as the Sturgeon Moon, a name connected to the time of year when giant lake sturgeon were historically more readily caught in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
And because I am an Oregon girl, I obviously went down a tiny sturgeon rabbit hole while writing this.
We have sturgeon here in Oregon too.
White sturgeon live in the Columbia River and other waterways throughout the Pacific Northwest, and they are honestly kind of incredible. They are ancient-looking, prehistoric fish that can grow absolutely massive.
Does Oregon's sturgeon population have anything to do with why this moon is called the Sturgeon Moon?
No.
Absolutely not.
But did I need to tell you about them anyway?
Apparently yes.
Consider that your completely unnecessary Oregon nature fact for the day. I couldn't write an entire blog about something called the Sturgeon Moon without acknowledging that we have some pretty impressive sturgeon swimming around our little corner of the world too.
Okay.
Back to the moon.
This year's Sturgeon Moon is even more spectacular because it coincides with a partial lunar eclipse.
During a lunar eclipse, Earth moves between the Sun and Moon, causing Earth's shadow to fall across the Moon.
There is the science.
And then there is the woo woo.
Spiritually, Full Moons have long been associated with illumination, completion and release. In astrology and modern spiritual practices, eclipses are often associated with transformation, endings, revelations and change.
Is that scientifically measurable energy?
No.
But do I still love the symbolism of standing underneath an eclipsed Full Moon and asking myself what I am ready to leave behind?
Absolutely.
The Photo Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
The photo I chose to share with this blog was taken almost exactly one year ago by one of my best friends, Olivia, who also happens to be an incredible photographer.
And I love this picture.
I look happy.
And honestly, I was happy in that moment.
I was outside. I was surrounded by mountains. I was with someone I love. The sun was setting behind me, my hair was wild, and I had a huge smile on my face.
But photographs are funny like that.
They capture a second.
They don't always capture everything you were carrying inside of that second.
When Olivia took this picture, I was hurting.
I had just ended a relationship after finding out I had been cheated on. I was carrying sadness, anger, disappointment and probably a lot of emotions I hadn't even figured out how to name yet.
I wasn't in the best place.
And yet...
I was still smiling.
But here is the part that makes this picture even crazier to look at one year later.
I was already talking to Cody.
That same day, before this photo was taken, I was sitting at a picnic table with Olivia's mom, Connie, while we watched Olivia photograph someone's maternity session.
And I told Connie about him.
Cody.
This guy I had been talking to.
At the time, it was just a conversation at a picnic table.
I had absolutely no idea what I was actually telling her about.
I didn't know that the guy whose name came up casually in conversation that day would become such an important part of my life.
I didn't know that only a short time later, on August 28, we would go on our first date.
I didn't know that exactly one year later I would be sitting here writing about him, our anniversary, this photograph and a Full Moon all in the same story.
Life is freaking weird like that.
Nature Changes. You Change. You Love Differently.
I think that little picnic-table memory is one of the reasons this photo means so much more to me now.
Because when I look at it, I don't just see where I had been.
I can see where I was going.
Even though the woman standing in that picture couldn't see it yet.
There was sadness with me on that mountain.
There was heartbreak.
There was uncertainty.
There was probably a little anger too.
But there was also happiness.
There was Olivia behind the camera.
There was Sam Barber becoming part of the soundtrack of that chapter of my life.
There was a conversation at a picnic table about some guy named Cody.
There was a sunset.
There was nature.
There was laughter.
There was still so much life happening around me while I was trying to heal from something I thought had broken a piece of me.
And maybe that is what nature keeps teaching me over and over again.
Nature changes.
And so do we.
Mountains weather storms.
Trees lose their leaves.
Wildflowers disappear and come back.
The moon becomes full and then slowly fades into darkness before beginning again.
And we change too.
We love differently after being hurt.
We trust differently.
We learn what we will accept and what we won't.
We become softer in some places and stronger in others.
Sometimes we build walls.
And sometimes someone comes along who slowly makes us realize we don't need to keep all of them.
The woman in this picture didn't know what the next year was going to bring.
But maybe she didn't need to.
Maybe she just needed to keep walking.
Keep laughing.
Keep going outside.
Keep chasing sunsets.
Keep letting her best friend take the picture.
Keep listening to the music.
Keep sitting at picnic tables telling people about the cute guy she was talking to.
And keep leaving just enough of the door open for life to surprise her.
Because it did.
One Year Ago, Everything Was Different
Now, almost exactly one year later, I get to look at this picture with completely different eyes.
And there is something kind of wild about knowing that while one chapter of my life was very clearly ending, another one had already quietly started.
I just didn't know it yet.
That might be my favorite part.
We always want these big, obvious signs that our lives are changing.
But sometimes change doesn't announce itself.
Sometimes it looks like sitting at a picnic table talking about a guy.
Sometimes it looks like your best friend taking a picture of you laughing on a mountain while your heart is still hurting.
Sometimes it is a song you keep playing over and over.
Sometimes it is agreeing to a first date.
And sometimes you don't realize something was the beginning until you are lucky enough to look back at it from a year later.
On August 28, Cody and I went on that first date.
Where it all began.
And now our one-year anniversary arrives beneath a Full Sturgeon Moon and lunar eclipse, while I'm writing a blog about transformation, release, grounding and letting yourself change.
You really can't make this stuff up.
Or maybe you can.
Maybe that is just my hippie woo woo talking again.
But I think there is something beautiful about it.
Because the moon changes constantly too.
She disappears.
She comes back.
She becomes a tiny sliver and eventually grows full again.
There are seasons where you can see all of her and seasons where you can barely see her at all.
And none of those phases make her any less whole.
Maybe we are allowed to be like that too.
Nature changes.
Seasons change.
The moon changes.
We change.
We heal.
And sometimes, without even realizing it is happening, we learn how to love differently too.
My Full Moon Ritual
I don't think a Full Moon ritual needs to be elaborate.
You don't need a giant altar or seventeen herbs you have never heard of.
My version is much more...
Light the candles.
Grab the crystals.
Take your shoes off.
Go outside.
Put your bare feet in the grass.
Look at the sky.
Breathe.
And if the mood strikes?
Dance under the damn moon.
There is something incredibly grounding about physically connecting yourself back to the earth.
Bare feet in the grass. Cool night air. Moon overhead. A moment where your phone isn't demanding something from you and nobody needs anything.
Just you.
I think sometimes we make spirituality more complicated than it needs to be.
Sometimes the ritual is simply being present.
Cleansing My Crystal Bracelets Under the Full Moon
This Full Moon also has impeccable timing because I FINALLY found my crystal bracelets after our move.
They had apparently decided they needed their own little spiritual retreat inside one of our moving boxes.
But now that I have them back, I have been wearing them more often than not.
So they are absolutely getting some moon time.
Moonlight cleansing is one of my favorite gentle ways to incorporate crystals into a Full Moon ritual.
I plan to lay all of my crystal bracelets somewhere safe where they can sit beneath the night sky.
If you want to do the same, place your crystals or crystal jewelry near a window or outdoors somewhere protected overnight.
Before setting them down, hold each piece for a moment.
Think about why you chose it.
Think about what you want it to represent moving forward.
Protection.
Love.
Confidence.
Peace.
Healing.
Abundance.
Whatever you need more of in this season.
One important little crystal reminder: moonlight itself is gentle, but weather and moisture are not safe for every mineral. Keep water-sensitive or delicate crystals somewhere protected or indoors near a window rather than leaving them exposed outside overnight.
You don't need to risk ruining your favorite crystal in the name of being witchy.
How to Make Full Moon Water
I am also making moon water.
Because obviously.
Moon water is simply water intentionally placed beneath the moonlight as part of a spiritual practice.
For me, the magic isn't about claiming that moonlight scientifically changes the water.
It is the ritual.
It is slowing down long enough to decide what I want to carry forward and what I am ready to leave behind.
If you want to make your own Full Moon water, grab a clean glass jar and fill it with water. Cover the jar and place it somewhere it can receive moonlight, either outdoors in a protected place or on a windowsill.
Before setting it down, hold the jar and choose an intention.
Maybe:
I am releasing what no longer belongs in this chapter.
Or:
I am making room for whatever is meant to find me next.
Or maybe your intention is simply:
I trust where I am going.
Leave your moon water beneath the moonlight and collect it afterward.
You can use it later for watering plants, cleansing an altar space, adding to a ritual bath or simply keeping it somewhere meaningful as a reminder of the intention you set.
And please, if the water has been sitting outside uncovered or could have been contaminated, don't drink it.
Witchy is good.
Mystery outdoor water is not.
Write Down What You're Ready to Release
Full Moons are often associated with release, so this is also a beautiful time to journal.
Write down what has been weighing on you.
What are you carrying because it is familiar rather than because it belongs to you?
What version of yourself are you outgrowing?
What are you afraid to let go of?
What deserves forgiveness?
What are you finally ready to stop apologizing for?
You don't need beautiful answers.
You don't even need complete sentences.
Write it messy.
Write the angry stuff.
Write the sad stuff.
Write the things you haven't been willing to admit out loud.
Then decide what you want to do with the page.
Keep it.
Tear it up.
Fold it away.
Or safely burn it as part of your ritual.
We can be witchy and responsible at the same time.
Ground Yourself
This might actually be my favorite part.
Go outside barefoot.
Stand in the grass or dirt.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath.
Feel where you are.
Not where you were six months ago.
Not where you think you should be six months from now.
Right here.
I've spent a lot of this past year learning what it means to feel at home again, something I've talked about before here on the blog.
And maybe grounding isn't always about staying in one place.
Maybe it is learning how to come home to yourself wherever you are.
Maybe it is realizing that home can change too.
Dance Under the Moon
This one is completely optional.
But also...
Do it.
Put on the song.
Go outside.
Move your body.
Dance badly.
Dance barefoot.
Dance around your kitchen if the neighbors are going to call someone because you're spinning around the backyard underneath an eclipsed moon.
And your music choice matters.
For me, this feels like a Stevie Nicks kind of night.
Something a little witchy, a little wild, a little feminine and completely unapologetic.
And then I might throw on some Dolly Parton too.
Because if we are going to stand barefoot underneath a Full Moon and channel powerful feminine energy, why wouldn't Dolly be invited?
There is something I love about women like Dolly and Stevie.
Sparkly.
Eclectic.
Strong.
Feminine.
Funny.
Wild.
Soft.
Confident.
Completely themselves.
Women who remind us that femininity and strength were never opposites.
So maybe make that part of your Full Moon ritual too.
Think about a woman who has inspired you.
Someone still here or someone you have lost.
Your mom.
Your grandma.
Your sister.
Your best friend.
An artist whose music carried you through something.
A woman you never personally knew but somehow made you feel a little braver about being yourself.
Put on her song.
Light a candle.
Say her name.
Dance for her.
Dance for yourself.
Dance for every version of you that had to fight a little bit to become the woman standing underneath that moon now.
Sometimes releasing energy doesn't need words.
Sometimes your body just needs to shake it out.
And sometimes we need to borrow a little confidence from the beautifully eclectic women around us until we remember that we have plenty of our own.
There is your little dose of hippie woo woo for the evening.
Light Your Candles & Set Your Full Moon Intentions
When you're finished releasing, decide what you want to make room for.
Light a candle.
Sit with your crystals.
Look at your moon water.
And think about the next chapter.
I think we spend so much time asking the universe for things that sometimes we forget to acknowledge what has already arrived.
This Full Moon, I want to do both.
I want to release some things.
I want to set new intentions.
But I also want to sit underneath that moon and feel grateful.
Because exactly one year ago, I went on a first date.
But now I know that the beginning actually started a little before that.
Maybe it started with a conversation.
Maybe it started at a picnic table while Olivia was taking someone else's pictures and I casually told Connie about this guy I was talking to.
Maybe it started while I was still healing from something else entirely.
That's the strange thing about beginnings.
We don't always recognize them when we're standing inside of them.
I couldn't see the next year.
I couldn't know where it would take me.
I just had to take the next step.
And maybe that is the magic of all of this.
Not believing that the moon is going to swoop down and fix our lives for us.
But allowing something beautiful in nature to remind us to stop.
Reflect.
Release.
Be grateful.
And begin again.
So underneath this Sturgeon Moon, put your crystals out.
Make your moon water.
Write the intentions.
Take your shoes off and put your feet in the grass.
Light the candles.
Turn Stevie up.
Let Dolly join the party.
Dance underneath the moon.
Be a little witchy.
Be a little weird.
Be a little woo woo.
Be completely yourself.
And when you look up at that moon, remember how much can change in a year.
Sometimes the thing you're going to be grateful for a year from now is already quietly finding its way into your life.
You just don't know it yet.
I certainly didn't.