There is something mesmerizing about watching the Moon grow full. Night after night, her light increases until at last she hangs luminous and complete above us. For witches, the Full Moon has long represented a time of culmination, heightened energy, strengthened intentions, and bringing our deepest desires fully into the light.
I have led our Coven’s Full Moon Castings for many moons, yet I never regard one Full Moon as being quite the same as another. Each arrives within a different season, beneath different celestial influences, and at a different moment within our own lives.
The Full Sturgeon Moon of August 28th, 2026 will be particularly remarkable. As the Moon reaches fullness, she will also pass deeply into Earth’s shadow during a Lunar Eclipse, creating an extraordinary meeting of brilliant Full Moon light and temporary darkness.
For me, there is beautiful Magick within that contrast.
The Strength of the Sturgeon Moon
August’s Full Moon is traditionally known as the Sturgeon Moon, named for the great lake sturgeon found in abundance and more readily caught during this season in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regions. These remarkable fish are ancient survivors. Sturgeon have endured our Earth for millions of years, adapting to enormous changes in the world surrounding them. I find that wonderfully appropriate for an August Full Moon.
By late summer, nature has already done so much growing. Seeds planted months ago have pushed through the Earth, endured rain and heat, and grown toward maturity. Harvest season is beginning, yet the year has not finished with us; as we ourselves, have not yet finished growing.
The Sturgeon Moon invites us to recognize our own strength, perseverance, resilience, and abundance. Think for a moment about everything you have traveled through since this year began.
What challenged you?
What strengthened you?
What desire have you continued nurturing even when progress seemed slow?
And what exists within your life today that once lived only as a hope?
Sometimes we become so focused upon where we are going that we forget to honor how very far we have already come.
Where have you become stronger?
What have you learned about yourself?
And which desire still calls loudly enough that you know you are not ready to abandon it?
The Full Moon is a beautiful time to place renewed energy behind those desires.
What Are You Ready to Leave in the Shadows?
This month’s Eclipse adds another dimension to that work. We cannot always welcome more while clinging tightly to everything we have accumulated.
Perhaps you desire love but still carry the pain of an old relationship.
Perhaps you seek prosperity while fear continually whispers that there will never be enough.
Perhaps you want confidence but remain bound to an outdated version of yourself.
Or perhaps there is simply an energy within your life that has grown stagnant and desperately needs refreshing.
As Earth’s shadow begins moving across the Moon, imagine allowing something unnecessary to enter that darkness with it.
Fear.
Resentment.
Self-doubt.
Stagnation.
An old disappointment.
A habit or belief that has already taught you everything it came to teach.
You do not need to carry every chapter of your life into the next one.
And Then the Light Returns
This is the part of an Eclipse I find most beautiful.
The darkness passes.
The Moon emerges.
Her light was never destroyed. For a little while, it was simply hidden from our view. There are moments in life when our own light can feel much the same.
Heartache can conceal hope. Fear can obscure confidence. Disappointment can make possibility difficult to recognize. Temporary darkness does not erase what exists beyond it.
As the Sturgeon Moon emerges from Earth’s shadow, think about what you wish to bring back into the light with her.
Love.
Prosperity.
Healing.
Protection.
Confidence.
Success.
Happiness.
Whatever your desire may be, see it clearly. The shadow has passed. Now give your attention to what you wish to grow.
Two Celestial Forces, Two Powerful Rituals
This extraordinary night brings together two very different celestial influences: the culmination and illumination of the Full Sturgeon Moon, and the shadow, release, and transformation of the Lunar Eclipse. To honor each individually, our Coven will be performing two distinct Rituals on August 28th.
I will lead our Coven’s Full Sturgeon Moon Ritual, placing our collective Magick behind the intentions entrusted to us beneath the Moon at the height of her fullness. The Full Moon is a beautiful time to strengthen what you wish to draw closer, nurture desires already taking shape, and focus your intentions upon what you most deeply wish to manifest. Bring that desire into the Moonlight with us. Allow the Sturgeon Moon to illuminate it, strengthen it, and add renewed Magickal energy to the future you are working to create.
Yet on this night, the Full Moon will also enter Earth’s shadow. For those who feel that something must first be released, revealed, or transformed, High Priestess Roslyn Antle will lead our Lunar Eclipse Ritual, working specifically with the symbolism and extraordinary energy of the Eclipse. While the Full Moon Casting focuses upon what you wish to strengthen and welcome, the Eclipse Ritual work turns toward what may be standing between you and that future.
The two Rituals may be experienced individually, depending upon what you presently need, or together as complementary workings.
One asks: What do you wish to bring fully into the light?
The other asks: What are you ready to leave within the shadow?
On August 27th and 28th, the universe offers us the symbolism of both.
Beneath the Sturgeon Moon
When you look toward the Moon on August 28th, I hope you will take a moment simply to stand beneath her.
Look at how brightly she shines. Watch as the shadow touches her light. And remember that both belong to the same celestial journey.
The Sturgeon Moon reminds us to persevere. The Full Moon reminds us to believe in what we have been nurturing. The Eclipse reminds us that transformation sometimes requires release. And the returning light reminds us that there is always something still waiting to grow.
May the Full Sturgeon Moon illuminate the desires held closest to your heart, may the Eclipse carry away what has grown stagnant, and may her returning light fill your path with renewed hope, abundance, healing, and beautiful Magick.
