The Strawberry Moon of 2026 reached peak illumination on Monday, June 29 around 8 p.m. I was already sleeping. Fortunately, it was still visible when I woke up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday, Tuesday, June 30. I grabbed my iPhone and headed to my beloved farmland.

I was so enraptured by this moon that I immediately googled its meaning when I got home. I learned that the Strawberry Moon is the traditional name for the full moon that occurs in June, and it typically follows the lowest path across the sky of any full moon of the year. The name originates from Algonquin Native American tribes and serves as a marker to signal that wild, June-bearing strawberries and other berries are ripe and ready to be harvested. (I did not see any strawberries, wild or otherwise.)

I was, of course, curious about the spiritual meanings of this moon, and came across this: “The Strawberry Moon beautifully captures the themes of summer’s arrival, the celebration of growth, and the gentle release of things that weigh us down.” The gentle release of things that weigh us down. Hmmmm. Was that because the rising sun is always directly opposite the Strawberry Moon, according to Google? The world is more balanced, so I am, too? I had to see for myself:

It’s hard to describe what it felt like to be smack in the middle of all of this, but I did feel inexplicably wild with a heart ready to face all of my fears, perhaps even release them.

“Take a deep breath,” I said to myself in the middle of that cornfield. I walked back to my car: “Let go.” I headed home: “Trust what’s unfolding.” Home: “You can find your way.”