Full Moon field guide · UK dates
The Beaver Moon
A late-autumn name with two common explanations: beaver activity before winter, or the timing of beaver trapping.
What Beaver Moon means
Accounts of Beaver Moon disagree. Some connect November with beavers strengthening dams and lodges before winter; others connect it with the season for setting traps. Frost Moon is a common alternative.
A November full Moon climbs high and can illuminate a UK landscape for much of the long night.
Next UK occurrence
Tue, 24 Nov 2026
Exact full Moon: . Brown lunation 1285.
Three-year almanac
Beaver Moon dates, 2026–2028
| Year | UK date and time | Lunation | Calendar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1285 | Open month | |
| 2027 | 1297 | Open month | |
| 2028 | 1309 | Open month |
02
What to notice from the UK
Give your eyes time to adapt, then notice how strong moonlight softens faint stars while casting distinct ground shadows.
The disc looks full on the nights around the exact instant. A low Moon may look larger or warmer because of perspective and the atmosphere, not because its phase changed.
03
Other recorded labels
Almanacs do not share one universal naming system. This month is also listed as Blood Moon in an Old English grouping and Darkest Depths Moon in a modern Celtic-revival grouping.