Hunter’s Moon 2026: Full Moon in Taurus on Monday 26 October, Meaning, Crystals and Ritual

The Hunter’s Moon 2026 is the Full Moon in Taurus, early on Monday 26 October: what it is, when to see it, and a gentle ritual for letting go and giving thanks

October’s full moon is the Hunter’s Moon, and in 2026 it rises full and golden over the weekend the clocks go back. The exact moment falls in the small hours of Monday 26 October, so the night to look up is Sunday 25 October, when it climbs over the eastern horizon around sunset and stays with you all night. This year it sits in Taurus, the steady earth sign, opposite a Scorpio Sun. It is a moon for counting what you are grateful for, and quietly putting down what you no longer need to carry.

Hunter’s Moon 2026 at a Glance

• Exact: Monday 26 October 2026 at 4.12am UK time (GMT)
• Best night to look up: Sunday 25 October, from moonrise around sunset; Monday evening is lovely too
• Clocks: go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October, so this is the first full moon on winter time
• Sign: the Moon is in Taurus, an earth sign ruled by Venus; the Sun is opposite in Scorpio
• Planetary day: Monday, the Moon’s own day, with its colours of white, lavender and grey
• Names: the Hunter’s Moon, also called the Blood Moon, the Sanguine Moon, the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon
• Numerology of the date: 2 + 6 + 1 + 0 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 6 = 19, then 1 + 9 = 10, then 1: an ending that clears room for a beginning
• Eclipse: none, this is an ordinary full moon
• Supermoon: no; the next supermoon is the Beaver Moon on Tuesday 24 November
• Working window: the full moon is worked across three days, Sunday 25 to Tuesday 27 October
• This cycle began: the New Moon in Libra, 4.50pm on Saturday 10 October
• Next new moon: the New Moon in Scorpio, 7.02am on Monday 9 November

Where the Hunter’s Moon Sits in the Weeks Ahead

Moon guides often go up a few weeks before the night itself, so here is the whole stretch in order, from the new moon that began this cycle to the supermoon at the end of November. Everything on this page is for 2026.

Last year’s Hunter’s Moon fell on 7 October 2025, in Aries rather than Taurus. Full moon dates move from year to year because the Moon’s month is a little shorter than our calendar months, so always check the year at the top of a moon guide. Our moon guides are sorted by year to make that easy.

What Is a Full Moon? Start Here

If you are new to the moon, welcome. A full moon is simply the night the Moon sits on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, so the whole face we can see is lit. It rises in the east as the Sun sets in the west, and it is up all night long. It comes round roughly every 29 and a half days, about two weeks after each new moon.

The new moon is the month’s beginning, a time for setting an intention. The full moon is its high point. It is traditionally the strongest phase of the whole cycle, a time to see what has grown, to give thanks for it, and to release whatever has not worked. Many people also set crystals out in its light to refresh them.

Why Is It Called the Hunter’s Moon?

The Hunter’s Moon is the name given to the full moon that follows the Harvest Moon. In autumn the Moon rises at almost the same time for several evenings in a row, so its light arrives just as daylight fades, night after night. With the fields cut and empty, it was said to be the moon for hunting and for laying in meat before winter, and it was kept as a feast night in many places.

Some of its other names, the Blood Moon and the Sanguine Moon, come from the same idea of the autumn hunt. That can be confusing, because Blood Moon is also the popular name for a total lunar eclipse, when the Moon turns a coppery red. This year’s Hunter’s Moon is not an eclipse. It will look like a bright, ordinary full moon, often with a warm golden or orange tint as it rises low over the horizon.

The honest history of the moon names

The phrase Hunter’s Moon has been in use in English since at least the early 1700s, and the Harvest Moon is older still. The tidy list of a name for every month, from the Wolf Moon in January to the Cold Moon in December, is more recent. It was popularised by American farmers’ almanacs in the twentieth century, drawing on a mixture of Native American, colonial and European names. Different peoples used different names, and many still do. We use the familiar list because it is the one most people know, and because it ties each moon to what is happening in the land.

What the Full Moon in Taurus Means

Every full moon happens when the Moon is in the sign opposite the Sun. In late October the Sun is in Scorpio, the sign of depth and endings, so the full moon lands across the sky in Taurus, the sign of comfort, the senses and the things we value. Taurus is an earth sign ruled by Venus. Traditional astrology has long said the Moon is at its happiest in Taurus, calm, steady and at home.

So this is a gentle full moon, and a practical one. It sits between two questions. Taurus asks: what is good in my life, and how do I look after it? Scorpio asks: what is finished, and can I let it go? The Hunter’s Moon in Taurus is a lovely time to do both at once: to give thanks for what you are keeping, and to put down what you are not.

Taurus keeps. Scorpio lets go. The Hunter’s Moon sits in the doorway between them and asks you to choose.

A Monday full moon

This year it falls on a Monday, the day named after the Moon itself. In the old correspondences Monday belongs to home, family, peace, intuition and protection, and its colours are white, lavender and grey. A white candle is ideal, and white can stand in for any colour if that is what you have.

The story behind the sky

In Greek myth, the Moon was Selene, who drove her silver chariot across the night sky. In some tellings it was pulled by white horses, and in others by a pair of white bulls, their horns curved like the crescent. It is a pleasing picture for a full moon in Taurus, the sign of the bull: the Moon, at her fullest, driving her bulls slowly over the autumn fields. It is a story, not a history, but it is a good one to tell on a long October night.

Crystals for the Hunter’s Moon in Taurus

The traditional full moon stone is sunstone, and clear quartz is the classic stone to charge in its light. For this particular moon, these seven small tumblestones carry the Taurus side, gratitude and steadiness, and the Scorpio side, release, in one set that fits in your hand.

Unakite

Green and pink speckled together, the two colours of Venus, the ruler of Taurus. Unakite is traditionally a stone of patience and of things growing in their own time. It holds the centre of this month’s grid.

Tiger’s Eye

Golden brown with a silky shimmer, like a field at harvest. Tiger’s eye is a stone of steady confidence, kept here for the good things you have worked for and want to keep.

Rose Quartz

The gentle pink heart stone, long linked with Venus. It belongs on the gratitude side, for the people and the comforts you are thankful for.

Mookaite

A warm jasper in reds, creams and mustard yellows. Mookaite is an earthy, here and now stone, kept for enjoying what is in front of you rather than waiting for something better.

Snowflake Obsidian

Black volcanic glass scattered with soft grey flowers. Snowflake obsidian is the classic stone for gently letting go, and it carries the Scorpio side of this moon.

Black Obsidian

Glassy and dark, obsidian is a protective stone, kept for drawing a clear line under something that is done.

Chevron Amethyst

Purple and white in bold stripes. Amethyst is a calming stone for the quiet after a release, when the space feels new and a little unfamiliar.

The Doorway Grid for the Hunter’s Moon

This grid is laid like a doorway between two rooms. The focus stone sits in the centre, the threshold. Three stones to one side hold what you are keeping and giving thanks for. Three stones to the other side hold what you are releasing.

The Focus Stone

Unakite, the threshold

The centre is where both sides meet, so it carries the heart of the work: patience with yourself while one thing ends and another settles in. Unakite sits here for its two Venus colours, a nod to Taurus. If you would rather, rose quartz works well in the centre for a gentler, gratitude led grid. If you have a small clear quartz point, stand it in the centre pointing upwards; and if you have neither, any clear quartz will do.

The Keeping Side

1 Tiger’s Eye, 2 Rose Quartz and 3 Mookaite

Placed in an arc on one side of the centre. Tiger’s eye holds what you have earned, rose quartz holds who you love, and mookaite holds the simple pleasures of now. Each is set down with a word of thanks.

The Releasing Side

4 Snowflake Obsidian, 5 Black Obsidian and 6 Chevron Amethyst

Placed in an arc on the other side. Snowflake obsidian loosens what you are letting go, black obsidian closes the door on it, and chevron amethyst brings calm to the space it leaves behind.

A Hunter’s Moon Ritual for Letting Go and Giving Thanks

About twenty minutes, on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday evening. If you can step outside, or open a window to the moonlight, so much the better. Some people like to picture the moonlight filling the room; others prefer to listen to the quiet and feel the cold air on their face. Both work beautifully.

What you need

• A candle: the Full Moon Manifestation Candle with Tiger’s Eye, or a white chime candle for a Monday moon
• Two slips of paper and a pen
• A heatproof dish, such as a small iron cauldron
• Your seven stones, or the ones you have
• A notebook to keep afterwards

The practice

1. Settle. Sit somewhere quiet. Breathe in slowly for a count of four, hold for a moment, and breathe out for a count of six. Do this five times, and let your shoulders drop.
2. Light the candle. As the flame catches, say quietly: “I light this for the Hunter’s Moon.”
3. Write what you keep. On the first slip, list three to five things from this year you are grateful for. Read each one aloud.
4. Write what you release. On the second slip, list what you are ready to put down: a worry, a habit, a grudge, a plan that has run its course. Read it aloud once, clearly. Do not make a copy.
5. Build the grid. Place the unakite first. Lay the three keeping stones on one side, then the three releasing stones on the other, naming each one as it goes down.
6. Let it go. Light the release list from the candle and drop it into the heatproof dish to burn. Listen to it crackle. If you would rather not use flame, tear it into small pieces and put it straight in the outside bin.
7. Give thanks. Fold the gratitude slip and tuck it under the unakite. Say: “Thank you, Moon, for what has grown. I keep what is good and I let go of what is done.”
8. Close. Snuff the candle rather than blowing it out. Leave the grid in place until the New Moon in Scorpio on 9 November, then keep the gratitude slip in your notebook.

Charging Crystals Under the Hunter’s Moon

The full moon is the traditional time to refresh crystals. Set them on a windowsill or outside in a bowl on Sunday or Monday night and bring them in before the morning sun. A few stones do not like what usually comes next: keep pyrite, lapis lazuli, selenite, opal and hematite away from salt and water, and bring amethyst, celestite and turquoise in before strong sunlight, as they can fade. Our guide to how to cleanse crystals has the full list.

Full moon water is made the same way, in a clean glass jar left out overnight. Our moon water guide covers how to make it and the times to avoid.

Questions People Ask About the Hunter’s Moon

When is the Hunter’s Moon in 2026?

The exact full moon is at 4.12am UK time (GMT) on Monday 26 October 2026. The best evening to see it is Sunday 25 October, when it rises full around sunset and is up all night. It still looks full on Monday evening.

What time does the Hunter’s Moon rise?

A full moon rises in the east at about the same time the Sun sets in the west. Over the Hunter’s Moon weekend, sunset is around half past four to five o’clock across the UK, now that the clocks have gone back. Look east from then on.

Is the Hunter’s Moon a supermoon this year?

No. The 2026 Hunter’s Moon is a normal full moon. The next supermoon is the Beaver Moon in Gemini, at 2.54pm on Tuesday 24 November 2026.

Is the Hunter’s Moon a Blood Moon?

One of its old names is the Blood Moon, from the autumn hunt. But this year it is not a lunar eclipse, which is the other meaning of Blood Moon. It may look orange or golden as it rises because of the low angle, and it will turn silver as it climbs.

What should I do on the Hunter’s Moon?

Traditionally the full moon is for gratitude, release and charging crystals. The ritual above does all three in about twenty minutes.

Is this the same as last year’s Hunter’s Moon?

No. Last year’s fell on 7 October 2025. The guide you are reading is for 2026.

Journal Prompts for the Hunter’s Moon

• What has grown in my life since the spring that I have not stopped to thank myself for?
• What am I still carrying that belongs to an earlier version of me?
• Which simple comfort makes my home feel like home, and how can I give it more room this winter?
• What would I do with the energy I currently spend on worrying?
• What do I want to have ready by Yule?