Full Moon January 2027: the Wolf Moon in Leo

The January 2027 full moon is exact on Friday, January 22, at 7:17 a.m. EST (12:17 UTC). The same moment is 4:17 a.m. on the Pacific coast, and 1:17 p.m. in Paris and Berlin, 2:17 p.m. in Sofia and 3:17 p.m. in Istanbul. The date stays January 22 in all of those places, which makes this an easy full moon to pin down.

On the East Coast the exact moment lands close to sunrise, with the Moon low in the west. The Moon looks round for a day on either side of the peak, so Thursday evening and Friday evening both give a good look. A January full moon runs high across the sky, because it sits opposite the low winter Sun, and on a clear night it throws sharp shadows over snow. The lunar calendar gives the hour for your own clock.

In the North American almanac list, January's full moon is the Wolf Moon, a name usually tied to wolves heard howling in midwinter. It is folklore, and the lists vary from one source to the next. In astronomical terms the Moon on January 22 is an ordinary full moon.

Astronomically, the Moon stands at about 2 degrees of Leo in the tropical zodiac, opposite the Sun at the same degree of Aquarius. Jupiter is in Leo as well, at about 24 degrees, retrograde since December 13, 2026, and it turns direct on April 13. Mars is retrograde in Virgo from January 10 until April 1, and Uranus is retrograde in Gemini until February 8. Mercury turns retrograde on February 9 in Pisces, about two and a half weeks after this full moon.

Astrologers read Leo as the sign of warmth, creativity, pride and the wish to be seen. Aquarius, where the Sun sits, is read as friends, networks, ideals and fitting in on your own terms. A Leo full moon at the start of the year is traditionally read as a question of how much of yourself you put forward and how much room you leave for the group. With Jupiter in the same sign, the tradition adds a note of generosity: a good moment to give your time to something you care about.

The Wolf Moon falls at about 2 degrees of Leo, so find that degree in your birth chart to see which house it lights up. The house there points to the area of life in focus, and the opposite house, holding early Aquarius, shows what competes with it for attention. Planets near those degrees, or near early Taurus and Scorpio, make the contact more personal. If your own moon sign is Leo, this full moon falls in the sign of your natal Moon, and what your moon sign means explains how astrologers read that placement.

The January 2026 full moon was exact on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at 5:03 a.m. EST (10:03 UTC), with the Moon in Cancer. If you are looking for that date, the full moon 2026 calendar still lists it with all thirteen full moons of that year.

The cycle moves on to the new moon of February 6, at 10:56 a.m. EST in Aquarius, which is an annular solar eclipse and the first eclipse of 2027. The next full moon is the February 2027 full moon on February 20, a penumbral lunar eclipse in Virgo. For every date of the year in one place, see the full moon 2027 calendar.