June’s full moon takes its name from a fleeting harvest. Strawberries ripen quickly, and if not gathered at the right moment, they’re lost. Tonight’s Strawberry Moon, therefore, is bound to timing. And with it begins the shift into the Summer of Shadows.
Summer is often framed as a season of freedom and light and exploration. But journeys taken under its long days are not always carefree. Roads stretch further and nights feel deceptive in their warmth. Travel loosens the structures that keep us safe, and in that loosening, old ghosts find space to move.
When we leave familiar ground behind, we carry things with us like memories, grief and unfinished business. Some of these cling quietly while others make themselves known the very moment we believe we’ve escaped.
Haunted journeys are seldom marked by fear. They often begin with hope. A decision to go somewhere else, somewhere exciting, and become someone new. But shadows travel well. Too well, in fact. They slip into luggage unnoticed, settle into spare rooms and wait patiently at the edges of unfamiliar beds.
Under the Strawberry Moon, consider the journeys you’re already on. Think about not just where you’re going, but what’s travelling with you.
What memories surface when the road stretches long and the night refuses to fully darken?
Some paths are chosen, while others are inherited, and June’s Strawberry Moon reminds us that travel doesn’t free us from our ghosts. It simply reveals them.
Sometimes, the journey itself is the haunting.
R. H. DIXON 