Canada Goose: Sacred Circle, Cooperation

A few years ago, while I was working in the Beyond the Rainbow office, a Canada goose landed in my back yard. It appeared to be in some distress, pacing around, flapping its wings, and honking.

A few minutes later another goose arrived. It greeeted the first one, then rose again. The first goose followed it, and soon they were but two specks in the sky, hurrying to rejoin their flock.

Canada Geese don't abandon sick, wounded, or lost members of their flock, and this is only one of their cooperative habits. Flock members alternate in being leaders and followers during the flight. It has also been demonstrated that the constant flapping of their wings helps to keep them all aloft.

This is a powerful totem to contemplate, one which teaches us that cooperation and caring are natural forms of behavior. It teaches us well that when we are in tune with our own inner rhythms we know when to lead, and when to follow. Thus, leadership, instead of being either an exclusive privilege or a burden, is a shared opportunity.

For me, the migration of Canada Geese is a poignant reminder of the Great Circle of the Year. (In autumn the lateness of their departure is often a good indicator of when winter will actually begin.) To hear them honking and see their V formation as they fly over the mountains helps me to attune to the sacredness of the cycles of my own life.

And, with the song of the spring peppers, and the congregations of robins, their return tells me that the time of renewal has come once again.

Canada Goose is one of the Wild Earth Animal Essences.