No, Wild Goose is not the name of a new drink. In Celtic Christianity (around 500 AD) , the Holy Spirit is known as the “Wild Goose”.
Unlike the dove of peace of Roman Christianity (steeped in cultural control) , the goose of Celtic Christianity fired-up the mind and soul of the individual with song, dance, and reveries of beauty.
The photograph above is of an old abbey courtyard on the Isle of Iona, Scotland. This is where Celtic Christianity began. The courtyard frames an icon if the radiant bird. Children cheerfully celebrate the bronze symbol of the supernatural spirit that brings, inspiration, comfort and wisdom to all who seek her.
Twelve hundred years later, in the 18th century, the Wild Goose became gentrified. She emerged as “Mother Goose”, the teller-of-tales to help raise children into virtuous adults known for their strength of character and robust imagination.
The Wild Goose is actually aligned with the Christ’s insight into the Spirit. After all, does this description by Christ sound like the dove of peace? “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” [John 3:8]
This is Good Friday. According to Christ, he would depart but he would not leave any of us orphans. He would send a comforter. In a way, Good Friday is the Christ making good on his promise of family through the spirit, or as the Celts would say, through the Wild Goose.
[I discovered this photo of the children in the Iona Abbey in 2015. It has never made an appearance, until now, on the Internet. The date of the photo is unknown.]