PSYCHOPOMP

Many religious belief systems have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. These creatures are called 'psychopomps', from the Greek word ''ψυχοπομπός'' (''psychopompos''), literally meaning the "guide of souls". They were often associated with horses, whippoorwills, ravens, dogs, crows, owls, sparrows, harts, and dolphins.
In Jungian psychology, the psychopomp is a mediator between the unconscious and conscious realms. It is symbolically personified in dreams as a wise man (or woman), or sometimes as a helpful animal. In some cultures acting as a psychopompos was also one of the functions of a shaman. This could include not only accompanying the soul of the dead, but also vice versa: to help at birth, to introduce the newborn's soul to the world (p. 36 of Hoppál, Mihály: Sámánok Eurázsiában. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 2005. ISBN 963-05-8295-3. (The title means “Shamans in Eurasia”, the book is written in Hungarian, but it is published also in German, Estonian and Finnish.) Site of publisher with short description on the book (in Hungarian).).

Contents

List by mythology

Celtic mythology

Christianity

Egyptian mythology

English mythology

Etruscan mythology

Greek mythology

Hindu mythology

Inuit mythology

Islam

Japanese mythology

Judaism

Maya mythology

Norse mythology

Persian mythology

Polynesian mythology

Roman mythology

Slavic mythology

Vodun

Zoroastrianism

Other

Fiction

See also

Notes

References and further reading

List by mythology

Celtic mythology

:Manannán mac Lir
:Belatu-Cadros (especially Wales)
:Epona
:Ogmios
:Ankou
:Santa Compaña

Christianity

:Michael

Egyptian mythology

:Anubis
:Neith
:Horus
:Set
:Thoth

English mythology

:Waetla

Etruscan mythology

:Turms

Greek mythology

:Artemis
:Charon
:Hermes
:Thanatos
:Hypnos
:Morpheus
:The Keres

Hindu mythology

:Agni
:Budha
:Pushan
:Yama

Inuit mythology

:Anguta
:Pinga

Islam

:Azrael
:Nakir and Munkar

Japanese mythology

:Shinigami

Judaism

:Gabriel
:Sandalphon

Maya mythology

:Ixtab

Norse mythology

:Baldur
:Odin
:Valkyries

Persian mythology

:Mithra

Polynesian mythology

:Aumakua

Roman mythology

:Mercury

Slavic mythology

:Volos

Vodun

:Guédé

Zoroastrianism

:Vohu Mano

Other

:Grim Reaper

Fiction

Compare Virgil's role in Dante’s ''Inferno''.
The Reapers of the TV series ''Supernatural'' act as psychopomps.
In modern literature, the title character of J. M. Barrie’s ''Peter Pan'' is said to act as a guide for children:
“At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him; as that when children died he went part of the way with them, so that they should not be frightened.”
Whipporwills feature prominently as malign psychopomps in many works of H. P. Lovecraft, perhaps most notably in ''The Dunwich Horror''.
Sparrows as psychopomps play a notable role in Stephen King's novel ''The Dark Half''.
George Lass and the other reapers on the TV series ''Dead Like Me'' are more accurately described as psychopomps, as they do not actually kill people but instead remove their souls moments before death and escort them to the afterlife.
The Shinigami of the manga and anime series ''Bleach'' act as psychopomps.
In The Golden Compass Yambe Akka serves as a guide to dead or dying witches, taking them peacefully to the underworld.
Enma Ai of the anime series ''Jigoku Shoujo'' acts as a psychopomp, ferrying grudged-upon souls to Hell.
Death is one of many psychopomp characters in Neil Gaiman's ''Sandman'' comics. Lucifer the Morningstar is another psychopomp and refers to himself as one when he kills the Shiko-Mi demon in the second story arc.
In the LucasArts game ''Grim Fandango'', the player plays as a "travel agent" (psychopomp) named Manny Calavera, guiding people from the Land of the Dead safely to the afterlife.
At the end of , Will Turner becomes a psychopomp by becoming the captain of the Flying Dutchman in order to guide the souls of men who died at sea to the land of the dead, a job previously tasked to but neglected by Davy Jones.
Issue 52 of The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman revolves around a pyschopomp. In this story, the kingdom of Faerie does not wish a possible alliegance of men, and Titania (the Queen of Faerie) sends her envoy Cluracan to the ciy of Aurelia, which is ruled by a psychopomp, to disrupt any such pact. In the same series, the character of Death acts as a psychopomp.

See also

Notes

References and further reading

★ Eliade, Mircea, "Shamanism", 1964, Chapters 6 and 7, "Magical Cures: the Shaman as Psychopomp".