Psychopomp

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Many religious belief systems have a particular spirit, angel, or deity whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. These creatures are called psychopomps, from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός (psychopompos), literally meaning the "guide of souls". Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply provide safe passage. They are 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 many cultures, the shaman also fulfills the role of the psychopomp. This may 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 ^[1]). This also accounts for the contemporary title of "midwife to the dying," which is another form of psychopomp work.

Contents 1 List by mythology or belief system 1.1 African mythology 1.2 Celtic mythology 1.3 Christian mythology 1.4 Egyptian mythology 1.5 Etruscan mythology 1.6 Greek mythology 1.7 Hindu mythology 1.8 Inuit mythology 1.9 Islamic mythology 1.10 Judaic mythology 1.11 Mayan mythology 1.12 Native American mythology 1.13 Norse mythology 1.14 Persian mythology 1.15 Polynesian mythology 1.16 Roman mythology 1.17 Slavic mythology 1.18 Vodun mythology 1.19 Zoroastrian mythology 1.20 Other 2 Fiction 3 See also 4 Notes 4.1 References and further reading

[edit] List by mythology or belief system

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[edit] African mythology

Ancestors

[edit] Celtic mythology

Ankou

Epona

Gwyn ap Nudd

Manannán mac Lir

Santa Compaña

[edit] Christian mythology

Angels

Archangel Michael

Jesus

Saint Peter

[edit] Egyptian mythology

Anubis

Horus

Neith

[edit] Etruscan mythology

Turms

[edit] Greek mythology

Charon

Hecate

Hermes

Morpheus

Thanatos

[edit] Hindu mythology

The Buddha

Agni

Pushan

Yama^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Inuit mythology

Anguta

Pinga

[edit] Islamic mythology

Azrael

[edit] Judaic mythology

Gabriel

Sandalphon

[edit] Mayan mythology

Ixtab

[edit] Native American mythology

Muut

[edit] Norse mythology

Baldur

Odin

Valkyries

[edit] Persian mythology

Mithra

[edit] Polynesian mythology

Aumakua

[edit] Roman mythology

Mercury

[edit] Slavic mythology

Volos

[edit] Vodun mythology

Guédé

[edit] Zoroastrian mythology

Daena

Vohu Mano

[edit] Other

Grim Reaper

[edit] Fiction

Compare Virgil's role in Dante’s Inferno.

George Lass and the other reapers on the Showtime 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 Reapers of the TV series Supernatural act as psychopomps.

In the TV series Reaper, the character Sam Oliver acts as a psychopomp, capturing and returning escaped souls to Hell on behalf of the devil.

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.

The Shinigami of the manga and anime series Bleach act as psychopomps.

In Northern Lights 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 Morningstar is another psychopomp and refers to himself as one when he kills the Shiko-Mi demon in the second story arc. Issue 52 also revolves around a psychopomp. In this story, the kingdom of Faerie does not wish a possible allegiance of men, and Titania (the Queen of the Faeries) sends her envoy, Cluracan, to the city of Aurelia, which is ruled by a psychopomp, to disrupt any such pact.

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 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 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.

In the final episode of Six Feet Under Nathanial and Nate Fisher serve as psychopomps for Ruth Fisher, while Keith Charles-Fisher serves as one for his husband, David.

In the DC comics universe, speedsters are led to the afterlife (or in this case, Speed Force) by a psychopomp known as the Black Flash.

[edit] See also

• Death (personification)
• Death deity

[edit] Notes

1. ^ 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).

[edit] References and further reading

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