The Psychopomp

THE TRANSITION….

It is a very human thing to want to know. Even the unknowable. Especially the unknowable.

Psychopomp, a word you may have heard, but may not remember, comes from the Greek word psychopompós meaning “guide of souls.”.
These figures appear across cultures, transcending time and space to appear in mythology and religion old and new, near and far*.

They are amongst my favourite archetypal beings, symbolising as they do, transition and transformation, bridging the divide between the material and spiritual realms. They exist in the spaces between worlds, which have always tugged at my psyche relentlessly.

They exist in spaces where life and death, known and unknown, intersect. Liminal in-betweeners…borderliners.

They fascinate me. They have since I was little.

Their role in myth is first and foremost to guide in the transition of souls from the world of the living to what goes beyond.

With some, such as Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the afterlife in ancient Egypt and surrounds, there is a weighing and a measuring…a judgement of sorts. Anubis, accompanied by ibis-headed Thoth, goddess of wisdom, dutifully recording the proceedings, oversees the weighing of the heart. The deceased’s heart is balanced against the feather of Ma’at, the goddess of truth and cosmic order. A heart heavier than the feather indicates impurity and leads to an unpleasant devouring. A balanced heart means a heavenly afterlife.

With others, there is a price to pay…one must immediately recall Charon, the ferryman of the river Styx, probably the best-known psychopomp from Greek mythology. Possibly the reason coins (Charon’s obol), are placed in or near the mouth or over the eyes, of the deceased, in some areas of the world, to this day. For without coin, one could not pay the ferryman, and if one could not pay, it is believed one would wander forever along the banks of the river, never finding peace or passage.

While the specifics vary, as they always do with mythological archetypes, psychopomps most often manifest as spirits, deities or semi-human figures. They provide a comforting reassurance around the mysteries of death and the journey beyond. They promise, if not judgement, then guidance, comfort, and the hope for safe passage.

These characters are the manifestation of our desire to make sense of death and what lies beyond. They are humanity’s attempt to know what cannot be known.

In contemporary times, however, they may resonate as symbols of psychological and spiritual growth: transition. They could perhaps be seen behind the eyes of mentors, therapists, or even inner voices that guide us through personal transformations. Deaths, losses, burials and rebirths…transition.

I rather hope one is waiting to guide me from this year to the next… perhaps, just to perplex them, I’ll ask to go in the opposite direction, from the dying to the living.

~NM

*Some examples you may know (PLEASE feel free to correct me if I am wrong, I know some better than others):
Hermes (Greek) / Mercury (Roman), Odin (Norse) – part-time role, Jizo (Buddhism), Azrael (Islam), Valkyries (Norse…warriors only, please), Hecate (Greek), The Coyote (Native American), Ravens (various), Papa Legba (West African).

In my own country, South Africa, it is the ancestral spirits (Amadlozi in Zulu) that function in a role similar to psychopomps. They guide the spirits of the deceased to the realm of the ancestors, ensuring a safe transition and continued connection with the living family. In some practices, sangomas act as intermediaries between the living and the dead, facilitating communication and guiding spirits which would almost, but not quite, make them living psychopomps (?).