Jacques de Beaufort
Psychopomps (from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός (psychopompos), literally meaning the "guide of souls") are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply provide safe passage. Frequently depicted on funerary art, psychopomps have been associated at different times and in different cultures with horses, Whip-poor-wills, ravens, dogs, crows, owls, sparrows, cuckoos, and harts.
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 child's soul to the world. This also accounts for the contemporary title of "midwife to the dying," which is another form of psychopomp work.
List by mythology or belief system
Anglo-Saxon
Celtic
Christianity (Roman Catholicism)
- Saint Barbara (a virgin martyr and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers; said to bring Holy Communion to the dying)
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- St. Michael (an archangel)
- St. Peter (an apostle of God)
- John the Baptist (a prophet of God)
- Azrael (an angel of death)
- Angels
Egyptian
Greek
Hinduism
Inuit
Islam
Japanese
Judaism
Korean
- Jeoseung Saja
No comments:
Post a Comment