psychopomp
/ˈsʌɪkə(ʊ)pɒmp
/(also psychopompos)
noun
1(In Greek mythology) a guide of souls to the place of the dead.Beelzebub was originally called Baal-Zebul, meaning ‘Baal, the Lord’ a widely worshipped Philistine God-King, who was said to be a psychopompos, a guardian of souls (again)....
- There is some folklore in England & Scotland which suggests that the owl was thought of as a harbinger of death and a psychopomp.
1.1The spiritual guide of a living person’s soul: [as modifier]: a psychopomp figure who stays by her and walks in her dreams...
- Most practitioners will be used to psychopomp work, and will be able to locate the spirit and guide it on to wherever it's supposed to be.
- Purification is one of the shaman's tasks, along with healing, psychopomp work, and communicating with nature spirits.
Origin
From Greek psukhopompos, from psukhē 'soul' + pompos 'conductor'.