Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun In various systems of religious belief, a being, such as a god or a person acting as a shaman, who guides the spirits of the dead to the afterlife or the otherworld.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A guide or conductor of spirits or souls to the other world: a special title of Hermes.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Myth.) A leader or guide of souls .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun religion One who guides the
souls of thedead to theafterlife .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a conductor of souls to the afterworld
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word psychopomp.
Examples
-
The psychopomp is a mediator between the unconscious and conscious realms.
Hibernation Time? William Harryman 2007
-
We have seen that the original werewolf, howling in the wintry blast, is a kind of psychopomp, or leader of departed souls; he is the wild ancestor of the death-dog, whose voice under the window of a sick-chamber is even now a sound of ill-omen.
Myths and Myth-makers: Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology 1872
-
Death is sometimes portrayed in fiction and occultism as angel of death (note that the name "Azrael" does not appear in any versions of either the psychopomp is a spirit, deity, or other being whose task is to conduct the souls of the recently dead into the afterlife.
Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en] 2009
-
As psychopomp is a critical role of my personal and professional shamanic path, I'm often approached by those who want me to communicate with deceased loved ones.
Kelley Harrell: You Don't Call, You Don't Write... The Quiet Dead Kelley Harrell 2011
-
As psychopomp is a critical role of my personal and professional shamanic path, I'm often approached by those who want me to communicate with deceased loved ones.
Kelley Harrell: You Don't Call, You Don't Write... The Quiet Dead Kelley Harrell 2011
-
Depp (although I continue to love him unreservedly) was the weakest of them: Jack Sparrow as psychopomp.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus deliasherman 2010
-
If you were to speak to a Jungian psychologist, a psychopomp would be described as the mediator between the conscious and unconscious minds.
Sparks Laura Bickle 2010
-
Hermes is the traveller who moves between worlds and was also thought of as a psychopomp.
-
If you were to speak to a Jungian psychologist, a psychopomp would be described as the mediator between the conscious and unconscious minds.
Sparks Laura Bickle 2010
-
If you were to speak to a Jungian psychologist, a psychopomp would be described as the mediator between the conscious and unconscious minds.
Sparks Laura Bickle 2010
bilby commented on the word psychopomp
"Rawlie led Thad back inside the office and picked up Barringer's Folklore of America. 'Sparrows, loons and especially whippoorwills are psychopomps,' he said, not without some triumph in his voice."
- 'The Dark Half', Stephen King.
December 31, 2007
dontcry commented on the word psychopomp
When I first looked at this word I saw "psychopoop" (the "o's" played a trick on my eyes) and I thought that might be a handy substitute for calling someone a s**t-head.
May 23, 2008
reesetee commented on the word psychopomp
Saaaayyy.... *thinking*
May 23, 2008
yarb commented on the word psychopomp
Yes, dontcry - exactly - like psychopoop.
May 23, 2008
bilby commented on the word psychopomp
This appears many times in the novel I cited. It's a silly word and deserves the pulp treatment.
May 25, 2008
apepch7 commented on the word psychopomp
Sounds like - ostentatious and slightly mad (?) - who would want this guide in the otherworld?
May 25, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word psychopomp
I actually like this word (soul-carrier), bilby, but using it many times in a novel is rather... psycho-pompous.
August 21, 2008