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 the dead to the afterlife.

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

[Greek psūkhopompos : psūkhē, soul; see bhes- in Indo-European roots + pompos, guide (from pempein, to send, escort).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ψυχοπομπός.

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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.

    Thoughts on the etymology of Greek ἀκακαλίς 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

  • 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

Comments

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  • "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

  • 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

  • Saaaayyy.... *thinking*

    May 23, 2008

  • Yes, dontcry - exactly - like psychopoop.

    May 23, 2008

  • This appears many times in the novel I cited. It's a silly word and deserves the pulp treatment.

    May 25, 2008

  • Sounds like - ostentatious and slightly mad (?) - who would want this guide in the otherworld?

    May 25, 2008

  • I actually like this word (soul-carrier), bilby, but using it many times in a novel is rather... psycho-pompous.

    August 21, 2008