Psychopomp Work

In this final note I want to share with you more on the shamanic practice of being a psychopomp. This title / word is often immediately a turn off for people. The etymology literally translates it to “guide of souls”. As a psychopomp it is your work to guide or escort souls into the afterlife. Psychopomps work primarily with the dead and dying but they can also work with those who have lost their loved once by communicating with the deceased. 

There are famous and well known psychopomps, and there are spirits who are known to help others transition like animals or even ancestors. The shaman is known to do this work as it is already a regular practice for shamans to travel between worlds to connect with spirits and help those in need. 

Psychopomps today could be considered the workers in hospice settings, death doulas, shamans and of course anyone who works closely with the dead or dying - also known as a midwife to the dying. A certain thing about these roles is that they provide the living and grieving some sense of comfort in their difficult time of loss. 

Over the years we’ve sort of lost our connection to the portal that is death and now we find little within the experience to be comforting. If we travelled back in time to see shaman at work in their psychopomp role then we would experience how they ceremoniously help the dead move into the light and be truly free from their physical form. 

Only once the deceased moves into the light can they help us and communicate with us freely. It is often our attachments to them that prevents them from doing this and holds them here as an earth-bound spirit. 

Naturally when we talk about psychopomp work a lot of questions come up like… What is a ghost? What about evil spirits like demons or attachments? And various fear-based questions surrounding the nature of this work. 

I’ve been connecting and communicating with the dead for almost my entire life and I’ve encountered many different spirits in my time. People are so intimidated by this. Though evil very much does exist, with the right intention and integrity I have truly found nothing about it to be spooky or scary in any way. 

Though psychopomp work is far more rare than it once was (as the traditions and rituals surrounding death died off so did the need for psychopomps), it still happens. And to desire to fulfil this work takes very unique characteristics that I feel anyone who works with death will need to embody and possess. 

I believe that individuals who work with the dead and dying must have a good relationship with death and no fear surrounding it. I think they have to be ok with talking about and sharing heavy emotional topics and experiences (as psychopomp work often will bring about grieving tears). I think they have to be compassionate, non judgemental, deeply accepting and naturally nurturing with not only their work but their very presence. 

I have done psychopomp work myself quite a bit and it is a very honourable task to complete. To help lost souls or earth-bound spirits find their way into the light is beautiful and definitely cultivates some lightness. It’s a very unique way of providing healing. 

In closing I’ll share with you one of my first psychopomp experiences that happened years ago before I even knew what a psychopomp was.

I was about 12 years old driving back from the Unity church my Dad and I used to frequent. That day the youth program had a medium leading us through the understanding of mediumship (there was often various teachers of the mystical arts for the youth program like astrologers, yogis, mediums, card readers, etc). I was quite shy as there was a boy I liked in the group so I stayed quiet, but I remember thinking the entire time as the medium talked about working with the dead… “I’ve been doing this my whole life”. 

On the drive back I was thinking intensely about how the medium kept saying “we help the dead connect with the living”, and I started thinking about how I could connect with any person, dead or aline, if I wanted to. Right as this thought came into my mind an ambulance drove by. I tuned into it and saw the person in there was having a heart attack. I felt him so strongly in that moment and the symptoms started to gently mirror in my energy (something I get very commonly) and I felt his chest pain and my left arm went numb. 

The drive was 45 mins and with about 10 mins left to get home I felt him die. My body flooded with cold and I felt stuck and heavy, like I was glued to the front seat of my Dad’s car. I told his spirit that he was ok, that he didn’t have to worry about - as he was very worried about his wife - and that he could move into the light. He was scared of the light but I told him that the only way he can talk to her again is if he goes into the light. So he did. As we pulled into the driveway I felt this deep sense of gratitude wash over me and a warmth that filled my heart so much, I remember running into my room to cry with joy. 

This happened to me many times in my life prior to engaging in healing work and afterwards. After my shamanic practitioner training in Scotland with psychopomp work I realized that I had been doing the work of being a psychopomp all this time without knowing I was. Intuition is wild, especially if you learn to trust it deeply.

Do you have any interesting stories about death, mediumship or psychopomp? Reply to this post below, I’d love to hear it!