The Psychopomp
The guide of souls
The one who leads the soul across.
The Psychopomp: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
The psychopomp guides the soul between the worlds: into death, into the underworld, into the unknown. Jung gave the function to the figures of the inner world, to the anima and animus, the wise old man, and above all Mercurius, the Hermes of the alchemists, who leads between consciousness and the unconscious.
The Psychopomp: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
Hermes Psychopompos, Anubis, Charon the ferryman, Virgil leading Dante, the Valkyries, and the dog or horse that carries the dead in many traditions.
From the Sources
In the Odyssey, Mercury summons the ghosts of the suitors with his golden wand, which seals men's eyes in sleep or wakes them, and leads them, whining and gibbering, down to the abode of death.
“Then Mercury of Cyllene summoned the ghosts of the suitors, and in his hand he held the fair golden wand with which he seals men’s eyes in sleep or wakes them just as he pleases; with this he roused the ghosts and led them, while they followed whining and gibbering behind him.”
Homer, The Odyssey, rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original, Book XXIV, opening. Translated by Samuel Butler (Project Gutenberg eBook #1727). The text, read in part
In the Hymn to Demeter, Zeus sends Hermes, the Slayer of Argus with the golden wand, down to Erebus to win over Hades and lead Persephone forth to the light.
“…he sent the Slayer of Argus whose wand is of gold to Erebus, so that having won over Hades with soft words, he might lead forth chaste Persephone to the light from the misty gloom to join the gods”
Hesiod, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica, Homeric Hymn II, 'To Demeter', ll. 334-346. Translator: Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Project Gutenberg eBook #348). The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Where to Read
- “Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious,” CW 9i
- “The Spirit Mercurius,” CW 13
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
Also among Spirits and Mediators
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Psychopomp.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/psychopomp.
Nearby in the alphabet: The Prison: Bound in the dark, awaiting release. Projectio: Casting the stone upon the metal to change it, and the psyche upon matter. Putrefactio: Rotting: the old form must decay before the new can grow. The Quaternity: Fourness, the pattern of completeness.