Dedicated to the origin of magic and shamanism, it is clear that the shaman acted as an intermediary between the world of people and the world from the other side, and also as a guide in all initiation rituals. He helped in the most basic stages of human life - at birth and death.

A little later, when religious cults were formalized, there was a division into gods of the stage of "birth" and the stage of "death" of a person. Separate gods stood out, patronizing conception, birth, motherhood, responsible for introducing the soul of a newborn child into the earthly world. There were gods associated with the completion of human life.

Among the latter, one can single out a separate category of gods/spirits/beings, whose competence was to provide a safe passage, escorting the soul of the deceased from the earthly world to the world on the other side to the divine judgment. This category was given the name "psychopomp" (Greek ψυχοπομπός - "guide of souls"). Psychopomps were often depicted on grave goods.

Of course, this category of gods/spirits/creatures should not be confused with the gods-masters (kings, rulers) of the underworld of the dead.

left: Ptolemaic period, 332-30 BC. e., Middle Egypt, wood, gesso, paints, ; in the middle: ; on right: ?

Egyptian mythology

Anubis - a deity with the head of a jackal and the body of a man, a psychopomp, a guide of the dead to the afterlife. In the Old Kingdom, he was the patron of necropolises and cemeteries, one of the judges of the kingdom of the dead, the keeper of poisons and medicines. During the period of the Old Kingdom, he was the ruler of the underworld, before the advent of the cult of Osiris, he was the main deity of the West. After the appearance of the cult of Osiris at the afterlife court of Osiris, Anubis weighed the heart of the deceased on the scales of truth, the heart was placed on the left side of the scale, and the feather of the goddess Maat, which symbolized the truth, was placed on the right.

on the left it can be seen that Anubis leads the deceased to judgment, then the process of weighing sins on the scales of truth,

Upuaut (ancient Egyptian. "Opening the way") - the god of war, the wolf god, the guide of the dead in the Duat (the underworld).

Neith is a goddess, from the Old Kingdom is mentioned as the guide of the deceased. Her emblem is a shield and two crossed arrows. The cult of Neith has also changed over time. In one of the periods, she began to be regarded as a protective goddess associated with certain funeral rituals (watched over the deceased, drove away evil spirits, hitting her with arrows from her bow. The goddess possessed healing abilities). She acted as the goddess of weaving and weaving. In this regard, she was credited with the invention of the invention and the manufacture of linens, which were tightly wrapped around mummies after the processes of embalming and mummification.
Neith was also revered as the personification of primary water, the mother goddess; was the parent of all snakes and crocodiles (crocodile nurse). Interesting for her.

left: Hecate (Artemis?) with torches, marble, 2nd century AD Roman copy. e., the Vatican; in the middle: ?; right: photo from Wikipedia

Greek mythology

Hekate - the goddess of moonlight, the underworld and everything mysterious, was also the goddess of witches, poisonous plants and medicinal herbs, many other witchcraft attributes, and at the same time the goddess-protector from witchcraft. Her cult underwent changes throughout history, and the image merged with many other goddesses who performed similar functions (Artemis, Selene).
Hecate in different periods was represented with smoky torches, keys, daggers, owls and snakes (sometimes in her hair), monstrous dogs (bitches) from the kingdom of Hades and with completely earthly dogs. Of the plants associated with her cult, yew (ancient Greek “toxon”) (wood-material for onions and consonance with the word “poison” (ancient Greek “toxicon”)), garlic, cypress (tree of symbolic death and the underworld), aconite, belladonna and others.
Hecate, the daughter of the titans, who remained with the gods after the titanomachy, was associated with real boundaries (city walls, doorways, crossroads) and intangible boundaries (the world of people and the world on the other side). Therefore, Hekate is often characterized as a "threshold" goddess, an intermediary; the guardian and guardian of entrances from evil spirits and the patron of people who have made the transition both in the narrow sense (went on the road) and in the broader sense (left earthly life). Hence her attributes: keys and torches in both hands, consecrating the space on both sides of the border - and her connection with guard dogs, earthly, guarding people's homes at night, and otherworldly, guarding the entrance to the underworld, so that the living could not pass into the afterlife , and the dead, demons and ghosts could not get out of it. Her cult is associated with crossroads, as she seemed to be fluttering with the souls of the dead above them.
In the Homeric hymn to Demeter, Hekate is referred to as "compassionate", perhaps to emphasize her concern over Persephone's disappearance. She helped Demeter search for Persephone, who had been kidnapped by Hades. Subsequently, Hecate became Persephone's companion on her annual trips to the kingdom of Hades, acting as a psychopomp.
The triune goddess Hekate, which arose in the late period, probably had a connection with the appearance of the moon (full moon, crescent and waning moon) and was identified with three goddesses: Selene (Moon) in the sky, Artemis (Huntress) on earth and Persephone (Destroyer) in the underground the world.
Very popular with modern neo-pagans.

William Blake, Hecate, 1795

left to right: Hermes, Etruscan bronze statuette, circa 450 BC. e., ; Hermes, Roman copy, 2nd century BC e. from a Greek original of the 5th century BC. e., the Vatican Museum, the god is wearing a petasus (round hat), a traveler's cloak and winged sandals, photo from Wikipedia; Hermes, Mercury, photo source: ?; Hermes, Flemish sculptor Artus Quellinus (XVII), Amsterdam City Hall

Hermes - the god of trade, profit, intelligence, dexterity and eloquence, giving wealth and income in trade, the god of athletes; patron of heralds, ambassadors, shepherds, travelers; patron of magic, alchemy and astrology; messenger of the gods and guide of the souls of the dead to the underworld of Hades.
Attributes of Hermes:
- the winged rod of the messenger (kerikion or caduceus), capable of reconciling enemies. Caduceus had two snakes on it (in another version - two ribbons), which wrapped around the staff at the moment when Hermes decided to test it by placing it between two struggling snakes. Hermes used his wand to put people to sleep or wake them up - in order to convey a message from the gods to someone from mortals, and most often this is done in a dream.
- hat petas (petasos) for protection from the sun with a wide and flexible brim. Petas was made from felt, leather or straw; worn mainly by shepherds, travelers and hunters, often with a cloak; considered the subject of rural life.
- winged talaria sandals, giving the ability to rise into the air.

red-figure vase painting, left: Hermes in pethas and chlamys, Athens, lekythos painting, ; in the middle: Hermes, from the 5th century. BC e., the Louvre Museum; right: fragment of painting, Hermes in pethos and winged sandals, circa 470-460 BC. e., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA,

left: photo by Griselina on Flickr; middle: portrait of the Greek actor Euiaon as Perseus (shod in talaria) in Sophocles' Andromeda, 430 BC, ; right: sandals of Hermes (Mercury),

Morpheus is the god of dreams, the son of Hypnos. His mother is Nyukta (one of the primary world-forming potencies, the personification of night darkness) or Aglaya (the name literally means “Clear”, one of the three graces of Aphrodite’s companions, the daughter of Zeus and Eurynome). He was depicted as a slender young man with small wings on his temples, but on some monuments of art he appears as a bearded old man with a poppy flower in his hand. Of the symbols and attributes of God, black is always highlighted (as the color of night and oblivion) ​​and poppy flowers. Morpheus was often depicted in black clothes with silver stars scattered over it. In his hands he held a goblet of poppy juice, which has a relaxing, enveloping hypnotic effect. Sometimes it is believed that he wears a crown of poppy flowers on his head, which symbolizes dreams. The Greeks usually depicted him on vases, and the Romans on sarcophagi.

Thanatos is the personification of death, the twin brother of the god of sleep Hypnos, the son of Nyukta. Most often he was depicted as a winged young man with an extinguished torch in his hand.

Charon is the carrier of those souls of the dead, whose bones found peace in the grave, across the river Styx, which separated the world of the living from the underworld of the dead Hades, the son of Erebus and Nyukta. Depicted as a gloomy old man in rags. For the transfer of the soul receives a fee (navlon) in one obol (according to the funeral rite, located under the tongue of the dead). Under no circumstances will anyone be transported back.

Carl Emil Doepler, costume designs, created in 1876, for the production of Wagner's epic opera Der Ring des Nibelungen, in its second part, The Valkyrie

Germano-Scandinavian mythology

The Valkyries are the daughters of Odin, the daughters of glorious warriors or kings who soar on winged horses over the battlefield and pick up fallen warriors. The dead go to the heavenly chamber - Valhalla. They are depicted in armor, helmets with horns or wings, with shields and spears. From the brilliance of their armor, according to legend, the northern lights appear in the sky.
Visually, the image is interpreted as combining female and male gender, a girl dressed as a warrior.

There is a very interesting parallel between the appearance of the ancient Greek Hermes in a wide-brimmed felt hat and cloak (clothes of travelers and villagers) and the look in which the Scandinavian Odin travels (a blue cloak and a felt hat).
In my opinion, the medieval hood (a hood with a cape covering the shoulders), and then a cloak with a hood, in which representatives of the Magus archetype are so often dressed, grew out of this clothing inherent in travelers (the Explorer-Explorer archetype).

Etruscan mythology

Orcus - a minor deity or a bearded demon, depicted as covered with hair, sometimes with wings; took human souls to the afterlife. Later he began to be thought of as the ruler of the afterlife, then his functions were dissolved in the image of Pluto, the Roman analogue of the Greek Hades.

Mayan mythology

Ish Tab - the goddess of suicide and sacrifice, also associated with fertility and a lunar eclipse; patronized soldiers who fell in battle and women who died in childbirth; suicidal psychopomp. The Maya were positive about suicide, which was equated with sacrifice or a military feat.

In Christianity, the functions of a psychopomp can be seen in angels, the archangel Michael, St. Peter.

Self-exploration is the key to the higher self. Understanding yourself. Pint Alexander Alexandrovich

A conductor that connects two worlds

A person has learned to use electricity for his own purposes, but this does not mean that a person understands what electricity is, what is current? What is electric current? After all, to understand the essence of electric current is to understand a lot. After all, a person is a conductor between this and this world.

Here is the light bulb. What it is? There is a certain wire of one or another property and quality, and between it from one end and from the other there is a potential difference, and when a current flows through it, it begins to emit light. There is a potential difference, and what is called a conductor. Some changes occur in this conductor, it begins to glow, to heat up. Isn't a person the same conductor that has one of its ends here, in the so-called material world, and its other side in the non-material world? And if a person falls on one of these sides, then what will happen?

For example, if we take a battery and some kind of conductor - a wire. We will attach one end of the wire to the minus, but the plus will not be closed. Will current flow through this wire? No, it won't. If we apply it to the plus, but not to the minus, then nothing will happen either. Only if we apply it simultaneously to plus and minus, current will flow through it. So, if a person falls for “materiality”, then no current flows through him, but if he falls for what is called “spirituality”, then no current flows through him either. If it is both there and there at the same time, current flows through it. Perhaps this is the main purpose of man. Conduct the flow of love.

Conductors are very different. What characterizes a conductor? resistance. If the resistance of the conductor is very high, then when current flows through it, it begins to heat up very much. If it has a bad connection or the wire is torn, sparking begins. These analogies help to better understand what is happening to a person.

There are people with whom something starts to happen, some vibrations enter, but they don’t understand, they don’t know where to direct this energy, with whom to interact, how to transmit it, and then a short circuit can happen. I have seen such cases when a current flows from a person, something even ignites from him, he is, as it were, a kind of power node, but this node has not established the necessary connection, does not know where to direct the energy. Everything is connected to everything, and this is not just a phrase. And if there is a current, it is very important to direct it correctly.

What is the task of man, you ask? Can he understand her? And here we see that the tasks are very different. On a personal level, they are defined, and if not, then you will be helped to determine them. They will tell you what to do, for example, wife, husband, boss, politicians, relatives, etc. They will not leave you without tasks. But are these the tasks that you really want to do, are these the tasks that you really came here with? But in order to find out the tasks of a different scale, not personal, they need to be seen, for this you need to have Vision. To do this, you need to do all the work that we are doing here. We need to remove everything that prevents us from really seeing, and then perhaps a vision will arise that will show you many things, including this. Do you have any questions?

- I have a question, but after what you said, it's hard for me to formulate it. I don't understand how this vision is already an action? It doesn't reach me. I don't know what it has to do with which of my properties, but I just can't imagine it.

The edge of the worlds is like a river, often a fiery one (in particular, the Slavic Smorodinka River, the Greek Styx and Acheron, etc.). In this regard, it is clear that the creature that moves souls through this boundary was often perceived as an image of a boatman-carrier, Charon.
This river is the River of oblivion, and crossings through it mean not only the transfer of souls from the world of the living to the world of the dead, but also the breaking of all ties, memory, attachment to the Supermundane world. That is why they call it the River without return, since there are no more arguments for crossing it. It is clear that the function of the Carrier, fulfilling these breaks in ties, is urgently needed in the process of disincarnations. Without his work, the soul will again and again be chained to places and people that are invaluable to it, and, thus, will turn into an utukka - a wandering dead.

Revealed as a manifestation of the Great Guardian of the Threshold, Soul Carrier is a necessary participant in the drama of death. It should be noted that the Carrier opens as a one-way engine, because it only takes souls to the realm of the dead, but never in life (with the exception of exceptional mythological incidents) can it return them back.
One of the first who discovered the need for this character was the ancient Sumerians, in whom the functions of such a guide were performed by Namtarru, who is the ambassador of the queen of the kingdom of the dead, Ereshkigal. Actually, on his orders, the Gallu demons took souls to the kingdom of the dead. It should be noted that Namtarru was considered the son of Enlil and Ereshkigal, which means that he had a fairly high position in the hierarchy of the gods.

The Egyptians also made extensive use of ferrymen in narratives about the posthumous wanderings of the soul. This function, among others, is attributed to Anubis - the Lord of the Duat, the first part of the afterlife. An interesting union between the dog-headed Anubis and the Gray Wolf - the Guide to the other world from the legends of the Slavs. In addition, it is not without reason that Semargl, the God of the Open Gates, was also depicted as an image of the Winged Dog. The image of the Watchdog of the worlds was one of the most ancient experiments of collisions with the contradictory nature of the Threshold. The dog was often the guide of the soul, and he was often sacrificed at the tombs to accompany the deceased on the way to the next world. The Greeks borrowed this function of the Guardian from Cerberus.

Etruscans at first role Carrier of Souls they gave Turmas (Hermes of the Greeks, who preserved this function of the psychopomp - the leader of souls in later mythology), and then - Hara (Harun), who, probably, was perceived by the Greeks as Charon. Ancient Greek mythology subdivided judgments about the Psychopomp (“guide” of souls, responsible for leaving the souls of the revealed world, the significance of which has already been discussed) and the Carrier, which acts as a guardian - the Gatekeeper. Hermes Psychopomp in ancient mythology put his wards in the boat of Charon. It is curious that Hermes-Psychopomp was often presented as the image of Cynocephalus - dog-headed.

Elder Charon(Χάρων - "bright", meaning "Sparkling eyes") he is a more popular personification Carrier of Souls in ancient mythology. For the first time the name of Charon is mentioned in one of the verses of the epic cycle - the Miniad.
Charon transports the deceased along the water of the underground river, accepting payment for this in one obol (in the funeral rite it is located under the tongue of the deceased). This tradition was widespread among the Greeks not only in the Hellenic, but also in the Roman periods of the history of Greece, was preserved in the Middle Ages and even remains to this day. Charon transports only those who have died, whose ashes have found peace in the grave. Virgil Charon is all covered with a dirty old man, with a disheveled gray-haired beard, burning eyes, in unclean clothes. Protecting the water of the river Acheron (or Styx), with the help of a pole, he transports a phantom on a canoe, and he puts some in a boat, and drives others from the shore who have not found the tradition of the earth. According to legend, Charon was chained for a year for transporting Hercules through Acheron. As a representative of the underworld, Charon later began to be known as a demon of death: in this destiny, he stepped over, with the names Charos and Charontas, to the current Greeks, who introduce him either in the form of a black bird descending on his own victim, or in the form of a rider, driving through the air a crowd of the dead.

The mythology of the North, although it does not emphasize the river that spans the worlds, however, has information about it. On the bridge across this river (Gjoll), in particular, Hermod met the giant Modgud, who let him into Hel, and, probably, Odin (Harbard) refused to transport Thor across this river. It is interesting that in the end the Great Ace himself acquires the function of a Carrier, which once again speaks of his high status as such a traditionally inconspicuous figure. In addition, the very fact that Thor ended up on the opposite bank of the river indicates that, in addition to Harbard, there was another boatman who had such transportations as a matter of course.

In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​the Transportation of Souls was formed and continued. Procopius of Caesarea, a historian of the Gothic War (6th century), narrates how the souls of the deceased go to sea to the island of Brittia: “Anglers, merchants and farmers live along the coast of the continent. They are subjects of the Franks, but do not pay taxes, because from ancient times they have had a heavy duty to transport the souls of the dead. Carriers wait all night in their huts for a conventional knock and the voice of invisible creatures calling them to work. Then people immediately rise from the bed, activated by an unknown force, go down to the shore and find boats there, but not their own, but outsiders, absolutely inclined to set off and empty. The carriers go down to the canoes, take up the oar and see that, from the burden of countless invisible riders, the boats sit heavily in the water, a palm from the sides. An hour later, they arrive at the opposite shore, and, nevertheless, on their shuttles they would hardly have been able to overcome this road in a whole day. Having reached the island, the boats are unloaded and become so weightless that only the keel part of it slightly touches the water. Carriers can not see anyone on their way, and on the shores. They only feel the voice that calls the names, ranks and kinship of each of the arrivals, and when it is a woman, then the name of her husband.

In order to explain the analyzed circumstance of the personification, Christianity holds the figure of the Angel of Death, often popular under the name of Azrael (Hebrew “God help”). Among Christians, the angel of death is sometimes called the archangel Gabriel. In any case, the need for a creation that contributes to overcoming the threshold between being and death is recognized.
Consequently, in addition to the Guide, which helps the soul in the passage of the path from being to the end, this path needs an image that makes this move irreversible. Actually, this function of the Carrier of Souls gives him the shade of the darkest character in the process of dispersonation.

During the first experience of taking peyote, Carlos Castaneda ("Door to Other Worlds") "raising his head, noticed a small black dog right in front of him. The dog went to the pan and began to lap water. I raised my hand to drive him away from the water, but, concentrating I saw that the dog was becoming transparent! The water was viscous and shiny; I saw how it flows down the dog's throat into his body, spreads evenly through it and pours out through each of his hairs. The luminous liquid moved through the coat and left it , forming a transparent, lush, silky halo.At that moment, I felt strong convulsions, and immediately a narrow low appeared around me. tunnel, very hard and incredibly cold."

The jackal-shaped wild dog is a form of manifestation of the god of the dead, Anubis; black Anubis from the "other side of life" receives the deceased, accompanies him to the shore on the barge of the dead and is present at the weighing of the heart.

According to the Indians Quechua Central Andes, black dogs carry the souls of the dead across the river (blood).

Metis Northern Colombia, the Aritama region (descendants of Koga, Chimila and / or Yupa) believe that a black dog transports the deceased through the river of tears, a white dog through a milk dog, and a black dog through a bloody one.

Eskimos Labradors believe that the way to the underworld lies along a long dark passage, guarded by a dog that watches over souls.

Chukchi they think that the deceased passes through the dog world. Dogs rush at him and bite him if a person mistreated them during his lifetime [Bogoraz 1939: 45; Bogoras 1902: 636].

Ainu it is believed that the soul comes to a fork in the road in the world of the dead, one leads to the village of the gods, the other to the Wet Underworld. The dog leads the soul along one of the roads.

According to beliefs Komi-Permyakov , a dog - "the first meeting in the next world" [Koroleva 2004].

At Chuvash it is believed that when the deceased is lowered into the grave, a black dog hits him with a whip. It is this blow that sends a person to another world [Salmin, ruk.].

And according to belief Marie , the entrance to the afterlife is guarded by the dogs of the lord of the dead.

According to Avesta(Vd, XIII). At the Chinvat bridge leading to paradise, a beautiful maiden met the soul, accompanied by two dogs that guarded the bridge and engaged in battle with the evil spirits pursuing the soul.

Many other similar examples can be seen in the article by Yu.E. Beryozkin "Black Dog at the Lacrimal River".

The last, thirteenth, sign of the Mexican zodiac, representing a period of chaos, timelessness, was the constellation of the Dog, associated with the concept of death and, at the same time, with resurrection, renewal.

In ancient India, four-eyed dogs with wide nostrils, guardians and heralds of Yama, the "king of the dead", roam among people, looking out for their prey - people who are destined to die.

Among the Zoroastrians, the dog is the second holiest creature after man, "the most amiable creation." Dog feeding, including ritual, is of great importance: the food given to the dog is intended for the souls of the dead; the time of feeding the dog - just after sunset - belongs to the Fravashes, the souls of the dead. To perform funeral rites in Zoroastrianism, white "four-eyed" dogs (with dark spots under the eyes) are used. "Four eyes" refers to the ability of dogs to see death itself.

Many early myths of different peoples had a number of common features, in particular, people were convinced that the soul needed a guide that could show her the way to the afterlife. Some of these guides were kind and really tried to help the soul, while others bore pain and torture. Even in modern religions, there are gods or demons who play the role of such conductors (psycho-pomps), which once again proves that people who lived millennia ago were not so different from us.

1. Ogmios

Ogmios was the Celtic god of eloquence and part-time psychopomp. Described as an aged version of the Greek hero Hercules, and in some cases the god Hermes, Ogmios used his eloquence to persuade men to follow him to hell.

Ogmios also had the ability to create defixions - curse pills - which he used to bind people to himself. When the soul agreed to follow him, Ogmios attached chains to the tongue of his victim and pulled the soul out through the ears. The Roman writer Lucian wrote that those who were enslaved by Ognios were happy to be chained by him and despaired of being freed.

2. Papa Gede

Papa Gede is the god of death in the voodoo religion. It is believed that Papa Gede is the corpse of the first person who did not die. He waits at the crossroads between life and death and escorts the souls of the recently deceased to Guinea - the world of spirits. Since religion was popular among African slaves, Africa itself, as a rule, seemed to them to be the afterlife.

Papa Gede knows about everything that happens all over the world every minute - both about the living and about the dead. Usually depicted as a man with a hat and a cigar in his mouth, Papa Gede is known for his strength and blunt sense of humor. During a ceremony for deities from the voodoo pantheon, Papa Gede is honored with libations. If you meet him, offer him rum - this is his favorite drink.

3. Izanami-no-Mikoto

Izanami-no-Mikoto is the goddess of creation and death in the Shinto religion. In the traditional sense, Izanami-no-Mikoto is not a psychopomp, she is a Shinigami - for Shinto followers, this is a god or goddess who can directly or indirectly cause the death of mortals. In translation, her name means "She who invites."

In addition to her role as a pseudo-psychopomp, she is also known as the creator of the first world she created with Izanagi-no-Mikoto, her husband. She died giving birth to a son, Kagutsuchi, who personifies fire. Izanagi-no-Mikoto later killed his son, not forgiving him for causing his wife's death.

4. Oya

Oya was the goddess of fire, destruction, and the underworld in Yoruba mythology. Oya was also known as the deity of the Niger River and a strong warrior. She was the guardian of the gates of death, where she waited for the souls of the dead to help them on their way to the next reincarnation.

Yet she was not the personification of death in Yoruba mythology, rather Oya was the representative of life, and belief in her was closely related to belief in reincarnation. If you want to please her, bring her a gift of eggplant or red wine - the goddess accepts such sacrifices most favorably.

5. Anguta

Anguta was the supreme god of the Inuit, and his work was different from that of most psychopomps. First, Anguta was supposed to deliver the souls of the dead to Adlivun, a kind of Inuit purgatory. Further, Anguta beat the soul for some time, determined by the number of sins that a person committed during his lifetime. After a sufficient punishment, usually lasting about a year, the soul was allowed to go to Quidliwun, or the world of the Moon, the Inuit analogue of Heaven.

The name Anguta means "Cutting", and he got his nickname because he chopped his own daughter into pieces, thus turning her into a goddess.

6. Veles

Veles was the Slavic god of the earth, cattle and the underworld. His name comes from the Lithuanian word "vele", which means "shadow of death". In Slavic mythology, the world appeared as a huge tree, with Veles at the base, depicted as a snake twisting its roots.

Veles was constantly at enmity with Perun (the supreme god of Slavic mythology and the god of thunder and lightning), because he stole his cattle. Veles was usually depicted with horns and, like many of the ancient gods of the underworld, was transformed into Satan by early Christian missionaries.

7. Gwyn Up Nudd

In Welsh mythology, Gwyn Ap Nudd was not only the king of the fairies, but also the lord of the underworld called Annwn. This world was very different from most similar underground realms from other mythologies - mortals were free to enter and leave it as they pleased, even while alive.

From time to time, Gwyn Ap Nudd was mentioned as the master of the Wild Hunt - riding horses through the sky, accompanied by supernatural dogs, the hounds of Annun, collecting human souls. His role as a psychopomp was especially associated with the Celtic warriors who fell in battle. Gwyn Up Nudd is also known as "Black-faced".

8. Ish Tab

Ish Tab was the goddess of suicide in Mayan mythology. She was sometimes called the "Rope Woman" as she was often depicted with a rope around her neck and with her eyes closed. For the Mayan people, unlike most cultures, suicide, especially by hanging, was considered an honorable way to die.

Not only was Ish Tab the protector of suicides, she also patronized warriors who fell in battle and women who died in childbirth, escorting their souls to paradise, where they would be rewarded and forever delivered from the diseases and sorrows of the world. There was a black circle on her cheek, representing the discoloration of the flesh due to decomposition.

9. Ox Head and Horse Face

Cow Head and Horse Face were a pair of guardians of the underworld from Chinese mythology. As their names suggest, they were human beings with some body parts, like those of an ox and a horse, respectively. Their duty was to accompany the souls of the recently deceased on their way to Diyu, the Chinese underworld. They could be fooled, like Sun Wukong, the monkey king, who made himself immortal by erasing his name from the book of the dead.

Unlike most psychopomps, these gods could punish the dead for their sins before they could reincarnate. And not a word about what will happen if you laugh at their heads.

10. Pit

Yama is the Hindu god of death and also a psychopomp, sometimes also called Yamarya. Yama lived in Naraka, a purgatory where the dead were to be punished for their sins before being reincarnated. There were seven different levels in Naraka, and it was Yama's duty to guide the soul to the right level. Yama was also responsible for directing souls to Svarga, or heaven, of which there were also seven.

Once he was killed by Shiva for disrespecting a deity, and then resurrected, so Shiva is the only god that Yama respects and idolizes. Yama carries a noose in her left hand, which she uses to grab the soul in order to extract it from the body.