#Psychopompus

[birdstudies]

June 7, 2023 - Bahia Tapaculo (Eleoscytalopus psychopompus) Found in a small area on the eastern coast of Brazil, these tapaculos live in the understory of lowland forests near small streams. Their diet is not known but closely related species feed on insects. Almost nothing is known about their nesting behavior, though a pair was found in breeding condition in October. They are classified as Endangered by the IUCN due to slow habitat loss and degradation in their very small range.

[vinndas]

psychopompus

[aphrodisianbaby]

they say that long ago, before Prometheus's fire shone in the sun's absence, Helios left the side of man each night and fell into slumber beneath the waters of the sea. and when the night Mother took His place, cold grief wrapped the earth. the flowers hid and the animals disappeared, patiently awaiting their Father's return. all waking creatures followed in His footsteps—sleeping through Selene's darkness to dream of the mighty rays of life. when Eos came to give rise to the mighty sun, His tears of sorrow appeared on the grass and dripped from the highest trees. some say that He filled the streams and lakes as light spilled across the lands. the rise of Helios became a time of reunion known to mortals as mourning

this tale begins as Eos lifted Him from the sea once more. His tears swelled on the leaves and His rays called out to humanity. today, His children did not come. they hid within their homes, terrified of the malevolent whom took advantage of the night. the shadows wailed and writhed, keeping His humble children awake. now, they slept through the day in exhaustion.

devastated, Helios gazed upon His slumbering children, too tired to greet Him. each time He returned, the pastures remained unkept and the fields shriveled into dust. the day couldn't last forever, and humanity could not survive without cultivation under the sun. from divine kharis, He offered humans a hope to last through the night. as Helios fell from the sky, the last of His color collided with the frothing sea.

from the union of the radiant sun and the wine-dark ocean emerged a golden form. ripe from the sea foam and imbued with luminescence, it awoke the slumbering mortals. all who saw were beckoned by the flash, a beacon in the night, and crowded the shore where She lay. many names were uttered upon Her appearance—Amathousia, Anaduomenê, Melainis, Kallipugos, Ourania—as She lie in the sand with wafting waves kissing Her cheeks

Aphrodite, She called Herself—radiant divinity within mortal form. a Goddess given life from the love between the mortal and immortal. from Her kiss came the fertility of the sun and from Her skin the iridescence of the sea shone. Her touch harbored the purest of love while Her laughter was as contagious as the plague. She roamed the night, watching over the mortals whom Her father adored so dearly. She protected them in His absence, taught them the gifts He could not sew from afar. as Her story spread, She was beloved by all. Pandemos Aphrodite, She who loved the poorest of men and saved the most desperate souls

after many years, Her knees had became too brittle to travel and Her senses dulled with age. still, the masses lovingly stayed by Her side. when it came time for Her mortal form to expire, humanity fell to their knees and begged Helios to save Her. even so, Aphrodite was not afraid to die. She eased their weary minds, for even if She could not be with them anymore, She would live on within their hearts. Helios heard the cries of His people and extended down His hand, grateful to the Goddess. in a moment of excellence, a golden flash appeared, pulling Her soul from the jaws of Psychopompus

they say that Aphrodite did not die that day. though Her body had disappeared and Her light did not illuminate the night anymore, Her existence was poured into every living being. humanity did not weep at their loss. instead, they danced, kissed, and drank together. their hearts were full and their minds were clear, for glorious Aphrodite would never leave their side

— "The Birth of Aphrodite" Dionysianfreak, 2023

I started this story a long time ago, I'm so glad it's finally done ! I've wanted to write my own myths for a long time as I personally view them more as devotional stories that reflect personal associations and experiences.

this myth is a retelling of Aphrodite's birth. it's based on my upg that sunsets on the ocean are one of Aphrodite's most sacred places. this is because I see it as the union between the heavens and the sea, Aphrodite's abodes. i also wanted it to revolve around love that wasn't inherently romantic or sexual, but the pure love between the Divine and humanity. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it won't be my last <3

Khaire Aphrodite 🐚🫀✨🌹🌠

[transhuman-priestess]

What if you went to cross the River Styx and Charon was just like, insufferably uptight and formal?

Psychopompus, if you will.

[alonglistofbirds]

[504/10,977] Bahia Tapaculo - Eleoscytalopus psychopompus

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Tyranni Family: Rhinocryptidae (tapaculos)

Photo credit: Silvia Faustino Linhares via Macaulay Library

[payasita]

Hello I have only known the cast for Psychopompus for like 10 minutes and I already love them.

thank you, they are all Very Serious and Very Spooky agents of death

[insp by that one post]

[theladyoflove]

You mentioned that there are hand positions in prayer based on whether the God is a sky, earth, ocean or underworld God. Could you tell me what Hekate, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hermes and Apollo are?

Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hermes and Apollo are Olympians, so they follow the rule for Ouranic deities: hold your arms up to at least shoulder level and face your open palms upwards!

Hermes also has a chthonic aspect: Hermes Psychopompus so when prayer to this aspect of him, follow chthonic guidelines! This goes for any other God who’s aspect is chthonic

Hekate is a tough one. Since She’s a Titan so I’m not exactly sure, but She is also chthonic so your best bet is to keep your arms down and face open palms to the ground and/or touch the ground! Also remember to not share offerings with chthonic deities, the whole thing must be sacrificed!

Hekate (when looking at the writings of Hesiod) also shares the Ouranic and Ocean realms, so depending on what you’re praying for change up the position! ^ thank you to @khaireis for this information, really helpful!!

[salomi]

Hermes Ludovisi

The unrestored Anzio Hermes of Ludovisi type, also formerly known as Mercurio Oratore is a Hellenistic sculpture of the god Hermes in his form of Hermes Psychopompus.

This statue has been created in the 5th century AD, in Attica. In recent times, with increasing success, the original model of Hermes Ludovisi was attributed to Phidias.

The concentrated and sad expression of the face recalls a funerary sculpture, with the right arm slightly raised in a gesture of farewell; the left hand held the caduceus, a branch with two intertwined serpents, which is the typical attribute of the god, represented as a Psychopomp, who accompanies the souls of the dead into the underworld.

(Rome, Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo.)

[sunshineandsisyphus]

hi :) ok so I might have a dumb question lol but I never thought it too deeply so: autumn/winter: Persephone is in the underworld. I know that..but spring/summer: she walks the earth or is Ouranic? or both? all I ever really thought about is her reuniting with Demeter but then I always thought Demeter was Ouranic

Not a dumb question! Your confusion is completely understandable. There aren’t always hard and fast lines between the Ouranic and Khthonic dieties. Hekate, for example, kind of ties the line - she doesn’t live in either the underworld or on Olympus. Demeter is another one who is mostly Ouranic, but does have some khthonic epithets, like Demeter Khthonia. Same idea with Hermes Psychopompus. Persephone is the same way: she’s both Ouranic and Khthonic, and where she lives depends on the season: the underworld for a third of the year and Olympus/walking the Earth/wherever she wants to be that isn’t the underworld for the other two thirds.

I hope this helps! Ouranic and Khthonic are great general categories, but they can sometimes become less rigid in specific examples.

[will-o-the-witch]

That helps so much, thankyou! In the case of food/drink offerings, are they supposed to be consumed, burned, or just left outside somewhere? What I've been doing so far is either making or buying a food with specific ingredients, saying a spontaneous prayer over it, dedicating the food to Hermes, and then doing my best to eat the food slowly and with respect.

A lot of that is really going to depend on your specific tradition and your personal beliefs; all of those methods have backing from different times or different groups. :) In general, it’s considered perfectly acceptable to leave the offering for a little while, then come back to it and either eat it or put it in nature/otherwise dispose of it. The one catch I would say is that it’s generally considered a no-no to eat or drink offerings to chthonic/underworld deities! (So Hermes Psychopompus might be treated a little differently than his other aspects.) But honestly if you have your rhythm down and it seems to work and you feel like the offerings are going where they need to go, then you’re all good! 

[roller-rink-haruno]

If we’re going the Hermes Psychopompus theme, then it’s important that we remember when Moist said his “I commend” line the first time - at the gallows.

This book!!

[thelastbacchae]

"We were hungry before we were born."

Second to last to surge to the Olympus, right before Dionysus, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the Pleiades Maia, one of the seven daughters of Atlas. Known as the patron of travellers, merchants and thieves, he's also the god of herding, writing, languages and astronomy.

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He made himself knowns right from when he was born for his "trickster" character; he stole when he was still a toddler, Apollo's sacred cattle -his mother believed him to be peacefully asleep in his cradle- and then calming down his enraged brother by giving him the first lyre, just invented from a tortoise shell. All the boundaries, physical and metaphorical, are his dominion, included the one between the world of the living and the world of the dead: he's the only one between the gods -except of course from Hades and Persephone- who is able to travel to and from the Hades without any consequence. Beside his role as psychopompus, in the end, he's also one of the gods most benevolent towards men and heroic deeds. Moreover, ever since the hellenistic period, he was associated with the egyptian Toth, and bestowed of a role more close to knowledge and wisdom, up to the point that he became the sacred god of Alchemists, with the epythet of Trismegistus, "Three-times great", in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. His symbols are the winged sandals he used to wear, the caduceus, the tortoise, the ram, crocus flower and strawberry-tree.

[wonderwomancharacter]

Day 1588: Hermes Psychopompus

Greek god of Gottagofast, traveling, delivering messages, plucking souls to and from the afterlife, healing, stealing, trickery, and the self proclaimed greatest ladies man amongst the gods, Hermes had been part of Athenas team goddess, despite not contributing to about 90% of what they were doing. His primary contribution being popping up to bequeath the power of flight and speed to Diana during the handing out of powers session.

Capable of doing basically anything from changing size, teleporting, moving incredibly fast, flying, healing the injured, reshaping reality, Acting as a uber between different realms, and just conjuring matter, Hermes is only limited by being powered by faith meaning he can only do so much before he has to sit back and bask in the audulation of his devoted devotees before hes back in action.

His OTHER weakness is that for unexplained reasons, all of his superpowers are built around his cadacus, the staff he carries around with him everywhere. Without it he loses all of his powers, unable to even fly, becoming naught but a normal mortal.

More so than the other gods, Hermes cared deeply about humans. So much so that he couldn't help but constantly meddle. Especially when it came to Wonder Woman. When he saw she was having trouble he would go and try to lend her a hand. Even while the other gods insisted she could handle it herself and there was no need to get involved.

So when the time came for the gods of olympus to cut off their attachment to the mortal plain in an effort to found New Olympus, Hermes chose to stay. For secretly, Hermes harbored a crush on Diana and wanted to make her his.

Thus Hermes stuck around, coming down to Earth and attempted to spread the faith of the Greek gods. He would get Diana to travel with him in his efforts and while doing so attempt to romance her. Intending to make her a goddess to stand by his side as his equel.

However Diana was so reverent of Hermes as one of her patron deities, that all of his romantic efforts and attempts at granting godhood went over her head. And when someone else pointed out that he was obviously head over heels for her, Diana discarded the idea, insisting that Hermes would never find her interesting.

Disheartened by this, Hermes would decide to retire from godding for a bit. Giving Diana his power to travel between dimensions in the form of a Cadacus themed belt buckle, and a pair of winged boots, Hermes would spend the next several years as a mortal without powers. Rooming with Steve Trevor, turning Steves 'im marrying Etta at the end of the year' plans into some far flung future goal.

Hermes time as a mortal would consist of clubbing, bar hobbing, picking up women left and right, and nearly being killed dozens of different ways by drunks and jealous love rivals. Only for Steve to swoop in and save the day.

Despite not having any powers, a cent to his name, and never holding down a job, Hermes time mortaling would somehow lead to him getting a fancy sports car, fancy expensive clothes (despite starting his mortaling in only a toga) and becoming proficient in the current slang and lingo.

Eventually Diana would come to him and convince him to return to godding, and Hermes offered her the chance to ascend to godhood alongside him, however Diana refused, stating that she had a mission to better the world, just as Hermes had a duty as the messenger of the gods.

And thus Hermes took back his godhood and would seek out New Olympus to once again be amongst his fellow gods.

[payasita]

would we be able to make psychopompus ocs? I really like the designs you have and the colors they're paired with so far and the concept is really neat

i???????????? dont see why not?????? thats extremely flattering but i might ask that you wait until at least the first chapter or the beta is out? just because ive shared like .3% of the world lol. again im very "???!!!!?!" about this oh my gosh

[theladyoflove]

sorry if you're not the right person to go to but you seem nice and like you know things. do you have any tips on how to become closer to hermes? i'm scared of not doing enough.

I really want to address this point about not doing enough! Because most of the time it’s entirely unwarranted!

The Gods have had worshippers that have been able to do less than you, and they were never punished! I understand this fear as a want to find fulfilment in your religion and to move away from the passive Christian religious practices! Which are completely valid!!

I would say to learn what the basics are (prayer + offering, some form of self-cleaning before prayer, etc.) and see how you can make them more accessible to you! E.g. if you’re chronically tired and can’t cleanse yourself every time you need to pray, you can change how often you pray or fit religious cleansing into cleansing you already do! i.e. make brushing your teeth religious cleaning, or washing your hands!

don’t put pressure on yourself to do grand gestures all the time! I know in media you see pagans performing these amazingly complex rituals with lots of participants, mountains of food offerings, beautiful decorations and more. But that’s unrealistic to the majority of practising pagans.

Bottom line is: Unless your Gods have told you otherwise, you’re doing enough! ♥

Now onto getting closer to Hermes, since I don’t know what you’re already doing it’s hard to say but I assume you’re worshipping his more common aspects like communication, languages and travel, and maybe his jokester side.

Try to look at other parts of him! Like Hermes Psychopompus - Guide of Souls (Into Hades), Hermes Charidotes - Giver of Joy, Hermes Eriounes - Luck-Bringing. He also has ties to divination and prophecy through his connection to the “birds of omen” and his place in Zeus’ retinue. As well as a protector of tradesmen and the disadvantaged, like homeless people! Supporting local markets, volunteering and donating to charities can all honour these parts of him.

And lastly, just ask Hermes if you have divination!! The best way to know what your God wants is to ask them directly, and don’t be surprised if they say “nothing, you’re doing fine :)” because that’s happened to me too, don’t worry about stuff you can’t control!

I hope this helps ease some worries ♥

[syee-bastian-blog]

-Hermes- Who is Hermes? In Greek mythology, Hermes is one of the Olympian gods and is considered to be the 12th god. Like many gods living on Mount Olympus such as Athena, Ares, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Artemis - Hermes is the son of Zeus. Hermes is a messenger of the gods and is also known as the god of the travelers, the street, the cattle, the merchants, the youth, and the thieves. He is the guide of the souls of the dead or psychopompus, to the world of Hades in the underworld. Hermes has a symbol called kerykeion or caduceus which is a baton of medical emblem. She is also known for having winged sandals. In Roman mythology, Hermes is referred to as Mercury. Maia, the daughter of Atlas, is Hermes's mother, but little is known about him other than a brief mention in Hesiod. It is said that soon after birth, Hermes kills the tortoise and uses its shell to make a lyre. Lyre certainly needs a string. For that Hermes stole his brother's cattle, Apollo, so it can use the intestines of cattle to complete the instrument. Knowing well that the act would make Apollo unhappy, Hermes tried to cover up his theft. All of Hermes' efforts ended in vain after his actions were caught by an elderly man who later reported them to Apollo. When Apollo meets Hermes, he only sees a sleeping infant looking innocent. Apollo then asks Zeus as the referee. Hermes finally confessed his deed and offered his home-made lyre as a redeemer of error. Apollo was very happy and gave all his livestock to Hermes in return. Apollo also gave Hermes his caduceus a tangled stick attached by two snakes. Hermes is also known to free Io from Hera after Zeus transforms Io into a cow to conceal his unlawful deeds from Hera. Hermes has several children. Daphnis, his son with nymph (nymph), is the inventor of pastoral music.