IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head
(Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
What's a Psychopomp?
"Psychopomp" is the Greek name for those who guided souls to the afterlife.
[They] are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife.
Source
Traditionally, the psychopomp's job was to perform his duties objectively, no judging of the soon-to-be-deceased's good or bad qualities or deeds.
Sometimes they were depicted as human like entities and other times they take the form of animals (e.g., horses, dogs, birds, deer, etc.).
The Dark Ferryman - transporter to the afterlife - in the mythology of multiple cultures (Recognizing The Grim Reaper's many names)
Some classic Psychopomps include:
Anubis (Ancient Egypt)
Charon (Greek)
Mercury (Roman)
Vanth (Etruscan)
Shiva in the form of Tarakeshwara (Hindu)
Daena (Zoroastrian)
Azrael (Judaism and Islam)
Deseased Relatives (Manobo People, Philippines)
Sundo (Tagalogs, Philippines)
Shinigami (Japan)
And of course...
The Grim Reaper (15th Century England)
Obviously, there are as many names and descriptions for different version of the Grim Reaper as there are cultures around the world.
But here's my pick for top portrayal of the Psychopomp most commonly known as the Grim Reaper:
Joe Black -
In one of my favorite movies called "Meet Joe Black", Brad Pitt is cast as an atypical, curious, and somewhat empathetic Grim Reaper.
Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed and produced by Martin Brest, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. The screenplay by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn and Jeff Reno is loosely based on the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday.
If I didn't mention your culture's spirit guide to the afterlife's name, please describe him/her to me.
What are the defining, tell-tale characteristics and story of that particular Psychopomp?
By JaiChai
Really Appreciate You Stopping By.
Truly hope to see you again!
About the Author -
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, long-term girlfriend and three dogs.
