Soul Release (Psychopomp)

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Soul Release: Guiding the Dead to the Spirit World

Helping the spirits of the dead cross safely over to the spirit world is an imporant duty of the shaman--both for the soul of the deceased and for the welfare of the community the shaman serves. It is not healthful to have lost souls wandering around, and it is certainly not healthy for the lost or trapped spirits themselves.

Such work is called psychopomp work or soul release. Indigenous people consider it to be important and somewhat dangerous work.

Modern people, even modern religions, have generally forgotten the importance and the ways of soul release work, of helping the dead cross over. Nowadays funerals are intended to show respect for the dead and provide closure for the survivors. They tend to be ineffective in actually guiding lost souls to the other side.

Why Spirits of the Dead May Need Help

Wars, murders, and accidents often leave the souls of the dead wandering near the site of death, unaware that they are dead. Indigenous and traditional cultures did not forget now to help the dead cross over, but modern wars and natural disasters that wipe out whole villages and extended families, leaving no survivors to properly mourn (or in some case to even remember) the dead, sometimes result in there being no one to help the lost souls cross over.

Books of the Dead for Psychopomp Work

Some cultures believe that all spirits need to be guided across to prevent needless suffering. The The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) was written for psychopomp (soul release) work. It is actually read to the spirit of the dead person during the first few days after death in order to guide the person safely to the other side. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day is said to have served the same purpose, and other cultures have had similar works.

In recent years, British magical teacher Dolores Ashcroft wrote a book called The New Book of the Dead, on how modern people can write their own script to be read to them while they are dying to guide them to the other side. It seems to be out of print, but you can still buy it at Amazon from about $10. It is well worth reading.

Essentially each person makes up his/her own after-death scenario, carefully building the visualization of a place to go and be during the first confusing days after death. Then s/he writes a detailed description for others to read to her/him while s/he is dying. Ashcroft writes movingly of how her magical group members each wrote such a document, and when one member was dying, they took shifts, reading her "book" to her while she was in a coma in ER.

Using the Psychopomp Ecstatic Trance Posture

One of the most powerful and moving ways to help guide the spiits of the dead to the spirit world is by using a trance postures clalled the psychopomp posture. It very ancient and has been used for thousands of years in many cultures around the world.

For information on using the psychopomp posture, see Where the Spirits Ride the Wind by Dr. Felicitas D. Goodman, Ecstatic Body Postures by Belinda Gore, or Ecstatic Trance: New Ritual Body Postures by Felicitas Goodman and Nana Nauwald.

Cover of the the book, Where the Spirits Ride the Wind, by anthropologist Felicitas D. Goodman, Ph.D.

Doing the psychopomp posture in ceremony can be deeply moving. It is powerful, and things really do happen that people can feel and sometimes see during the ceremony.

Cautions for Doing Soul Release Work

Traditionally soul release work is done with much ceremony--prayers, candles, songs, blessings, and such. Do plenty of cleansing and protection before and after doing any such work, and do it within a carefully sturctured ceremony to contain the energy. The last thing you want is for the spirit to connect itself to you or your environment. It would still be trapped and could cause illness or other problems for you or those around you.

In particular, the psychopomp posture is NOT one to experiment with. This is advanced work that should only be attempted with an experienced group with a leader who is well trained and experienced in successfully leading groups doing ecstatic trance postures.

Done in ceremony with a strong protective circle, the psychopomp posture is perfectly safe. But always remember that psychics have seen disturbing entities prowling outside the circle during soul release (psychopomp) ceremonies. This isn't something to play around with on your own!

Much more information on soul release work is coming soon!

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