Psychopomps

If I remember the saying right it goes, "nothing in life is certain except death and taxes." Well, we've all faced taxes, but if you are reading this blog entry there's a pretty good chance you have never seen death.

Death is described as the total cessation of life processes that eventually occurs in all things.(Thank you google.) This doesn't answer what death looks like, feels like, what we'll see or where we will go (Of course, I have a strong opinion about those.) Throughout history this lack of information has motivated humans to make up figures to represent death.

Enter the Grim Reaper - the black-cloaked, scythe-wielding personification of death. His job is to put a face on the whole ordeal. I guess my question is this - why is he so grim? Why couldn't he be the least bit happy that he is paying you a visit? AND - Why the heck is it a guy?

I'm sure your question today is more along the lines of "What the heck, Kellie? Why are you writing about the death and the Grim Reaper?" Well, while reading an article today I learned a new word. It's kind of an interesting one - psychopomps. At first glance I thought it was psychopoops. I still am laughing at that misreading.

Anyway, a psychopomp is a spirit, angel, or deity whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. Many are animals. Certain species of birds - owls, sparrows and crows - appear more frequently as psychopomps than other animals. I kind of like the idea of being greeted by a soft cooing owl at deaths door than a mess of bones mysteriously held together in a black cloak holding an hourglass with the last grain of the sands of my life falling to the bottom.

I researched representations of death briefly and found that the Grim Reaper is just one of many personifications of death. There are positive forms and yes, there are women.

So, if I'm free to choose, I'm choosing the cute owl.