Psychopomps are having a moment. And while many readers aren’t familiar with the term psychopomp, they probably know a few of these mythological spiritual entities tasked with guiding souls to the afterlife by name—such as Anubis, guardian of Egyptian tombs, or the Greek figure Charon, who rows souls across the River Styx to the underworld. Today, mind-body-spirit publishers are rebranding psychopomps as soul guides that can serve as valuable companions to the living.
“They’re not just about facing death—they are about our soul’s progress,” says Elysia Gallo, senior acquisitions editor at Llewellyn, which will publish The Psychopomps Oracle in September. “They can guide people from a dark time to a period of light and healing.”
The 44-card deck was created by psychotherapist Tiffany Lazic and illustrator Fabio Listrani. According to Gallo, the deck features a wide range of guides from myriad cultures who are believed to stand at life’s thresholds and steer people across spiritual dimensions. As Lazic writes in the guidebook that accompanies the deck, “Psychopomps actively and positively invite us to reflect on life, the unknown, and the power of a love that, for those who have passed away, can transcend even death.”
But psychopomps aren’t just intangible figures out of time. In The Tarot Book of the Dead: A Chthonic Journey of Death, Mediumship, and the Art of Guiding Souls (Weiser, Oct.), Jenna Matlin writes that readers can join their ranks, too, suggesting tarot can be used by people who work with the dying or who are grieving themselves.
“Matlin is a tarot reader who became a psychoanalyst,” says Judika Illes, an editor-at-large for Weiser Books. “The book is about her own journey and how people come to terms with their terror of death. Matlin writes that tarot, in the form we have it today, emerged in Europe after the terrible ravages of the Black Death.”
Running Press Studio—known for publishing decks keyed to music and movie celebrities and romantasy novel characters—is on board with the psychopomp trend, too. Coming in April is psychic MaryAnn DiMarco’s The Guide(s) Deck: 52 Cards for Mapping Out Life’s Journey with Spirit by Your Side. “There are spiritual beings who may have always been there for you, but who are more unfamiliar than angels and loved ones,” says Anna Shura, who edited the deck. “DiMarco gently introduces the concept of establishing a practice of self-reflection with the support of these guides through prompts on the cards.”
The deck and accompanying text, Shura adds, fits with “the ongoing importance of mindfulness and readers’ interests in finding ways to live intentionally.”
