[Tidbits] The Psychopomp

The Psychopomp

Psychopomp? Psychopomp? What “is” he talking about? What the devil is
a Psychopomp? How many of you…I wonder…are now scampering about
madly…searching for that pocket dictionary you always kept handy for
those extremely rare times when you might need it…and now you can’t
find it. The fact that it’s missing is without question your mate’s
fault…for as any reasonable person can see…you are the organized
one. Of course…I run the risk that all of you know and knew what a
Psychopomp is and was…and I am the ignorant one here because I had
no idea what it meant until today…which goes to show–if nothing
else–that jewelry has more to offer in the vocabulary department
than most of us would have ever suspected.

A Psychopomp…for the very very few of you–if any–who don’t
know…is a person or creature that conducts spirits or souls to the
other world. In the case of this article…our Psychopomp is a
creature of the animal kingdom…a creature whose identity I think
I’ll save to the last. For those of you who are now about to scroll
down to the bottom of this page in order to see what the creature
is…may I say…Don’t do it. Enjoy the trip. It’ll end soon enough.

So let me tell you a bit about our little fellow…for a fellow is
what he is. Somewhere in England…circa 1900…a gentleman by the
name of C.R. Ashbee…who created court jewelry in his time…also
created a pendant of our Psychopomp. Oh…what a choice he made. For
here is the rest of the story…to paraphrase that greatest of great
radio storytellers.

Our Psychopomp is responsible for the stars in the sky. Its restless
spiral dance before a rainfall associates it with storm. It is linked
to immortality and resurrection. It was a companion to the goddess
Juno. It was associated with Hera. In Indian myth it is sometimes the
the mount of Brahma. It is also the emblem of Sarasvati…Indian
goddess of wisdom and music and poetry.

Is it a wonder then that a pendant was made of this magnificent
creature? Oh…our Peacock is indeed a most wondrous bird who is said
to have once shown Satan the way to Paradise. Does it bother us that
pagan belief had it that the Peacock was once Juno’s Psychopomp?
Doesn’t bother me. I have a picture of our bird. It is in the form of
a pendant and made of silver and what looks to be opals. It is a
result of the Art Nouveau movement in Britain at the time.

For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Psychopomp…where you will see a rendering of
our silver Peacock.

And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all next
week. Benjamin Mark

TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com