Khaire Hekate Psychopomp!

I know I have waited to write this one. "Waited" in the sense of delaying, rather than eagerly looking forward to. There are multiple reasons for that. Maybe writing about those reasons is the best way to talk about how I see You in this role, Dark Mother.

One is that thinking about You as a guide for the dead brings to mind my Beloved Dead. Were You there to guide them? Did they feel comforted?

That leads me to the next question, as the two weave together. When I ask whether You were there to guide them, some of that is me wondering whether or not their deaths fit into what You do in this role. I don't believe I have a deep understanding of this. Often, we (humans) speak of Hermes as a psychopomp. That the role of being a messenger who can move freely through the realms also allows for guiding the Mighty and Beloved Dead. Then, I wonder, what of Charon? Is Charon a psychopomp?

All of this leads me to wondering how it all works. Do different psychopomps guide the dead who died in different ways? Is it a matter of which psychopomp is available at the time? Does asking that respect that Shining Immortal Ones have Your own lives and aren't just watching for when to interact with us, or does it try to limit You to what humans experience? 

Those are questions that do truly go through my mind, but I linger with them to avoid thinking too much about one particular thing... The time You guided me back. I don't know this for certain, Mother, but I believe You did not open the Gates for me twice but only guided me back Yourself one of those times. I still don't understand a lot of things about that night. I'm learning to accept that I may never understand at least some of those things.

You are the Gate. You are there with us at birth. You are there in the Underworld (Otherworld. Afterlife. Eternity.) It makes sense that You are there with us at death. I don't understand how it works. I am thankful that You are there.

Khaire Hekate Psychopomp!