Advanced Stand-Alone Residential Retreat at Hollyhock in B.C., Canada
Guiding Souls to Cross Over:
The Art and Practice of Psychopomp
Overview
Have you ever witnessed a death and sensed the soul leaving the body? Or perceived the lingering presence of a loved one long after their passing? Have you ever felt drawn to supporting the dying but not known how to play a meaningful role to help people prepare for death and ease their passing?
Many people who have been at the bedside of the dying experience a “thinning of the veils.” During these “thin times,” people often sense the presence of benevolent spirit guides surrounding the person who is dying. These helping spirits are gathering to serve three essential functions: to signal to the person who is dying that death is near; to help them release their body; and to guide their soul to the other side. The helping spirits who specialize in supporting the dying in these ways are called “psychopomp allies.”
Helping Spirits As Well As People Can Be Psychopomps
Why are psychopomp allies so important?
A psychopomp ally is a conveyor or conductor of souls.
Classically, psychopomp allies were known to accompany the soul to the light once it had become decoupled from the body, which is why the word psychopomp can be translated to “guide of souls.”
Psychopomp allies are recognized cross-culturally in the forms of benevolent ancestors, animal spirits, gods and goddesses, angelic beings, deities, teachers and masters, etc. Our affiliations with specific psychopomp allies may be ancestral, may be related to other lineages that we belong to, and/or may have been cultivated during other lifetimes.
When someone is in the dying process, their psychopomp allies keep vigil in the unseen dimensions of reality alongside their loved ones and end-of-life care providers in the physical world. Their presence signals that death is near and helps the person who is dying turn their attention away from the human realm.
At the time of death, there is a natural decoupling process that occurs between the physical body and the soul. The physical body has reached the end of its life and is no longer animated by the soul; it has become a corpse. However, the soul carries onwards, guided by the person’s psychopomp allies to the other side, which is often referred to as “the light.” This is called the “crossing over” process.
Could I be a psychopomp?
Yes, because a living person can be a psychopomp, too. In fact, many people have an affinity for serving as a psychopomp, but may not have the language, framework, or skills needed to do so effectively and sustainably.
The hallmarks of a human psychopomp include:
- Being drawn to the bedside of those in the dying process or routinely being summoned to be at the bedside of the dying
- Working in a professional capacity providing end-of-life, hospice, or palliative care support
- Experiencing visitations from people who are nearing death or have recently died, whether you’re awake or asleep
- Perceiving the presence of psychopomp allies when someone is in the dying process
- Prescience regarding other people‘s imminent deaths
- A “sixth sense” when it comes to perceiving ghosts (or departed souls) in homes, hotels, hospitals, elder and hospice care facilities, places of historical and cultural significance (including places where death has occurred at scale, such as battlefields), etc., who may be wandering, lost, confused, and/or stuck in the human realm
- Being approached by departed souls who seem to be in need and/or are asking you for help, whether you’re awake or asleep
- An interest in cross-cultural and historical death rites and cosmologies pertaining to death and the afterlife
- A longing to explore the continuation of consciousness beyond the physical death of the body
- An affinity for specific helping spirits who are known psychopomp allies, such as carrion birds (vultures, condors, ravens, and crows); angels of death (such as the angel Azrael); harbingers of death, such as the Grim Reaper, etc.
- Being recognized by your community as having a gift for providing comfort to those in the dying process
- Memories or glimpses of serving as a psychopomp during other lifetimes (in other times and places)
How do psychopomp allies and human psychopomps collaborate together?
A human psychopomp serves the living, the dying, and the dead in partnership with the psychopomp allies.
Here are the ways in which contemporary human psychopomps share their gifts:
- By serving as a bridge between the person who is dying and their specific psychopomp allies
- For example, by identifying who the person’s psychopomp allies are so that they will recognize them during their dying process
- Also, by helping the person have a direct experience of their own psychopomp allies by way of a guided journey experience
- By ensuring that when death comes without warning, the soul of the person who has passed connects to their psychopomp allies and crosses over successfully
- By assisting departed souls who are lost, confused, stuck, and/or experiencing unresolved issues gently turn away from the human realm and cross over with the support of their psychopomp allies
- By restoring historical alliances that existed between our ancestors and their familial psychopomp allies for the benefit of our current family members as well as our descendants
- By educating people about the fact that whenever and however death occurs, everyone’s psychopomp allies will come at the time of their death to help their soul cross over
Location, Dates + Details
Hosted by Julie Kramer at Hollyhock Retreat Centre on Cortes Island, B.C., Canada
Guiding Souls to Cross Over:
The Art and Practice of Psychopomp
Monday, August 31st,
Tuesday, September 1st,
Wednesday, September 2nd,
Thursday, September 4th,
Friday, September 5th, 2026
Package pricing (per person): Starting at CAD $1,587.50
Register before June 1st to receive 10% off accommodation rates.
Your package includes the program tuition, your meals, and unlimited use of the property’s facilities.
Hollyhock offers a range of accommodation options for this residential retreat, including the option to stay offsite and commute.
If you’re in need of tuition assistance, you’re invited to apply to the Hollyhock Scholarship Program.
The Retreat
Who is this retreat for?
- Anyone who feels called to support those in the dying process
- End-of-life, palliative, and hospice care providers such as doctors, nurses, social workers, bereavement counselors, volunteers, etc., as well as allied health professionals who would like to explore the spiritual dimension of death
- Other professionals whose scope of practice includes supporting the elderly or those with a terminal diagnosis
- Those with a loved one who is in the dying process
- Anyone who feels inspired to become more well prepared for their own passing
Why does this retreat matter?
Many people who are facing death report feeling terribly alone and afraid, even though they are surrounded by benevolent psychopomp allies in the subtle or invisible dimensions of reality. However, the person who is dying may not be aware of the spiritual support surrounding them, nor how to avail themselves of that support.
This is the sacred role that a person serving as a psychopomp plays. A psychopomp can use the practice of journeying to establish direct contact with the psychopomp allies surrounding the person who is dying. They can identify and describe the psychopomp allies in detail, helping the dying person to experience being enveloped by the love, tenderness, and compassion of their psychopomp allies. They can also relay the psychopomp allies’ messages of reassurance and comfort to the person who is dying.
For the person facing their death, the recognition that their psychopomp allies are present helps them understand that they are dying and assures them that they will be guided to the light. This enables them to align with what is unfolding – rather than being in denial or in conflict with it – and increases their sense of safety and comfort so they can die with greater ease.
If everyone knew that their psychopomp allies would be present at their time of death – no matter how they die, who they are, and what they’ve done or not done – we would experience a tremendous sense of peacefulness, reassurance, and confidence regarding the dying process. This is the aim of the psychopomp; to facilitate radiant passages for all.
How we'll practice
The practice of shamanic journeying
Shamanic journeying is a practice for partnering with benevolent helping spirits by way of natural trance states. We will use drumming, rattling, singing, dancing, and whistling to enter into natural trance states for the purpose of undertaking a series of shamanic journeys throughout the retreat.
Our journeys will enable us to establish or rekindle relationships with our own psychopomp allies so that we can tend to the souls of the dying and dead in collaboration with them.
We will also learn how to identify the psychopomp allies of others so that we can help facilitate a strong connection between people in the dying process and their psychopomp allies, regardless of their spiritual and/or religious orientation, ethnicity, etc. Everyone has psychopomp allies and anyone can use the practice of shamanic journeying to discover who they are.
Lastly, our journeys will enable us to explore the soul’s trajectory at the time of death in a safe and contained way, while also considering ways that we can prepare to have a good death and help others do the same.
Prerequisite:
The prerequisite for this retreat is for you to learn the practice of shamanic journeying.
You may fulfill the prerequisite in one of two ways:
- Everyone attending the retreat will receive a complimentary self-guided introductory shamanic journeying course to complete before the retreat begins on August 31st.
- Alternatively, you may attend Julie’s three-day introductory workshop “Partnering with Compassionate Spirits: Activating Your Medicine Council” in person if the locations and timing suit your schedule.
Please note that if you are a past participant in Julie’s three-day introductory workshop, “Partnering with Compassionate Spirits: Activating Your Medicine Council,” then you have already fulfilled the prerequisite.
