#giltine

[aspelladay]

Psychopomps

Psychopomp means “conductor of souls” in Greek. The term refers to a specific type of spirit, entrusted with a specific type of function. These are the spirit guides who lead the soul between the lands of the living and the dead. (In addition, they sponsor, protect, and guide shamans who journey back and forth between the realms.) You will recognize them in your dreams or waking visions by the attributes they carry; traditional emblems for this class of spirits include a key, a cutting instrument, and/or a torch. Culso, an Etruscan psychopomp, for instance, awaits the arrival of all souls. He carries scissors in one hand to sever ties with the realm of the living and a bright flaming torch to light the way toward new adventures. Psychopomps include:

Angels: Gabriel, Azrael, and the unnamed “Angel of Death” (Jewish)

Anubis, Hathor, Wepwawet (Egypt)

Baron Samedi, Baron La Croix, and Baron Cimitiere (Vodoun)

Culso (Etruscan)

Freya and the Valkyries (Norse)

Giltine (Lithuania)

Hecate, Hermes (Greece)

Jizo (Japan)

Mother Holle (German)

Animals serve as psychopomps, too. The most famous are dogs, jackals, and other canines. Many spirit psychopomps manifest in these forms. These include Anubis and Kali (jackals), Hecate (dog), and Wepwawet (wolf). Other animal psychopomps include butterflies, snakes, and birds, especially ravens, crows, hornbills, and frigates. It is considered extremely auspicious if any of these creatures make a spontaneous appearance at a funeral or similar post-death rites. This indicates that the escort service for the soul has arrived and is intended to comfort and reassure the living.

Psychopomps may be petitioned to ease the travails of the dying, by the dying person or their loved ones alike.

(from The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells by Judika Illes)

[elizabeth-halime]

"Giltiné is a snake goddess of death. She roams cemeteries at night, licking coffins and corpses, collecting the poison of the dead, which she will then use on the living whenever their destined time comes. Unlike so many Angels of Death who only appear after someone has died to serve as escorts to the next realm, Giltiné actually pulls the plug: she terminates life."

"Giltiné can be delayed (a popular folklore theme), but ultimately she cannot be stopped. She magically opens all doors or locks. She cannot be prevented from entering or from performing her killing function, if it’s genuinely someone’s time to go. Giltiné usually takes her place at the head of the sickbed."

[thecannibalroyal]

My Shitty Gifs Part 3/?

Julian Rhind-Tutt as Giltine - The Witcher (S1E03 2019)

One of my favourite small roles of his, I like to describe him as the Gok Wan of Aretuza! I love that it looks like they styled his hair with a curler 😌

Here's some additional gifs of Julian's hands...

[0o-kamenozoki-o0]

[facinaoris]

Death in human form.

[khakilike]

I’m glad I finally gave The Witcher a shot. Blew through it in a couple of days and really enjoyed trying to make sense of the timelines. It’s selling it short to describe it this way, but if you only care about boobs and gore, this is your Emmy winner. Maybe of all-time.

[vikobelo]

Lithuanian Mythology: Giltinė

Giltinė (The word Giltinė comes from Gilti, which means To Sting.)

As the sister of Laima, Giltinė was also linked to a person’s fate. She would wait for someone to reach their end… only then to appear with her stinging tongue filled with poison, coming to take their life.

Giltinė appears as an owl. Her screeching tells of death, of fires, and other horrific ends that may befall a person. She can also be a tall, thin woman, old beauty on her face - it is said that she used to be as beautiful as Laima, but her nature left her dry and withered.

DIEVAI is a visual concept inspired by ancient Lithuanian mythology. From the recognizable God of Thunder, Perkūnas, to the sweet, neglected Goddess of Bees Austėja, this series covers the interpretations of a chosen few. Their legends are not forgotten.

[ajcrwl]

the wizard that performs Yen’s transformation is played by Julian Rhind-Tutt

I don’t know everybody’s names, ok, and his face looked familiar, it was driving me nuts that I didn’t know the name.

dear effing lord, I spent hours digging for info on imdb (he’s not credited anywhere) and online until I realised I could just check the credits at the end of the episode. The character’s name is Giltine btw.