Ghede acts as a sort of spiritual conductor. When entering the spirit world, both Ghede (or one or more of the Guédé) and Papa Legba meet the astral traveler at a sort-of crossroads. The visitor asks Papa Legba for permission to speak with a loa, and Ghede to speak with the dead in the underworld. Ghede also guards the crossroads, directing dead souls to the underworld -- this makes him a psychopomp.
Ghede is portrayed as an undertaker dressed in black with black sunglasses. His feminine aspect is called Maman Brigitte.