RAW, MAYBE LOGIC [2003]

'Chapel Perilous a stage in the magical quest in which your maps turn out to be totally inadequate for the territory, and you’re completely lost.  And at that point, you get an ally who helps you find your way back to something you can understand. And then after that, for the rest of your life, you’ve got this question: “Was that ally a supernatural helper, or was it just part of my own mind trying to save me from going totally bonkers with this stuff?” And the people I know who’ve had that kind of experience, very few of them have ever come to an absolutely certain conclusion about that.

The Pookah plays the same role as the Holy Guardian Angel in cabalistic magic, or the extraterrestrial in the Whitley Strieber type of experience, or the ghosts of dead relatives speaking through seance in 19th century spiritualism, or Ramtha speaking through J. Z. Knight.  These are all different metaphors for basically the same experience...'

Hymn to Hermes

 Hermes, draw near, and to my prayer incline, Angel of Jove, Maia's son divine;

Student of contest, ruler of mankind, With a heart almighty, and a prudent mind.

Celestial messenger, of multiple skills, Whose powerful arts can watchful Argus kill:

With winged feet, you course the air, 

Friend of man, whom holds discourse dear:

Great life-supporter, to rejoice is thine, 
In arts gymnastic, and in fraud divine:

With all known language to explain, 
Of care for the looser, and the true source of gain.

Hand holding the rod of peace and has no blame, 
 blessed and most profitable of divine beings;

Of various speech, and works of the mind, 
Giver of necessities, to mortals be kind:

Weaponizer of tongues which men revere, 

Be present, Hermes, please hear;

Assist in our works, end our lives in peace, then give us one more graceful speech,  let the memories increase.