History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

The Moon in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| April 2, 2026

The Moon tarot card represents the subconscious, illusions, intuition, and emotions. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, titled “Counting Mermaids at Twilight” (one of the few not titled by its first line), touches on the illusory nature of this card and the perception […]

The Star in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| March 19, 2026

The Star tarot card represents hope, healing, and renewal. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, titled “The stars fall like rain” after the first line, is a necessarily brief reflection that touches on the hope aspect of the Star, while also having literal […]

The Tower in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| February 10, 2026

The Tower tarot card is often viewed negatively, due to its association with disasters, destruction, and trauma. However, it also has associations with sudden change, which can be negative or positive. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a piece of microfiction. The haiku, called “Fire burning inside” […]

The Devil in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| January 13, 2026

The Devil tarot card represents being trapped and negative attachments. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a microfiction piece. The haiku, “a strong appeal of” (after its first line), eschews the hoarding of wealth, a theme echoed in the microfiction piece, “Chrysopoeia.” The latter piece features a […]

Temperance in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| December 11, 2025

The Temperance tarot card represents patience, balance, moderation, and harmony. However, it also has an association with art and blending opposites. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, named after the first line, “art that walks careful,” touches on the dangers of hewing to […]

Death in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| October 21, 2025

The Death tarot card represents transitions, new beginnings, and change. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a flash fiction piece. The haiku, “Scorching summer heat” (titled after the first line), is a fantastical twist on changing seasons. The flash fiction piece, “The Arroyo Fiasco,” follows a geyser […]

The Hanged Man in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| September 18, 2025

The Hanged Man tarot card represents sacrifice, waiting, uncertainty, perspective, and contemplation. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a microfiction piece. The haiku, titled “Longing for your lips” after the first line, is a piece that reflects the “waiting” aspect of this card. The microfiction piece, “No […]

Justice in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| August 19, 2025

The Justice tarot card represents balance, fairness, and truth, with an additional meaning of “maybe” in answer to yes or no questions.  In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by two poems. The first poem, “Reading Wax,” looks at this “maybe” answer in presenting another sort of fortune telling in the form of […]

Wheel of Fortune in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| July 17, 2025

The Wheel of Fortune tarot card represents changes in fortune, the cycle of life, and destiny. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, titled “spiraling pattern” after its first line, is a brief reflection on fractal patterns appearing across natural things. This haiku is […]

My Recent Post-Apocalyptic Stories

| July 15, 2025

I’ve had a few new post-apocalyptic stories out since my last post on the topic! “Child’s Play,” published in Bullet Points in October 2024, involves interplanetary travel to a world in which survivors have taken up residence in a reinforced junkyard and an injured person on the run encounters some of the young residents of that […]