History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

The Emperor in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| December 10, 2024

The Emperor tarot card represents authority, power, and stability, all with a bit of a patriarchal vibe (traditionally). In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. For both of my Emperor pieces, I decided to diverge from the traditional patriarchal vibe. The haiku, “Greetings from the Sisterhood,” envisions […]

Tarot Deck Recommendation: The Fyodor Pavlov Tarot

| November 27, 2024

My friend Darren just sent me a tarot deck he really loves, and I now also love it. It’s the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot, which approaches the cards with a queer and gender fluid outlook. The end result is stunning artwork (definitely not safe for work) that offers a fresh approach to card interpretations and meanings, […]

The Empress in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| November 14, 2024

The Empress tarot card represents expression, creativity, and nurturing, as well as motherhood and/or fertility. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The poem, “A Spell for Docile Dryads,” looks at a balance between nurturing nature and nurturing the humans who depend upon nature for their livelihood. […]

The High Priestess in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| October 22, 2024

The High Priestess tarot card represents mystery, intuition, and spiritual knowledge. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The poem, “Snakes in Sheep’s Clothing,” is a cautionary poem about those who might deceive listeners, using a variation on “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” It comes from the perspective […]

The Magician in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| September 5, 2024

The Magician tarot card deals with potential and pure willpower, and I combined those meanings for a focus on creation in the two poems representing that card in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages. The first poem, simply titled “Creation,” explores the magic inherent in creating new things, regardless of the format. The second poem, […]

The Fool in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| July 30, 2024

The Fool tarot card deals with new beginnings and innocence, and the two pieces I chose to represent that card in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages follow that meaning. The opening piece, “Beneath an Unknown Sky,” is a poem about the emergence of sentient life in a new environment. The accompanying flash fiction piece, “Patience,” […]

A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages Out Today!

| May 14, 2024

My latest fantasy collection, containing stories and poetry and themed around the Major Arcana of the tarot, is out today! A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages has 44 pieces included, two for each card of the Major Arcana. Some were written specifically for this collection, while others were published or unpublished pieces I had that fit […]

Coming in May: A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| April 16, 2024

I’ve got a new collection, A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, coming out in May of this year! It collects fantasy  stories and poems along a theme of the major arcana of the tarot. The tarot provides wisdom to seekers of esoteric knowledge. In this collection of fantasy stories and poetry, the cards of the major […]

Kickstarter Recommendation: Rook and Rose Pattern Deck

| August 30, 2023

I love gorgeous decks of cards for writing and also of a tarot-like nature, so of course I’m backing the Rook and Rose Pattern Deck! Based on the Rook & Rose epic fantasy series by M.A. Carrick, this deck can be used for divination, to play games, or even as a writing inspiration deck. The […]

Writing Tools: Decuma

| December 6, 2021

I’ve accumulated a large collection of card-based writing tools, each of which is useful to different parts of my writing process. So I’ve decided to do a series of posts about the various decks I own and how I use them in my writing. Decuma is a slightly different sort of card-based writing tool, primarily […]