“Llamar o tocar a la puerta means literally to play upon the instrument of the name in order to open a door. It means using words that summon up the opening of a passageway.”

— Clarissa Pinkola Estes in Women Who Run with the Wolves (p. 6, Rider Books 1992).

Niki Shi is a stage/pen name that I use for certain activities. It plays on the instrument of my birth name like this:

Niki:

• a nickname for my birth name, and the one I use in daily life

• an adapted rendering of the Ancient Greek Nike, a goddess of victory including in art and athletics, sometimes seen as an aspect of Athena. Nike is close to the Ancient Greek root of Nicole

Shi:

• a shortening of my legal surname from Dutch, designating a maker/painter of shields/signs/crests

• an adapted spelling of the English pronoun she

• a phonetic rendering of the Irish sidhe or Gaelic Scottish sìth (both pronounced ‘shee’) - earthworked mounds or hills in Irish and Scottish folklore, associated with the fae/faerie/otherworld.