Freydís Sirena

I’ve answered to a few names in my 49 years. Two surnames due to marriage, but only one other time did I give myself a new name. My freshman year of college in Bloomington, Indiana I decided to go by Krystal. I love crystals and my boyfriend at the time called me his “Crystal Princess.” Being away from home for the first time was a perfect way to try out a new name. I am a Moon Witch—and Green Witch and Kitchen Witch—because why bother limiting myself? I came out of the broom closet in late 2021 following a year-long battle with breast cancer and felt it was time for a new name once again.

I took my time finding a name for myself. I didn’t want to go back to Krystal. It was fine in Indiana in 1991, but at this point it just brings up connotations of exotic dancers—not that there's anything wrong with that. I started making a list of things that I love in an assignment in Personal Branding, the final class of my Master’s degree, and I wondered if a combination would lend themselves to a name. I also explored parts of my Swedish and Scottish heritage. I had posted photos from my shoot in the snow (see blog post here) to an international witch group, the one thing commenters called me more than anything else was a “warrior.” When I learned that one of the only known female Viking warriors was Swedish, I knew I’d found my given name, Freydís.

My new surname I heard for the first time in a phone call with my classmate in that same Personal Branding class. We were talking about my new company that I was establishing, A Mermaid Moon, and I showed her the logo I’d designed. She said it reminded her of the La Sirena card from Lotería, a game she used to play. My husband calls me a mermaid for my love of the ocean, my years of SCUBA diving experience, and how much time I spend in our hot tub. And so Freydis Sirena was born on the eve of Imbolc, February 2, 2022.

Before Covid-19 struck I was a pretty good karaoke singer, and taught myself to play guitar and write my own songs that I performed in local venues (see my YouTube channel here). Since Covid-19 struck, I learned to paint, I've taken up making candles, soap, and essential oil blends, as well as writing novels and a book about my travels. Both books are available here at Barnes and Noble.

I’ll be graduating with a Master's degree in Communications in May 2022. I worked as a graphic and web designer for 20 years, a SCUBA instructor and underwater photographer for 15 years, a jewelry designer for 31 years, and have been the Financial Administrator for a cannabis testing lab for the last two and a half years. It was meant to be temporary while I worked on my degree, but it gives me the freedom to learn and travel and spend time with my husband and old lady pugs so I may stay on indefinitely.