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Who is Ellie? That is a question I will need to get used to answering, considering my name is Sydney--not Ellie. Ellie was my Grandmother on the female line, we used to call her MorMor--which is the Norwegian term for grandmother. Sadly, she was not the grandmother I was closest to, despite my hearts strong connection to wanting to understand my nordic side. Growing up in Canada definetly has its privillages, but what it lacks is the deepness in culture. It was for this reason that I picked up my life and moved to Scotland when I was in my early 20's, I wanted to feel apart of something deeper. After 7 years I really felt apart of the Scottish culture, especially when I was married into a very Scottish family. So when I moved back to Canada in 2020, I felt incredibly disconnected to this western style of culture. My mothers side of the family are all deeply rooted in Norway, my mother having grown up as a child there herself. Over the past couple years, and largely due to family personal reasons, I have really tried to explore my abandoned Scandi background. My favourite part of going to my MorMor's cabin as a child was hanging out with her multitude of trolls that she has scattered around her home. So much so, that when she passed they were passed on to me to protect and for them to protect me. I named the biggest one Ellie, as an ode to my grandmother. It is through this cultural exploration that I hope I can link the chains of my family history, and work through healing residual curses that may not be mine. 

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So again I ask the question, why name my business Ellie? I was originally going to name it Crone's Herbal Healing, as I have always been fascinated with the Crone archetype, feeling they have been misunderstood in modern folklore and carry the wisdom that as young woman we should all adhere to. While searching what the historic Crone of Norway was.... low and behold she was named "Ellie". I am still unsure where this Herbal Shack will take me, but I know that somehow it will connect me back to my roots stemmed in Bergen, Norway. 

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A word of advice, get to know your elders within the family before it is too late. In a culture that is so obsessed with the "new", we must not forget the "old". It's through stories and tales where the heart of healing can begin. 

-Sydney