A Note From Crisann about Wayfinder 

Wayfinder began, as many good stories do, with absolutely none of this going according to plan.

In 2020, shortly after my 50th birthday, I was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. And because apparently regular cancer wasn’t dramatic enough, mine had spread to my bones, leaving me with a badly damaged spine, broken ribs, and a very sudden understanding that life is both wildly precious and occasionally a complete asshole.

So I did what you do. I started treatment. I leaned hard on the extraordinary people who showed up for me. And I got very serious about staying alive.

But something else happened along the way.

Cancer rearranged me.

It stripped away a lot of things that no longer mattered and brought the things that did into startling focus. Beauty mattered. Creativity mattered. Ritual mattered. The people I loved mattered. Making something meaningful with whatever time I had mattered very much.

And, strangely enough, I became happier.

Not because cancer was some wonderful gift. I would have happily returned that particular package unopened.

But it woke me up.

Finding the Wayfinder

Around that time, I discovered the Vegvísir, an Icelandic magical stave traditionally associated with finding one’s way through difficult weather.

The idea stopped me in my tracks.

Finding your way without knowing the route?

Well. That sounded familiar.

I tattooed it on my inner arm as a reminder that I didn’t need to see the entire road ahead. I just needed enough light for the next part.

Eventually, that idea would give Wayfinder its name.

Then My Doctors Told Me to Make Art

Seriously.

During treatment, my doctors encouraged me to find creative things to do with my hands.

I took this assignment perhaps a little too seriously.

I painted. I made wreaths. I designed things. I created wildly elaborate Halloween decorations. I experimented with anything that allowed me to disappear into the delicious state of making something.

And then I made a candle.

Uh-oh.

I became completely obsessed.

I studied waxes, fragrance, wicks, vessels, scent composition, and the strange little alchemy that turns a jar of wax into something capable of changing the entire feeling of a room.

Eventually, those experiments became Wayfinder.

But Wayfinder was never meant to be simply a candle company.

It became a place for all the things I believe help us find our way: beautiful objects, meaningful rituals, intuition, symbolism, creativity, storytelling, and those small moments that bring us back to ourselves.

The Home Torch

Along the way, I created a symbol for Wayfinder.

I designed it intuitively, combining two runes from the Elder Futhark because I loved the way they came together. Only afterward did I really understand what I had made.

Kenaz carries the symbolism of the torch, illumination, knowledge, and creative fire.

Ingwaz carries associations with home, belonging, potential, and new beginnings.

Together, they became something that felt almost impossibly appropriate.

The Home Torch.

An original Wayfinder bindrune representing the light we carry within us and the idea that, even when we cannot see the whole road ahead, we can still illuminate the next step.

It now sits at the heart of Wayfinder.

Old Ways, New Light.

Wayfinder draws inspiration from old traditions, symbolism, ritual, nature, and the accumulated wisdom human beings have used for centuries to make meaning of this strange experience of being alive.

But I’m not interested in living in the past.

I’m interested in what those old ways can teach us now.

That’s why every Wayfinder creation, whether it’s a candle, an oracle deck, a ritual, a reading, or something I haven’t dreamed up yet, begins with the same intention:

To create something beautiful and meaningful that helps you pause, reconnect, trust yourself, and remember what matters.

Our homes can hold ritual.

Beautiful things can have meaning.

A candle can mark a beginning, an ending, a prayer, a celebration, a Tuesday night bath, or simply the moment you decide you’ve had quite enough of everybody for one day.

It doesn’t have to be complicated to be sacred.

That’s Wayfinder.

Old Ways, New Light.

And wherever you are on the road…

You will find your way.

With love,

Crisann
Founder, Wayfinder