While the common misconception is that Muslims always pray facing east, that's only true if you're west of Makkah. In the US, the direction is east-southeast. If you are in Japan you would face west-southwest, and if in South Africa, you would face north-northeast.
North, South, East and West. The Earth rotates around a north-south axis as you see on the right. Most maps show North at the top and South at the bottom. To the left is West and to the right is East.
According to Vastu Shastra, you should sleep with your head in the south or east direction, that means feet at bedtime should be in the north or west.
To understand where north, south, east, and west are, first point your left arm towards the sun in the morning. Now, take your right hand and point it towards the west. You are now facing south and your back is towards the north.
Step 1: Using an Analog Watch:
- In the Northern Hemisphere: Point the hour hand (the little one) at the sun. Imagine there is a line down the middle of the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o clock mark. The line down the middle of the angle is pointing South; so the opposite direction is North.The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the directions north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W. East and west are perpendicular (at right angles) to north and south, with east being in the clockwise direction of rotation from north and west being directly opposite
To find out the facing direction of your house, all you need to do is take the compass reading of the front door of your house. Note that by the "front door" in feng shui, we mean the actual front door that the house was built with, not the side door or the back door.
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the directions north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W. East and west are perpendicular (at right angles) to north and south, with east being in the clockwise direction of rotation from north and west being directly opposite
North, South, East and West. Most maps show North at the top and South at the bottom. To the left is West and to the right is East.
If 0 degrees is North and 90 degrees is East, then 45 degrees is Northeast. This applies for every adjacent pair of directions, so the midpoint between East (90) and South (180) is Southeast at 135 degrees. Read this as 5 degrees West-Southwest.
Cardinal points (in degrees)
North (N): 0° = 360° East (E): 90° South (S): 180° West (W): 270°On a spiritual level, Hindu tradition believes that when the soul dies it leaves the body for the north, so sleeping in that direction is impure. In this way the magnetic fields are neutralized and sleep is perfect, also promoting memory and concentration, as well as having general health benefits.
North, South, East and West. The Earth rotates around a north-south axis as you see on the right. Most maps show North at the top and South at the bottom. To the left is West and to the right is East.
For example, N (north) is 0 degrees, NbE (north by east) is 11.25 degrees, NNE (north-northeast) is 22.5 degrees, etc. As for how you're supposed to get the directions, 0 degrees is N, 90 degrees is E, 180 degrees is S, and 270 degrees is W. These are called cardinal directions.
The 50th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 50 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. The maximum altitude of the sun on the summer solstice is 63.44 degrees and on the winter solstice it is 16.56 degrees.
To find true North at night without a compass, locate the North Star if you live in the Northern hemisphere, which is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper constellation. To find true North during the day, place a stick straight up in the ground and mark where the stick's shadow lands with a rock.
What Vastu Shastra Says About North Facing House: Since North direction is considered to be a very auspicious direction in Vastu and so, the main door or entrance located in this direction will suit you best.
While a compass is a great tool for navigation, it doesn't always point exactly north. This is because the Earth's magnetic North Pole is not the same as "true north," or the Earth's geographic North Pole . As the Earth's magnetic field changes, the magnetic North Pole moves.
The recommended sleeping direction per vastu shastra is that you lie down with your head pointed southward. This is because the human head is considered to have a polar-like attraction, and it needs to face southward to attract opposite poles while you sleep.
To use a compass, hold the compass flat on your outspread hand in front of your chest. Next, turn the degree dial so that the orienting arrow lines up with the magnetic arrow inside the compass. Then, look at the travel arrow on the baseplate of the compass to tell you which direction you're facing.
Basic Compass Reading
Whichever end of the needle points towards the sun is South and the end that points at you is North. If you're 'down under' the North end points towards the sun and the South end points at you.A compass needle points north because the north pole of the magnet inside it is attracted to the south pole of Earth's built-in magnet. Since unlike poles attract, the thing your compass is being attracted to must be a magnetic south pole.
Others placed east on top because of the rising Sun (that's why we orient ourselves). And early American settlers sometimes used maps with west on top, because that was the direction they were often heading. If anyone deserves the blame for today's northward bias, it's Claudius Ptolemy.
Look out of a window at/around the time the moon is “rising," The moon rises in the west. If you can see it rising in front of you, then you are facing west. Behind you will be east. Your left is south; and your right is north.
