One of the basic principles of the Taoist practice of space exploration, known as “Feng Shui,” is the correct location of your home, as well as the interior inside it, relative to parts of the world. Where is your bed and other pieces of furniture, how is a person positioned while sleeping, where are the flowers, which way do the doors open, and so on. All this, according to Feng Shui, is important for our lives, contributing or hindering our happiness and prosperity. But how can you determine where your apartment is north and where it is south if you don’t have a standard compass at hand? In this article I will tell you how to determine the cardinal directions in an apartment, what tools will help us with this, and also how to work with a compass online.
Using the compass online
To determine the location of your apartment relative to the cardinal directions, and also to understand where the windows of your room face, you can use the online map from Google below.
This map with cardinal directions works correctly with the Google Chrome browser and other browsers based on the Chromium core, but when working with Firerox the resource has problems.
The operating principle of this service is as follows. There is a large compass on the screen, you just need to find your city on the map, and then your house, and in accordance with the compass image (N - north, S - south, W - west, E - east) see which side of the world you are facing the windows of your home are directed. Then, in relation to this, you can understand how correctly you are sleeping.
Feng Shui believes that if your head is positioned on:
- North - this helps the development of intuition;
- Northeast - will help in scientific activities;
- East – guarantees a restful sleep;
- Southeast - will help in developing determination;
- South - will give fame and reputation;
- South-West - will give help in Love;
- West - bestows fertility;
- North-west - will ensure true friendship.
Online service “compass on the map” Open Street Map Compass
OSMCompass (Open Street Map Compass) is one of the best online compass resources. It has a convenient, intuitive interface and rich functionality. The service allows you to automatically determine the difference between real and magnetic north, as well as save user-created routes.
The OSMCompass website is in English, but it is not difficult to understand if you follow our instructions.
How to enable OSMCompass if it is not displayed
To get started, follow these steps:
- Open the service website.
- Choose one of the available route building options: a simple “Draw Single Leg Route” or a complex “Draw Multi-Legged”.
- At the next information message, click OK.
- Enter the name of your city and select the correct one from the options provided.
- Click on the green "SHOW COMPASS" button located in the upper left corner. After which a compass icon will appear on the map.
How to use the online compass
After the widget appears, we see that it consists of two red arrows, one of which is always directed to the north, and the second can be moved independently using the white circular arrow.
Using the online compass is easy:
- Expand the widget so that the second arrow points to your destination. In this case, the center of the compass should correspond to your location.
- The length of the arrow can be adjusted using the round green button. To do this, press and hold it, moving it in the desired direction. The azimuth will be indicated in the upper right corner.
- Click on the red “Drow Route” button to navigate to the specified point and confirm the action with the “OK” button.
- If necessary, save the constructed route by going to the “Compass Menu” tab and select “SaveRoute”. In the window that appears, enter your email address so that the data will be sent there.
- You can hide the compass using the green “HIDE COMPASS” button.
The service allows you to delete a constructed path, view previously saved routes, and print them on a printer.
Google Maps - will help you determine the cardinal directions in your apartment
To determine the direction of the world, users use various applications, programs and services. But you can do it even easier - determine it using Google maps.
The search with this service is simplified by the fact that at any time, if you have an Internet connection, you can open a map and find out the direction you need. Maps can always be found at the same address: https://www.google.ru/maps/. A map will appear on the main screen with the screen focused on your host country.
It is enough to know one feature - Google maps always open in such a way that the north is exactly at the top, the south is at the bottom, the west is on the left, and the east is on the right. You don't just need to rotate the map while holding down the CTRL key on this online compass (or with several fingers on the touch screen). Otherwise, you will change its location and the cardinal directions will change direction on the screen. To search for your locality or place of residence, it is better to use the search bar. You need to write in it, for example, Voronezh. And then a more precise address, street, avenue, district, and so on.
When you enter a locality, hints appear in the line. From them you can choose what you need. After enlarging the map to a more detailed overview of the settlement, the parties will maintain their direction.
And you can find your house, street or building where you are on the map. Navigate by nearby streets and other objects on the map. This way you can easily determine your location or an object you want to visit in the near future. Notice the direction of the streets. They will help you navigate.
Use your wristwatch to determine cardinal directions
Telling time using analog watches (wrist watches with hands) is becoming less and less relevant, but if you need a compass and wear a watch with hands, consider yourself lucky. In fact, even if you have a fancy digital watch on your wrist, all you need to do is visualize the hands on the dial, and if you have a smart watch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch or Apple Watch, then you won’t even need to use your imagination – just change the virtual dial to a pointer one.
Take off your watch and align the hour hand with the Sun (point it towards the sun). Imagine a line that divides the space between the number "1" (hour) and the hour hand (it still points towards the sun). This line will point south. For example, if the clock shows 16:00, then the line halfway between 13:00 will indicate 14:30.*
The line dividing this angle indicates the approximate direction in which the Sun is at noon, that is, the direction south.
Before noon, we divide the sector of the dial that the hour hand must pass before the “hour”; after noon, the sector that it passes after the “hour”:
A simple but visual drawing was taken from the site pikabu.ru
*Important! Since winter time has been in effect throughout Russia since October 26, 2014, the sector must be counted from “1”.
Briefly and succinctly on the topic:
Mobile application Best Compass for Android
Another simple option is the Best Compass mobile phone application, which will help you accurately determine the cardinal directions in your apartment online. There are many advantages to this method. Firstly, you don't have to carry around a device that takes up a lot of space in your backpack, bag or pocket. Secondly, your mobile phone is always at hand. Most people don’t part with it even when going to the bathroom, not to mention long hikes. But there is also a disadvantage of this method to determine the direction of the world in an apartment or on the street - GPS technology must work in the phone.
It is based on receiving data over the network and processing it to output the result. In other words, without mobile Internet or Wi-Fi access, the application is practically useless. Don't be so quick to be disappointed.
After all, it contains a lot of useful text information on how to find the cardinal direction without navigating in the application. In the menu you can select “Guide”, which outlines ways to find any direction in the world in different situations. For now, these notes are useless to you, but in emergency situations, people always turn to them.
The compass app can not only show four directions: south, east, west, north. It also indicates angles and azimuths in more detail. You can also create your own compass based on the places you enter into it. Built-in air quality indicator. Thanks to it, you can determine air pollution where you live. Lots of useful information if you give the program access to the user's location. You can find out the time of sunrise and sunset. Built-in flashlight and useful guide.
Features of using a compass
Many people, when going on a hike, a walk in the forest, or on a trip, make a big mistake by not taking a compass with them. Even without additional devices, it can help you get out of any dense thicket.
The human body is not symmetrical. Because of this, people often walk in circles in the forest without landmarks. This is due to the fact that each person's steps have different lengths. And over time, moving through the forest, people gradually turn in one direction.
But if you have a compass, this can be avoided. You need to open it and place it on your palm.
Remember the azimuth at which you enter the forest. Then, when leaving it, use the opposite course to reach the same point from which you came.
A compass with any device - mechanical or electronic - must be placed on the palm of your hand, parallel to the ground. You can write down the azimuth in your smartphone’s notepad or on a piece of paper so you don’t forget.
Digital Compass application - quickly shows the cardinal directions
This application, which will help you determine the cardinal directions in the house or in an open area, is completely free. But it contains a lot of useful information for those who want to determine the direction of the world at home or in the country. The Digital Compass app has several modes. The program will show the correct cardinal directions using GPS technology or based on online maps, which it uses by default. This means the user does not need to provide any data on the card or use additional applications. You can see landscapes and mountains if you enter the appropriate geographic data directly into the program.
The app works according to the earth's magnetic field. And it is able to determine north based on it with great accuracy. The user can switch between the electronic compass itself and the online map.
Which displays the realistic relief of the earth's surface. If necessary, you can find out the distance between geographical objects or user-specified points on an online map. There is a built-in night mode with a change of color scheme, where light landmarks are displayed on a dark background.
The user can view the weather for several days in advance from the Digital Compass program without visiting third-party resources. When determining cardinal directions or using a map, you can create a photo and share it in other applications. The compass will work on all devices with Android 4.4 and higher. And also it does not take up much memory in the mobile device. Can be used offline, but with limited functionality.
Methods for determining cardinal directions
In fact, there are many options for studying the cardinal directions. We will now tell you about the most effective, proven, understandable methods. Nature itself gives us hints and directs us where we should go; we just have to listen and see its signs. Let's look at the most popular methods for determining the cardinal directions.
On the moss
Remember that mosses and lichens do not like heat and sun, so they grow mainly in the shade. From this we can conclude that where mosses and lichens grow is north. Look carefully on which side there is an abundant amount of moss, where it is very thick. Now it’s quite easy to determine the cardinal directions: south is behind, and east and west are on the left and right sides.
The main thing is to choose a suitable tree and not make a mistake in the cardinal directions. And you can also touch the moss, where it is thicker, in the south.
According to the sun
As we already know, the sun rises in the East, therefore, focusing on this phenomenon, we can safely determine the other cardinal directions. You can also use a wristwatch. Place them in the direction of the sun. Then the shadow of the hour hand and the number twelve, or rather this angle, will show the direction, divide it in half. This will be the South side.
If you are not in your area after the sun rises, then do not worry, the sun sets in the West. Based on this, you can safely get out of this or that locality, district, district, city, country. Read more about how to navigate by celestial bodies on our website.
By the anthill
Anthill orientation
Another natural compass that nature created is the anthill. If you are in the forest, lost, and don’t know how to get out, quickly look for a wild anthill, it will help you escape and get out of this situation. So, to determine the cardinal directions from an anthill, you need to look at where its most convex side is, which part they tend to.
After all, as you know, these insects are heat-loving, so their most prominent cluster will be in the south. The more humpbacked bulge will be located in the South, these signs are very easy to navigate, you just need to look closely. You can read more about how to navigate an anthill in our article.
By the moon
We know for sure that the full moon is on the southern side of the world. How much it is illuminated depends on the sun. If we have a full moon, then it is behind our back, but if it is placed in the first part, then not. So, in order to determine the cardinal directions by the moon, it is necessary to decompose the radius of the Moon into six equal parts, and understand how many such parts we see (illuminated).
Then you need to subtract or add the number of shares, depending on the waning and waxing of the Moon. The number we got needs to be marked on the dial and combined with the Moon. Now the most important thing is that the angle between number one (winter) and number two (summer) will be directed towards the south.
By the moon
By the stumps
Many people know very well what growth rings are on tree stumps. They will help determine the cardinal directions. Consider a tree stump. The growth rings located on the stumps are wider apart where the south is, and closer to each other where the north is. And also from these rings you can determine how old this tree was. Look carefully, compare the different distances between them. You can compare two stumps to more accurately determine the cardinal directions that are needed.
So, if you are lost, find yourself in a difficult situation from which you cannot get out without a compass, do not despair, nature has created many compasses, thanks to which you will accurately determine your path, direction and without difficulty find yourself in the place where you need to be.
Methods of orientation are taught in school on the subject of life safety, but not everyone listens and studies this science, but in extreme situations, you can resort to these situations, lean on, rely on, be confident!
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Author of the publication
offline 3 years
Nika
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I am interested in hiking and traveling, photography and videography. I have been going hiking since childhood. The whole family went and went - sometimes to the sea, then to the river, to the lake, to the forest. There was a time when we spent a whole month in the forest. We lived in tents and cooked over fires. This is probably why I am still drawn to the forest and, in general, to nature. I travel regularly. About three trips a year for 10-15 days and many 2 and 3 day hikes.
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Nika Orientation
Watch the sunrise and sunset
As you know, our star rises in the east and sets in the west. Therefore, if you stand in such a way that your right hand points to the place where the sun rises (to the east), and your left hand points to the place where the sun sets (to the west), then north will be in front of you, and south behind you. And no online compass is needed to determine the direction of the world in an apartment.
Watch where the sun rises and where it sets
Compass Steel 3D
This is a Russian-language application, packed with a lot of additional functions. It offers the user many design options for the compass working field. For proper operation, you must grant the program access rights to your location.
Design options
To download “Steel 3D”, go to Google Play. After installation, you will not only find north and east online, but also be able to calculate the position of the Sun and Moon. To make it more convenient to work with this program, disable screen rotation.
The application is completely free. There are no ads or in-app purchases.
Use a regular needle to determine the part of the world in the apartment
This method involves using a regular magnetized needle instead of an online compass. To do this, you will need NOT a metal bowl with water (or oil), or some kind of floating material (for example, a piece of wood, polystyrene foam, a piece of bark, etc.). And also a pre-magnetized ordinary small needle (instead of a standard magnet, you can use ordinary scissors with which you can magnetize the needle). Place a buoyant material (for example, a leaf) on the liquid in the vessel, and then place a magnetized needle on this buoyant material.
The needle will turn its sides north-south. You can see what it looks like in this video.
We use mobile applications
For mobile gadgets, there are a sufficient number of applications that demonstrate a digital semblance of a compass on user smartphones and can set part of the light in your home. This can be “Compass 360 Pro Free” (Android), “Compass” (Android), “Compass” (iTunes), “Free HD Compass” (iTunes) and other analogues. This mechanism works due to the magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and GPS navigator built into the phone, allowing you to fairly correctly display the location of parts of the world.
How the compass works on your phone
Of course, the principle of operation of a magnetic compass differs significantly from the application. Although the final result of their work is approximately the same. It works on the phone based on a GPS navigator. Or using sensors, depending on the type of smartphone. This could be a basic accelerometer sensor (a device that responds to all movements). It is considered basic, since it is found in any, even the most inexpensive device.
There is also another sensor, Gyroscope. It also helps track movements, but does this by measuring its angle of inclination relative to the ground. Steve Jobs once talked about it. If you are interested, you can search for a video on Youtube, he covered in detail the principle of operation. Modern smartphones have two sensors at once.
