Four Directions

Cardinal Direction Significance

There is a great deal of symbolism associated with each of the four cardinal directions according to various cultures and religions. What follows here is a brief description of some of these qualities. Please note that some cultures have different associations for the four directions and these differences understandably follow geographical and typographical changes. What follows here is very general and written from the point of my own geographic locale (Ontario, Canada) and experiences. The reader is urged to research the history of their own culture and location to find out what their particular associations are.

These descriptions will, at least, provide us a glimpse of the patterns and cycles apparent throughout our world. Here we can grasp the significance of these patterns and take a peek at the infinite knowledge which may be obtained by these studies.

Note the inter-relationships apparent here and use your intuit to sense the extension of these inter-relationships to other aspects of the universe.

East East is associated with births and new beginnings because it is where each new day dawns. Spring is the season associated with this direction because Spring is also the time of new beginnings. East is the place of healing, creativity, illumination, divination, intuition, new birth and sunshine, new learning, strength of will, communication, and the expression of new.

South South is the home of the child within. While the East is where we are born, the South is where we learn to grow, nourished by the warmth of the sun. South is the place of Summer. South is the place of faith, purification, awakening inner child, overcoming obstacles, change, playfulness, protection, trust, resurrection, strength, and self sufficiency.

West We are born in the East, grow in the South, and it is in the West where we come to the Autumn of our lives. Thus we can see how the directions relate to the different seasons. The West is the culmination of our goals. The West is associated with death but not in the way most western societies think of it. Death is actually a vital tool in the cycle of life. Death illuminates a pivotal point, a point from which the culmination of all knowledge can be drawn. When death (in some form) is achieved, only then can there be a new beginning which utilizes, in it's new growth, the knowledge drawn from the past. West is the place of vision, dreams, quests and journeys, emotions, imagination, creative arts, the feminine, higher compassion, inner spiritual renewal, and goals.

North North is the place of the hereafter death. North is winter where everything lies still and dormant, where all life and knowledge exist in a state of suspended animation awaiting the hand of Great Spirit to push forward to a new beginning. North is the place of knowledge, teaching, balance, abundance, sacred wisdom, thankfulness, drawing forth inner treasures, empathic intuition, trust, and alchemy.

Copyright © 1998 Karen Bisson. Visit her excellent web site!

This may be freely copied and distributed so long as it's not for commercial gain, and as long as this copyright notice and credit to the author are included.

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*East*	East is associated with births and new beginnings because it is where each new day dawns. Spring is the season associated with this direction because Spring is also the time of new beginnings. East is the place of healing, creativity, illumination, divination, intuition, new birth and sunshine, new learning, strength of will, communication, and the expression of new.
*South*	South is the home of the child within. While the East is where we are born, the South is where we learn to grow, nourished by the warmth of the sun. South is the place of Summer. South is the place of faith, purification, awakening inner child, overcoming obstacles, change, playfulness, protection, trust, resurrection, strength, and self sufficiency.
*West*	We are born in the East, grow in the South, and it is in the West where we come to the Autumn of our lives. Thus we can see how the directions relate to the different seasons. The West is the culmination of our goals. The West is associated with death but not in the way most western societies think of it. Death is actually a vital tool in the cycle of life. Death illuminates a pivotal point, a point from which the culmination of all knowledge can be drawn. When death (in some form) is achieved, only then can there be a new beginning which utilizes, in it's new growth, the knowledge drawn from the past. West is the place of vision, dreams, quests and journeys, emotions, imagination, creative arts, the feminine, higher compassion, inner spiritual renewal, and goals.
*North*	North is the place of the hereafter death. North is winter where everything lies still and dormant, where all life and knowledge exist in a state of suspended animation awaiting the hand of Great Spirit to push forward to a new beginning. North is the place of knowledge, teaching, balance, abundance, sacred wisdom, thankfulness, drawing forth inner treasures, empathic intuition, trust, and alchemy.