North in Ritual Orientation

Ritual practice is often more revealing than symbolism. In the ceremonial magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an influential nineteenth-century synthesis, the four quarters are assigned elements, north taking earth, and the practitioner faces each in turn in the opening rites; the assignment is not ancient and differs from other systems, some of which give earth to a different quarter.

In Jewish practice the ark of a synagogue is oriented toward Jerusalem, so its compass bearing depends on where the building stands, and in Islam the qibla works the same way; a mosque in northern Africa faces roughly east, one in Indonesia roughly west, and one north of Mecca faces south. This is worth stating because it cuts against the assumption that sacred directions are absolute. Where a tradition orients toward a place rather than toward a quarter, the compass direction is a consequence of geography.