Ancient Navigation In The Age Of Smartphones

No GPS? No compass? No Problem!

 

Navigation using the sky was a skill handed down for millennia; a rite of passage, a way of life, and at times, a necessity for survival.  As with many things from a time past, as technology and ingenuity replace traditions, old skills are in danger of being lost.

My personal survival/readiness philosophy is one that looks past all the modern fads and looks deep into a forgotten past. My soul longs to drink from the ancient wells of knowledge long forgotten; and it’s with this desire that I look at one of the oldest traditions of survival … Navigation by celestial bodies.

One ancient text states that the celestial bodies were put there to keep track of times, days, and seasons; and with this type of reliability we find an ever present display of potential navigational aids, right above our heads… almost like clock-work.

I want to continue the tradition of passing along the valuable and time-tested skill of navigation.

Below are a few simple and easy ways to use the sun, moon, and stars for general navigation. This is not an all-inclusive text, but it will serve as a good introduction or refresher (depending on your current skill level) of some of the most useful ways to find your direction without the use of modern technology.

Navigation At Night

 

During a crescent moon: if you connect the points of a crescent moon with an imaginary line extending toward the horizon, this point will be South in the Northern Hemisphere and North in the Southern Hemisphere.

The North Star, Polaris, stays in the Northern sky, hence the name right? The easiest way to find Polaris is to use “The Big Dipper” (or The Plow). With some practice it will become obvious and jump out at you.

Draw a line in an upward direction from the two stars opposite the handle (upward in relation to the dipper). Extend the line a distance of roughly 5 times the length between those two stars, this will lead you to the North Star.

Navigation During Daylight Hours

 

Using the Sun

If you can see the sun at sunrise – that’s East

If you can see the sun at sunset – That’s West

At mid-day, the sun is due South in the Northern Hemisphere and due North in the Southern Hemisphere.

Clock or watch method 

Using an analog watch, or you can visualize your watch is analog (imagine where the hands would be), or just draw it on the ground (Note: you need to know the current local time). With the hour hand pointing towards the sun, visualize (or draw on the ground) a line that bisects or equally divides between the hour hand and the 12 0’clock position; this will be South (In the Northern Hemisphere).

In the Southern Hemisphere point the 12 o’clock position at the sun and bisect the angle between the hour hand (current local time) and 12 o’clock; this will be North.

Shadow Stick Method

Drive a stick into level ground (ideally 3′ or 1 meter in length). Place a rock at the very end of the shadow. After you wait roughly 30 -60 minutes place another rock at the end of the shadow (this point has moved). Continue this a minimum of 3 times and connect the rocks with a line drawn in the ground:

The first rock placed is due West

The last rock placed is due East

Draw an intersecting line at 90 degrees to your East West line to give you the North and South directions.

 

In a survival situation, knowledge is key! Be sure to make learning a life-long journey and you will always be prepared.

NEVER QUIT,

David

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