This is where magick takes place, within a circle inside a square formed by the cardinal points.
    The four directions are the cardinal points. Some traditions add a fifth, called zenith or center, but Robert Graves wrote in The White Goddess:

            Sacred to Shun, god of the cardinal points
            An obelisk represents dominion over four quarters, plus zenith.

    The golden Egyptian Amulet of the Tet was also called the Backbone of Osiris. The four crossbars at the top of the tet amulet represented the cardinal points. A symbol of great religious importance, it enabled the reconstitution of the body in the afterlife and made the deceased a perfect spirit in the underworld. It was steeped in flower-water, empowered with these words, then worn as a necklace:
 ìRise up thou, O Osiris! Thou hast thy backbone, O Still-Heart! Place  thou thyself upon thy base, I put water beneath thee, and I bring unto  thee a Tet of gold that thou mayest rejoice therein.î

NORTH:
    The most powerful direction - the location of magick - the source of Otherworld powers
    Element: Earth - Air
    Season: Winter
    Time: midnight
    Tool: pentacle
    Color: brown - black - green
    Animal: white buffalo
    Rules: lungs - the body - rudeness - mystery - silence - purity - clarity - renewal - vision - the unseen - the power to listen, to keep secrets, to know what not to say
INVOCATIONS:
Goddesses:
    Athena - Baaltis Zapuna - Belili - Earth goddesses - Mertseger, Friend of Silence - Nebhet - Neith - Nephthys - Nerthus - Uatchet
Gods:
    Baal Zebul, Lord of the Mansions of the North - Baal Zephon, Lord of the North - Bel - Hapy, Lord of the Watchtower of the North - Jupiter - Osiris - Seth, Lord of the Northern Sky - Soma - Uriel - Zeus
    From The Egyptian Book of the Dead :
 ìThou Beautiful Power, thou Beautiful Rudder of the Northern Heaven,  Power of Heaven, Opener of the Disk, thou Beautiful Rudder of the  Northern Heavenî
The North Wind:
        ìAwake, O north wind;
          and come thou south,
          blow upon my garden,
          that the spices thereof may flow out.î
                      - the Song of Solomon
    Invocations: Aquilo - Boreas - Cardea - Erichthonius - Ophion
    The Silver Castle, the Corona Borealis, is at the back of the north wind
NORTHWEST:
    Invocations: Mahabala - Tiksnosnisa - Vayu
NORTHEAST:
    Invocations: Isa -  Soma - Uluítuyar - Uruín Ajy Toyoín
SOUTH:
    Element: Fire - Water
    Season: Summer
    Time: Noon
    Tool: wand
    Color: red - orange
    Animal: lion - coyote
    Rules: liver - energy - spirit - will - love - gentleness - trust - innocence - warmth - hospitality - rapid growth
INVOCATIONS:
Goddesses:
    fire goddesses - Isis, Queen of the South - Mahamantranusarini - Mahapratisara - Mert - Nirrti - Satet - Satis - Satjit - Tin Hau - Vajrapasi
Gods:
    Ea - Imset, Lord of the Watchtower of the South - Michael - Ninib - Prajnantaka - Ra - Sachiel - Saturn - South Star - Yama - Zocho
    From The Egyptian Book of the Dead:
 ìDweller in the temple of the Red gods, Beautiful Rudder of the  Southern Heaven, Dweller in the House of the Tesheru Gods, the  Beautiful Rudder of the Southern Heaven.î
The South Wind:
    Invcations: Auster - Cardea - Ninurta - Notus - the Breath of Set, Lord of the Chambers of the South
SOUTHEAST:
    Invocations: Agni - Takkiraja - Tejosnisa
SOUTHWEST:
    Invocations: Niladanda - Nirrti - Surya
    The Southwest Wind: Auster - Notus
EAST:
    The world direction of the new day.
    Element: Air - Fire
    Season: Spring
    Time: dawn
    Tool: athame/sword
    Color: white - violet - pastels - green
    Animal: eagle - highflying birds
    Rules: stomach - spirit - mind - illumination - passion - wisdom - beginnings - the power to know
INVOCATIONS: all dawn god/desses
Goddesses:
    Aja - Aurora - Eos - Hesionë, Lady of Asia - Mahamantranusarini - Neith - Nebhet - Nephthys - Salmaone - Zorya
Gods:
    Chac, Lord of the East - Duamutef, Lord of the Watchtower of the East - Horus, Lord of the East - Indra - Mars - Morning Star - Raphael - Shar - Sopedu, Lord of the East
    From The Egyptian Book of the Dead:
 ìSplendor, Dweller in the temple of the Ashemu gods, Beautiful Rudder  of the Eastern Heaven, Khu, Dweller in the House of the Ashemu gods,  thou Beautiful Rudder of the Eastern Heaven.î
The East Wind:
    Invocations: Cardea - Eurus - Volturnus
WEST:
    Element: Water - Earth
    Season: Autumn
    Time: twilight
    Tool: chalice/cauldron
    Color: sea green - blue - gray - purple - white
    Animal: fish - dolphin - sea serpents
    Rules: intestines - emotions - guts - introspection - undercurrents - vitality - daring - strength - endingd - the courage to face deepest feelings
INVOCATIONS:
Goddesses:
    Amenti - the Hesperides, Daughters of the West - Hsi Wang Mu, Royal Mother of the Western Paradise - Isis - Mertseger - Sekhmet, Lady of the West - Selkis
Gods:
    Cteryon, King of the West - Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl - Favonius - Itzamna - Gabriel - Hastehogan - Khenty-amentiu, Foremost of the Westerners - Sachiel - Salim - Thoth - Quebehsenuf, Lord of the Watchtower of the West - Ra - Varuna
    From The Egyptian Book of the Dead:
 ìThou who circlest, Guide of the Two Lands, Beautiful Rudder of the  Western Heaven, Ra, Guide of the Two Lands, thou Beautiful Rudder of  the Western Heaven.î
The West Wind:
    Invocations: Cardea - Favonius - Zephyrus
BELIEF SYSTEMS:
    Mayans assigned these correspondences to the cardinal points:
    North:
         color: red
         jewel: bloodstone
    South:
         color:  white
         jewel: pearls - shells
    East:
         color: yellow
         metal: gold
     West:
         color: black - blue
         jewel:  jade - turquoise
The Celts had a Four-fold Cycle:
    East:  Life - beginning
          Element: Air
          Season: Spring
          Time: Dawn
          Tool: the sword of Nuadha
    South: Light - increasing
          Element: Fire
          Season: Summer
          Time: Noon
          Tool: the spear of Lugh
    West:  Love - maturing
          Element: Water
          Season: Autumn
          Time: Evening
          Tool: the cauldron of the Daghda
    North: Law - destroying
          Element: Earth
          Season: Winter
          Time: Night
          Tool: the stone of Fal
The ancient Irish divided their land into five directions, each with its own correspondences:
     East (Leinster):
          Benefit - farmers/householders - prosperity and hospitality
     South (Munster):
          Music - poets/minstrels - knowledge and fertility
     West (Connaught):
          Learning - Druids - judgment, chronicles and storytelling
     North (Ulster):
          Battle - warriors - conflict, struggle and pride
     Center (Meath):
          Kingship - king/stewards - stability, bounty and renown