Change in Magnetic North More Obvious

Earlier this morning, a friend texted asking me to check my compass because his compass was pointing to a different direction of North than before. So my wife and I took out three compasses (why we have so many compasses lying around is another story), put them side by side on the table and confirmed that what used to be North is now NorthWest in the compass. So the new compass North is what used to be NorthEast. I don't know if that type of change is significant as far as science is concerned, but for a layman like me it seems like a significant movement.

The movement of the magnetic north is a fact. In a National Geographic article, it mentions that magnetic north is racing towards Russia at a rate of 55 to 60 kilometers a year (as of 2009). This is much faster than the steady 15 kilometers a year recorded in 1904. The movement of magnetic north sped up in 1989, and yet again in 2007. What all this means is anyone's guess, although there are some theories that it could lead to a pole reversal.

Incidentally, I've also noticed that the movement of the sun has tilted further to the south than before. I know that the sun rises in different spots as the year goes by due to the Earth's wobble, but it seems to have moved more than last year this time around. The back of the house faces straight East and when I meditate I'm facing straight towards the sun, so I notice when the direction of the sun changes. Now the sun is much farther to my right than before, such that the south windows have sunlight streaming through them now. I don't know if this is related to the bigger change in magnetic north.

Changes in the magnetic north have become so significant that early this year, airports in Florida had to renumber the runways to adapt to the new magnetic north. This could also explain why there have been a lot of beachings among whales and dolphins this past year. Migratory animals navigate using the Earth's magnetic field and if this changes, they could be heading towards land when previously that direction led through open water.

In any case, whatever the changes in the magnetic north, it seems one can now detect it through the compass. This will definitely have an effect on outdoor navigation, though I don't know how this will affect the feng shui of some places. Feng shui practitioners often use a compass when determining favorable directions and other energy factors.

Let's see how the next few weeks unfold.