No compass? No problem.

As I have metioned before, as well progress with GPS and other forms of technology, we forget basic skills our societies have struggled to learn.

Navigation is one such skill.
There was a time where there were no compasses and such; however,the world knew how not to get lost.
They also knew the world was round, but I am not getting into that today. (If you care, comment.)

I personally think this information is good for either the survivalist, or anyone seeking common knowledge.

1. The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west.
(Duh, right?) Well there is more to it.
The sun will rise North of East and set North of West between the Spring Equinox (About March 20th) and the Autumnal Equinox. (about September 21st)

The equinoxes are the two days in the year when the hours of daylight equals hours of night.
During the equinoxes the sun rises and sets due East and due West, respectively.

Between the Autumnal and Spring Equinoxes, the sun will rise and set South of East and South of West.

On the Summer Solstice (about June 20th) the sun will rise and set at the most north.
On the Winter Solstice (about December 20th), the sun will set the most South.

2. To find north (this only works in the Northern Hemisphere) find the North Star. (The north star does not set or rise, therefore it does not go into the Southern Hemisphere. )

Look for a Big Dipper in the sky. Connect the stars on the right hand side of the dipper, going up and you will run into the North Star, which is also known as Polaris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dipper

Polaris will match about what latitude you are on the Northern Hemisphere, because of the tilt of the earth. You can measure degrees by standing up, holding out your fist and matching it to the horizon (basically the ground) and count how many fists till the top your fist matches Polaris. Each fist equals about 5 degrees.

There is really no Star like Polaris for the Southern Hemisphere, therefore it is harder to explain using stars for direction.

Also, for a side note, the constellation Orion, the Moon, and the Sun can be used to tell time, but I am not going into that right now.