In the lore of plants, in religious customs, including burial customs, and in beliefs connected with the seasons, weather, and sacred sites, there are traces of a doctrine based on the belief that good or bad influences "flowed" from the cardinal points, just as good or bad influences "flowed" from gems, metals, wood, and water. When, for instance, certain herbs were pulled from the ground, it was important that one should at the time of the operation be facing the south. A love-enticing plant had to be plucked in this way, and immediately before sunrise.
There was much superstition in weather lore, as the beliefs connected with St. Swithin's Day indicate. Certain days were lucky for removals in certain directions. Saturday was the day for flitting northward, and Monday for flitting southward. Monday was "the key of the week". An old Gaelic saying, repeated in various forms in folk stories, runs:
Shut the north window,
And quickly close the window to the south;
And shut the window facing west,
Evil never came from the east.
South-running water was "powerful" for working protective charms; north-running water brought evil.
Diagram of the Gaelic Airts (Cardinal Points) and their Associated Colours referred to in the text
Spring was connected with the east, summer with the south, autumn with the west, and winter with the north.