I have recently discovered that it is possible to feel the magnetic field of the earth without any special equipment.
I looked online and found very little literature supporting this....however I found my technique somewhere else entirely.
Magnetism is 'Chi'
The way to feel Chi is how you feel the magnetic field.
This is not a joke - there is a legit technique to feel the magnetic field and thus your direction without any compass or light even.
The actual technique is as follows.
Stand relaxed and hold your arms out to the side of you with your palms facing outwards. Hold this for about 30-60 seconds. Make sure you aren't too tired. Stay relaxed and focus on your breathing and your diaphragm.
Then when you feel like you are feeling you hands get a bit tired shake them gently while they are still being held out.
Then slowly and calmly close your eyes and bring your hands towards each other in front of you, but not touching.
As they approach around 3-5 inches - you will start to feel a slight pull/push/effect. Don't move too much and find the 'edge of this' and then you hands should be across from one another and if you now rotate your whole body around your waste with you hands out, you should feel a slight force on the front and back of your hands - one side should be pushing and the other should have a slight tug....then as you rotate, it will shift between hands.
This is the magnetic field of the earth. You can then find the highest point of tension (E/W) and the points of lowest tension (S/N) and you will feel a direction... It moves from South to the north pole.
So hopefully this helps someone. They don't know shit about science.....
This is a known and classic energy training technique.
Now try the same with a strong magnet between your hands...
I actually discovered this sensation from a super strong magnet which when I put it away I continued to feel and then I did some playing around and realised it was the earth's field.
Good spotting. Did you try it at different physical geolocations and with different magnetic polarities?
I did at another location I wasn't very familiar with to see if I could guess north and I did it first try using the method. But not with external fields. I find I cannot perceive it very well for long, and I need to reset and focus again to feel it. I think it's a thing that needs practice.