The Compass
The Compass is a core organising model within Metaphors of Movement. It treats directional language—forwards, backwards, left, right, up, down—as more than mere figures of speech. These are linguistic indicators of how a person is unconsciously structuring their experience.
When someone says they feel “stuck,” “held back,” or that something is “not right,” they are describing a problem of orientation and vector.
The Directions of the Compass
Directional idioms reveal a person’s “default map” of meaning. These primaries serve as reliable starting points for hypothesis-testing in clinical sessions.
Forwards
“What we look forward to.” “The way ahead.”
Behind
“What is behind all this.” “Where we have come from.”
Left
“What we have left.” “What is left to discover.”
Right
“What is right for us.” “The right way to go.”
The Additionals (Diagonal Directions)
Diagonals often appear when a person experiences mixed imperatives or double-bind logic in spatial form.
- Forward-left: “The way forward that is often left.”
- Forward-right: “The right way forward.”
- Left-behind: “What I have left behind.”
- Right-behind: “What is right behind me.”
The Vertical Axis: Status and Rank
“Up” is typically associated with acquisition and ascent, while “Down” is associated with loss, collapse, or humiliation. Verticality is often the missing key in problems of “confidence.”
“If I put myself out there, I’ll fall.”
“I don’t want to climb that ladder.”
“I’m beneath them.”
The Compass as an Assessment Tool
Absences are often as informative as presences. Tracking a client’s implicit logic involves asking:
- What counts as progress? (Forward? Up? Out?)
- What counts as safety? (Back? Down? Behind?)
- What counts as “wrong”? (Blocked route? Forbidden up?)
- What is missing? (No way ahead? No mention of sides?)
The Compass: Directional Cheat Sheet
A Quick Reference Guide for Metaphors of Movement Practitioners
Pro Tip: Listen for the prepositions. Where the client places their problem in space determines the vector of your intervention.
The Additionals (Double-Bind Logic)
- Forward-Left: The way ahead that is also a loss/leaving.
- Forward-Right: The only “correct” way to advance.
- Left-Behind: Intentional abandonment of a previous state.
- Right-Behind: A past state that is still “correct” or haunting.
Intervention Checklist
Ask these four questions to decode the structure:
Which way is the client facing?
What is on the ground? (Mud, path, abyss?)
What blocks the vector? (Walls, fog, fences?)
Who or what is initiating the move?
