Which direction does a moral compass point?

[Indigodreaming]

Reading a book at the moment

"[Character]s moral compass pointed north"

Is that good? Is north good? Or is north bad and south is good?

(I realise this makes me sound like a person on some kind of drugs..)

'True north' good, I think!

I don't think that writer really understands metaphors...

Well, a compass is supposed to point north so I guess it means character’s moral compass works properly!

This.

If you search for the phrase, it seems north equates to good. North up, south downwards.

I wonder if people in the southern would necessarily interpret it the same way?

Isn't a moral compass one that points in the direction of good, regardless of whether that's north, south etc?

You also say, ' it's all gone south' to mean it's all gone wrong. So that would indicate also that North is good / right.

Hmmm. I think if it pointed north it’s safe to say it’s just a normal compass!

It’s all gone South as a bad thing relates to ‘it’ having gone down, such as stock prices. Maps and compass points are typically facing up for north
The same applies for ‘it’s all gone downhill’

The moral compass pointing north only really relates to the compass working properly. A magnetic compass only points north if it is free to turn and follow the magnetic field. If you have a cheap compass and tip it at an angle then it may hit the top or bottom and fail to point properly

A moral compass shock point to the right thing, and as a magnetic compass should point north a moral compasses ‘right thing’ would be the north, otherwise it’s not working
(Strictly speaking someone of dubious morals could have a working moral compass pointing north but they choose not to follow it)