In the Southern Hemisphere some things are opposite. This has to be considered when doing moon magic, and esp. energy work. Not only do we have to place the sabbats according to the seasons which are specific to the two hemispheres, but in the Northern Hemisphere energy flows in a clockwise direction, and in the Southern Hemisphere it is anti-clockwise. Taking just the above point into consideration when placing the elements in a ritual circle, it would seem logical to place fire at North, while Earth is placed at South reason being, that on a geological level for Pagans residing in the Southern Hemisphere, myself included, the north is the Equator, and from the north comes the hot summer winds. North is also the placement of the noonday sun. To the south are the cold winter winds, as well as the frozen landmass of Antarctica. This goes against the directional placement of the elements in more traditional Pagan groups.

There are a number of traditional Crafters who still place their alter in the North, because in accordance to their tradition (despite it being Northern Hemisphere based) this is the “dark quarter”. One reasoning to this is that on the astral plane the directional placement of elements is unimportant. If this indeed is the case, then it should not matter if the placement of ones alter and the casting of circles reflect the land in which one resides..? Surely if the founders of Earth based traditions such as Wicca and Witchcraft (e.g. Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders or even Aleister Crowley) were based, or had spent some time, in the Southern Hemisphere, would they not have taken these fundamental differences into consideration?

Another difference which is often overlooked is the direction in which the crescents of the Waxing and Waning moons point. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Waxing moon in the sky actually points to the right, and the Waning Moon to the left. Therefore the symbol of the Triple Moon Goddess reflects an introverted appearance rather than the extroverted one of the Northern Hemisphere.

I hope this helps you a little.