While researching this I was privileged to sit with Dr. Miles Krassen, author of "Uniter of Heaven and Earth," and I asked him how to figure out which of the biblical ancestors are associated with which of the directions. To do this he suggests:

1. That you pick up a copy of the Torah in Hebrew and/or English on CD rom, or find a good site or two on the web to do a key word search on each of the directions. (I’d make suggestions, but things change so quickly in cyberspace.) In the minds of the mystics and the sages, all occurrences of a word would offer them expanded understandings of the text or a spiritual practice.

You are in the first generation who can glean these multiple occurrences using a key word search. This opens up the fascinating world of the rabbinic mind to you without requiring an awesome memory and yeshiva upbringing to begin to do so. This can also be done with phrases. You will begin to glimpse what is called "hermeneutics" by scholars and is referred to as "source code" by teachers of practical kabbalah. Both mean you will begin to notice the methods for deriving meaning from the texts that were used by the sages, these methods are particular, fascinating and essential to finding the most potent possibilities which have so far been developed in our ancient tradition. So far, is an important expression, who knows what creative approaches you may bring to this process!

2. To try this out, enter one of the directions into the biblical search engine you have chosen, "East" perhaps, and see which of the biblical characters has part of their story associated with this direction. Then continue with collecting verse/story findings for all of the directions.

3. Appoint those characters to be welcomed from the direction with which they are either most often associated, or the direction from when they first enter the promised land, or first enter the Torah story.

(And yes, you can find the answers of the Arizal and other mystics published in a variety of texts.) Here is one way that Rabbi Shefa Gold applies this principle with the matriarchs:

East Tiferet sun Sarah Place of new beginnings

                North Gevurah cold Leah Place of challenges

                South Hessed warm Rachel Place of passion and beauty