Compasses have been used by a number of characters in Lost, most often for navigation. They are necessary for getting to and from the Island on the correct bearing; however, they do not appear to function correctly on the Island.

On the Island

Richard's compass

• Richard Alpert gave Locke his compass, instructing him to give it back to him the next time Locke saw him. ("Because You Left") When Locke time-shifted to 1954, he gave the compass to Richard in order to prove he was from the future. ("Jughead") In 2007, The Man in Black posing as Locke told Richard to give the compass to Locke, thereby creating a time loop. ("Follow the Leader") It is also something of a self-contained paradox, since the compass was never created.

Other compasses

• Sayid created a makeshift compass when he was trying to make sense of Rousseau's maps. ("Hearts and Minds")
• Locke brought at least two compasses with him to Australia. He gave one to Sayid, who came to believe that it was broken because it kept deflecting from true magnetic North. ("Hearts and Minds")
• Michael was also shown using a compass during his journey to find the Others. ("Three Minutes")
• Michael was told by Ben to follow a bearing of 325 on the compass to get to safety. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
• Sayid used the compass to lead them on Locke's heading of 305. ("Enter 77")
• Sayid gave a compass to Daniel in order for him to stay on a safe bearing while ferrying people to the freighter. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
• The mirror wheel in the lighthouse resembled a giant compass. ("Lighthouse")

Off the Island

• A brass compass was one of the items Richard Alpert showed to five-year-old John Locke as a test. ("Cabin Fever")

• A compass was shown on the helicopter on the way to and from the Island. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

Find 815

• A compass formed part of the logo of The Maxwell Group.

In Lost: Via Domus

In the semi-canon videogame Lost: Via Domus, Elliott Maslow found a compass in the caves with the inscription "Via Domus" next to a skeleton reminiscent of Adam and Eve. ("Via Domus") Elliott used the compass to navigate around the Island, and it eventually led him to the Swan's reactor in the Incident Room. ("Hotel Persephone") He later learned that the compass was placed by the Others for him to find. ("Worth A Thousand Words")

See also

• Compass bearings
• Navigational difficulties

v • d • e Richard Alpert Portrayed by Nestor Carbonell Centric episodes "Follow the Leader" • "Ab Aeterno" Flashback characters Doctor • Magnus Hanso • Ignacio • Isabella • Jacob • The Man in Black • Pierce • Prisoner • Servant • Father Suarez • Jonas Whitfield Items Compass • Knife • Book of Laws • Mystery Tales No. 40 • Isabella's cross See Also: Main Characters

v • d • e John Locke Portrayed by Terry O'Quinn, Charles Henry Wyson and Caleb Steinmeyer Centric episodes "Walkabout" • "Deus Ex Machina" • "Orientation" • "Lockdown" • "Further Instructions" • "The Man from Tallahassee" • "The Brig" • "Cabin Fever" • "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" • "The Substitute" Shared and non-centric flashes "Exodus, Part 2" "LA X, Part 1" • "LA X, Part 2" • "The Last Recruit" • "The Candidate" • "The End" • "Everybody Loves Hugo" • "The Incident, Part 1" • "The Incident, Part 2" Flashback characters Matthew Abaddon • Adam • Richard Alpert • Kate Austen • Autumn • Ayesha • Jimmy Bane • Bobby • Cindy Chandler • Father Chuck • Eddie Colburn • Construction foreman • Anthony Cooper • Crystal • Eddie • Emma • ER doctor • ER nurse • Florence • Frainey • Francine • Tom Friendly • Gellert • Warren Goldberg • Tamara Fry • Hajer • Helen • Jacob • Jan • Sayid Jarrah • Noor "Nadia" Abed Jazeem • Jeannie • Bea Jones • JD • Kid • Kim • William Kincaid • Jin-Soo Kwon • Benjamin Linus • Aaron Littleton • Lizzie • Walt Lloyd • Emily Locke • Mrs. Locke • Locke's nurse • Detective Mason • Melissa • Michelle • Mike • Moderator • Randy Nations • Helen Norwood • Nurse Margaret • Charlie Pace • Physical therapist • Detective Reed • Rick Romer • Shannon Rutherford • Security guard • Jack Shephard • Sister Consuela • Mrs. Talbot • Peter Talbot • Waiter • Charles Widmore • Sheriff Williams • Woman • Zack Flash-sideways characters Boone Carlyle • Anthony Cooper • Courier • Ken Fisher • Hammer • Simon Holt • Desmond Hume • Jean • Lynn Johnson • Lynn Karnoff • Jin-Soo Kwon • LAPD cop • Benjamin Linus • Rose Nadler • Randy Nations • Helen Norwood • Orderly • Receptionist • Hugo Reyes • School kid • Jack Shephard • Kirk Skadden • Student Items Backgammon • Body release form • Coffin • Compass • Crossword puzzles • Drawing • Knives • Map • Bentham's passport • Suicide note • Trebuchet • Wheelchair • Whistle Other Family • Relationship • Locke's test

v • d • e Lost: Via Domus Walkthrough • Credits Episodes "Force Majeure" • "A New Day" • "Via Domus" • "Forty-Two" • "Hotel Persephone" • "Whatever It Takes" • "Worth A Thousand Words" Original Characters Bodyguard • Beady Eyes • Elliott Maslow • Joanne Gellhorn • Lisa Gellhorn • Patrick R. • Maeva • Rico • Rico's wife • Susan O. • Thai Fisherman • Todd • Zoran Savo Series Characters Benjamin Linus • Brother Campbell • Charlie Pace • Cindy Chandler • Claire Littleton • Corvette/Nikki Fernandez • Desmond Hume • Edward Mars • Eko • Hugo "Hurley" Reyes • Jack Shephard • James "Sawyer" Ford • John Locke • Jin-Soo Kwon • Juliet Burke • Kate Austen • Michael Dawson • Mikhail Bakunin • Penelope Widmore • Sayid Jarrah • Sun-Hwa Kwon • Tom • Thomas Mittelwerk • Vincent Original Locations Hotel Persephone • Lagoon • Lake • The Incident Room • Rico's Pawn Shop Series Locations Beach camp • Black Rock • Caves • Cockpit • Dark Territory • The Flame • The Hydra • The Pearl • Sonar fence • The Staff • The Swan Miscellaneous Compass • New blast door map • Via Domus • YouTube videos • Chenchey Institute of Research • Lost: Via Domus (Original Video Game Score)