Whole books have been written on the subject of Navigation (otherwise known as Orienteering), but I will keep this to a very basic primer for those who have never used a compass to find their way. One item that you see listed in just about every Survival Kit is a Compass. Knowing how to use it could mean the difference between coming home or truly "returning to nature". If you know what direction you came from when you went into the woods, you can find your way back out in short order by using a compass. Even if you DON'T know what direction you originally came from, the compass may not help you to get back to your origin, but it WILL help keep you from wandering in circles. Wandering in circles can be scenic, but is typically a waste of your time and energy nonetheless : ) If you know what direction you came from, simply take and follow a heading (more on that later).

Decision Time!

If you are not sure what direction you came from, then you must make a difficult decision. First, how long will it be until someone comes looking for you? If nobody is likely to come looking, for instance if you went for a hike without telling anyone where you were going (not very bright of you, eh?), then you'll probably need to find your own way out. The second question you must ask yourself is, based on your knowledge of the area, could you get much more lost by choosing a direction and sticking to it? This can be answered by where you are. If you are in a small stretch of wilderness, then one or more days of hiking in any direction will likely get you to a road or some form of civilization. The opposite of this would be if you went for a day hike in the Rocky Mountains, because choosing the wrong direction could lead you deep into hundreds of miles of wilderness, and away from civilization. If the circumstances warrant trying to find your own way out, then choose your best guess for direction, and use the compass as explained below.

Finding a heading and following it!

Whether you chose a direction by certain knowledge, or by guesswork, you must now use the compass to actually head in that direction. This is NOT as simple as just glancing at the compass and walking. Believe it or not, that can have you wandering all over the place. What you must do is take a "Heading". To take a Heading, Level the compass to allow it to point North. Once North has been established, find the direction you want to go, and choose a terrain feature in that direction that is both far away and easy to differentiate from other features (a hilltop, large tree, rock, etc). You have just taken a heading. Some compasses (called "Lensatic" compasses), have a sighting device built in to help pick out the object.

The next step is to make your way to the object you picked out. As you approach or reach the object itself, take another heading, pick another object, and continue on your way. Continuing to repeat these two steps keeps you headed in the direction you chose.

The reasoning behind this method is that it allows you to head for faraway objects in the easiest way or path available. If you were to just keep watching the compass and walking, you would have to potentially trek through swamps, thorns, up or down cliffs, etc. By picking large objects in the distance, you can focus on the best way to get to each. Note that in dense forest or jungle, you will either have to climb a tree now and again, or just pick tree trunks or other objects as far away as the foliage allows you to see.