It's really hard to find that axis. Finding magnetic north (a good approximation for rotational north) requires a piece of magnetic metal dangling from a piece

It's really hard to find that axis. Finding magnetic north (a good approximation for rotational north) requires a piece of magnetic metal dangling from a piece of string. A tiny piece of each suffices. Finding orbital (revolutionary) north requires some sort of astronomical measuring equipment like a sundial, and waiting for the earth to move enough so you can compute extrapolations to a reasonable degree of accuracy.