What earth tends to mean
Stability, patience, the body, money and home. In ritual it is commonly placed in the north in British and North American traditions, though southern-hemisphere practitioners often reverse the scheme, and nobody is doing it wrong.
Finding it today
A stone from a walk. Soil in a pot. The floor under your feet. Bread. Salt is a very common stand-in and costs almost nothing.
A small practice
Hold something heavy (a mug, a stone, a book) and give it two minutes of proper attention. Weight, temperature, texture. That is a genuine earth practice.
Directional correspondences are conventions, not laws. Traditions vary, and several teachers recommend matching them to your actual landscape.