You can't really use a compass to find anything in the sky except maybe the north star. The vernal equinox is where the sun's path (the ecliptic) crosses the celestial equator from South to North. That point will be due east when it rises once every day, and on March 21st it rises the same time the sun does.
https://www.reddit.com/r/askastronomy/comments/kjy37y/how_do_i_find_the_vernal_equinox/
ver·nal equinox (vûr′nəl) The moment of the year when the sun crosses the celestial equator while moving from south to north. It occurs on March 20 or 21, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Compare autumnal equinox. The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition.
https://www.weather.gov/cle/seasons
Vernal equinox and autumnal equinox: these classical names are direct derivatives of Latin (ver = spring, and autumnus = autumn). These are the historically universal and still most widely used terms for the equinoxes, but are potentially confusing because in the southern hemisphere the vernal equinox does not occur in spring and the autumnal ...
https://gypsywolf.weebly.com/vernal-equinox.html
What are the four equinoxes? Vernal Equinox. The Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is in March. Summer Solstice. Autumnal Equinox. Winter Solstice. March Equinox. June Solstice. September Equinox. December Solstice.
https://spiritualwander.com/what-do-equinoxes-signify
pdf for "vernal equinox definition geography".(Page 1 of about 18 results)