when you are supposed to dowel north south east and west...do you put dowels vertical and horizontal through the cake? is there a diagram anywhere? Thanks!

I've never heard of that. A dowel horizontally through the cake would not add to support at all. Maybe whoever wrote that meant you should put 4 dowels in a cake, but looking at the cake from the top, placement should be at 12 o'clock, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock? (Which some may understand as the points on a compass)

Agreed, look at the cake face as it were a clock and try 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. The closest thing I've ever done to doweling horizontally is sticking thin skewers in the ridges of a cake board for extra stability but it's rarely called for.

As far as I know you don't dowel horizontally as Dayti mentioned...I have stuck fondant arms and legs etc into the sides of cakes with wooden skewers when I do 3D Cakes but I don't see dowelling that way will serve any purpose.