# Statistically significant correlation - dependent variable can have a positive or negative value - how to describe?

I have two variables. There is a statistically significant correlation between the two (spearman coefficient 0.82, p<0.01). But the dependent variable can be either positive or negative (the trendline crosses 0).

How do I describe this in text? I want to be able to say that a higher independent variable (x axis) value correlates with a positive dependent variable (y axis), and a lower independent variable correlates with a negative dependent variable. But it feels like this this needs further qualification or additional statistical analysis to establish?

When $$X$$ is high, $$Y$$ tends to be high; when $$X$$ is low, $$Y$$ tends to be low. This is the usual way correlation works.
The trend line crossing $$0$$ has no bearing on the correlation. You might be confusing that with a confidence interval for the correlation, which is a different concept, and you are right that a confidence interval containing $$0$$ corresponds to being unable to reject a null hypothesis of being equal to $$0$$. (But, again, that is a different concept.)