The alethiometer is a fictional device in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. It resembles a compass and answers questions cryptically. It has 36 images and four hands, and requires a particular state of mind to function. Only six were made, and the Church destroyed most. Reading it is difficult and requires training, but the protagonist, Lyra, can read it with ease due to her relationship with Dust.
An alethiometer is a fictional device that appears in Philip Pullman’s fantasy series, His Dark Materials. The device bears a superficial resemblance to a compass and is used to answer questions posed to it, albeit rather cryptically.
The alethiometer is a circular device, similar to a compass. On the outer edge it has thirty-six different small images, representing various concepts. It has four hands, similar to those found on a compass or clock. Three of these hands are set by the person reading the alethiometer, to ask the device the question. The fourth hand then moves spontaneously, pausing for various periods of time on different images to formulate an answer to the question.
According to the Jordan College Master, who gave protagonist Lyra an alethiometer, only six alethiometers were ever made. The Church has apparently collected, and apparently destroyed, most of these. It is implied that the alethiometer given to Lyra is the only one still in existence outside the reach of the Church. The Church itself also has at least one alethiometer left, as well as one person who can read it.
The alethiometer is one of several objects in the world of His Dark Materials that require a particular state of mind to function properly. This state is about holding a question in one’s mind, but also letting the mind drift in some way. If the dials are set correctly and the correct state of mind is achieved, the free pointer begins to swing around the alethiometer. According to Lyra, the number of times the pointer circles the device affects the meaning of the symbols it lands on. So on the first pass the hourglass can represent Time, while on the third pass it can represent Change.
The symbols that appear on the alethiometer are: an Hourglass, the Sun, the Alpha and the Omega, a Puppet, a Snake, a Cauldron, an Anchor, an Angel, a Helmet, a Beehive, the Moon, the Madonna with Child, an apple, a bird, a loaf of bread, an ant, a bull’s head, a candle, a horn of plenty, a chameleon, a thunderbolt, a dolphin, a walled garden, a globe, a sword, a griffin , a horse, a camel, an elephant, a crocodile, a child, a geometric compass, a lute, a tree, a beast man and an owl.
Reading the alethiometer is generally considered a very difficult task. It requires many decades of training, and even once well trained the alethiometrist seems to need to refer to books that help delineate what various symbols mean at different depths. Asking a single question can take an experienced alethiometrist hours and is extremely exhausting.
However, the protagonist of the books, Lyra, seems to be able to read the alethiometer with ease. She quickly learns to read the symbols and seems to have an innate understanding of the meaning of the patterns. She is able to ask the alethiometer questions and answer them in minutes or less, without expending too much energy. This seems to have something to do with her innocent relationship with the mysterious particles known as Dust, however, which appear to be what drives the alethiometer’s responses. As Lyra matures at the end of the series and her relationship with Dust changes, it is apparent that she has lost her instinctive ability to read the alethiometer, although with practice and persistence she may learn to read it the same way others do.
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