#pavel khunrath

[hyperpotamianarch]

All right, so I have news for anyone who's interested in my Jewsade/Jewish dæmonism stuff! After not doing anything with it since I've hit a wall with no idea on how to actually write it, I am now considering using Maharal of Prague as a framing device that could connect the story to the main characters of His Dark Materials. Maharal is most well known for having rumored to have created a Golem - it's actually the most famous Golem story to exist - but he was more interesting a person than that. He was well studies in Philosophy and Kabbalah, as well as Astronomy and various other sciences. He was born in Poland about 30 years after the Alhambra decree in Spain, meaning he was a baby/young child at the time the supposed Jewsade may have occured. He was known to have conversed with Emperor Rudolph II later in life. In addition, his teachings later influenced the Chassidut movement.

I'm not really explaining his significance well, but he is an important figure who had the Golem legend grow around his character and fights against Blood Libels centuries after his death. And the fact that the Alethiometer was supposedly invented in Prague at around the time of his death helps.

You see, my idea of it currently is something along the lines of: Lyra, in the midst of studying the Alethiometer, finds some vague references to an early scholar named Long Loew. There is only one note from him which is very interesting, but there's very little about who he was and what are other stuff he said. After researching she finds a book that explains a bit more about him, which might be the heart of the story. That, or she'll slowly uncover hints and the story will progress in two parallel lines - one telling of the life of Rabbi Yehuda Loew of Prague and his struggles with the rising power of the Magisterium and another about Lyra uncovering his life and learning about the current state of Judaism under the Magisterium-dominated Europe. It will likely include some throwaway lines about the Jewsade and its outcome and about shifts in centers of Judaism. Some spotlight might also be given to Rabbi Mordechai Yaffeh (but only because I like him. He doesn't seem to have interacted with Maharal much even though he also served as the Rabbi of Prague for some time while Maharal was living in another city) and to some of Mahahral's students. There will also have to be some talk about the Shulchan Aruch and such books, but that's another thing.

Part of the idea here is also to remind people that Jews were involved in scientific development, to a degree. Some famous rabbis had exchanges with famous Astronomers. Due to how a Christian-dominated world generally works, though, you're unlikely to find discoveries made by Jewish scholars around the 16th-17th centuries. At least so I think, I'm far from an expert on that topic. Either way, I think this kind of story might lend itself easier to write. It does lose the angle of focusing on Sepharadi Jews, but I'm hardly qualified for that anyway. I think Maharal's type of philosophy might work very well with dæmons and the Alethiometer, though I do need to study it more (which I guess makes the fact one of my distant great uncles was a scholar of Maharal very convenient). I do still need to read the Secret Commonwealth to understand adult Lyra better and see how such a story might work - for example, might Pantalaimon go alone to the Jewish quarter of Prague when Lyra is unwilling to? What would each of them find out? What could really drive Lyra to check out one particular scholar? So, that's the bad news: after having a hard time starting to read the Secret Commonwealth, any progress that might be done is postponed until after I read it. I do intend to try and do it quickly, though.

So, yeah. I intend trying to talk about Jewish life in Lyra's world through the eyes of an old Jewish Rabbi, Philosopher and Kabbalah student, or maybe two or three of those. I will need to thouroughly research their history, but that's going to be fun (hopefully). Plus, I'm descended from Maharal! So this is kind of uncovering family history!

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

[queer-tech-seer]

Using the Alethiometer as a Tool of Divination

About the Alethiometer

The Alethiometer is a divinatory tool from Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. The word 'alethiometer' is a compound of Greek root aletheia- (truth) and suffix -meter (measure), literally meaning 'truth measure'. It resembles a compass or pocket-watch in appearance, with four needle-like hands anchored to the center and a golden casing -- giving rise to its alternative name, The Golden Compass. The Alethiometer has thirty six symbols painted around the rim of the dial, each with meanings on multiple different levels (referred to by Lyra in the book as a 'ladder' that one had to travel up and down) that are contextually and subjectively dependent.

To use it, an Alethiometrist uses the dials on the sides of the device to move three of the four hands to point at three symbols representing the question they wish to ask. The Alethiometrist must hold this question in their mind and enter a loose, almost meditative state, during which the fourth dial shifts from symbol to symbol to indicate the answer. The querant must not only note which symbols the needle stops at and the order it does so, but also how many times it may have stopped at the same symbol, which could (but not always!) indicate which 'rung' of the 'ladder' the meaning may be found at. The symbols must then be taken together as a whole to translate and interpret the full meaning. The Alethiometer moves quickly, and so the Alethiometrist must be quick-witted and pay close attention to what it is trying to say lest they miss parts of the answer.

The Alethiometer was invented in Lyra Silvertongue's world in the 17th century by Pavel Khunrath, an experimental theologian who had originally intended to use it for astrological purposes, but expanded his research once he realized the device could answer questions beyond those dealing with the zodiac. In much the same way people of our world use tools such as tarot cards and runes, the Alethiometer was used to 'learn the truth' via communication with Dust, the elementary particle responsible for the consciousness of sentient species across the multiverse. Only six of these devices were ever created, and each of them had a somewhat unique appearance beyond the common resemblance to a compass.

Using the Alethiometer

As with any divinatory tool, reading and interpreting an Alethiometer is a deeply personal process that requires no small amount of intuition. It is for this reason that learning the symbols must go beyond mere rote memorization. Each of the 36 symbols on the dial has a primary 'surface' denotation and multiple, more abstract subsidiary connotations. Similar to tarot cards, each symbol can also have a multitude of different meanings beyond those that are commonly held due to the Alethiometrist's personal beliefs, views, culture, and life experiences. No symbolic meaning is universal! The Alethiometer may add to the multiplicity of the symbols by revealing new meanings to the querant relevant to the question at hand.

Additionally, Alethiometrists should look in to academic topics such as the study of semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretations), lexical semantics (the study of word meanings and word relations), and pragmatics (the study of how context contributes to meaning), especially in linguistic, anthropological, and sociological contexts.  By combining these epistemologies, an Alethiometrist will have a firm foundation upon which to expand their knowledge and understanding not only of the symbols and meanings of the device itself, but how they might fit together in a syncretic and holistic manner.

Using an Alethiometer is a co-constructive exercise between yourself and the device. When posing a question to the Alethiometer, one should be calm, relaxed, loose in both body and mind, and open to whatever answers will be revealed to you. Remember: It can only the truth, but, depending on the question and context, your device may omit certain details or present information in an alternative light, and so each answer should be carefully examined and alternative interpretations should be considered. Discernment and the ability to read between the lines is important when using an Alethiometer. The Alethiometer is also sensitive to the moods of its reader and may become reluctant to answer questions when you aren't in the right state of mind, especially when it knows you might not like the answer it has to offer.

As with any divination practice, you should always keep a detailed journal to record your observations and take notes upon any impressions you get from your Alethiometer during readings. With patience and practice, reading the Alethiometer will become quicker and easier as you become familiar with your device's individual personality and moods and learn how to intuit the answers to your questions.

Alethiometer Simulacra:

Unfortunately, we do not have access to Lyra's world and thus do not have access to any of the Alethiometers that exist there there. Unless you have thousands of dollars to spare to commission a custom Alethiometer from a jeweler or watchmaker, or are able to buy one of the Limited Edition replicas of the 2007 film version produced by the Noble Collection that occasionally appear for resale online, access to the physical Alethiometers of our world is similarly restricted.

Luckily, I have found a handful of working substitutes in the form of web-based apps, computer programs, phone apps, and other alternatives. Any of these Alethiometers are viable to use, though some might work better for you than others. In addition to links, I've included my own notes and thoughts on each below.

The Emojicompass/The Emoji Alethiometer (Web & ios App)

The Emojicompass has to be my favorite Alethiometer of the bunch, mainly due to its charming presentation (I mean, come on, it uses emojis) and the inclusion of three dials/needles for user input. When moving your dials by click-and-drag to each symbol, a brief blurb will pop up to remind you of its meaning(s). Each answer returns three symbols, and will list one of the three associated meanings included with the app (which may be a bane or a boon depending on your reading style). It can also be accessed through mobile internet browsers, meaning Android users can also make use of it through bookmarking it and accessing it through said mobile browser, or adding the webpage to their home screens.

This is the version I personally use the most. The use of emojis as substitutes for the symbols upon the dial further contributes to the technomagickal nature of this particular iteration, which I think is particularly fitting. Because it exists as an app on my phone, it travels everywhere with me like a real Alethiometer would, and I feel more 'bonded' to it than any of the other versions on this list.

The NeonAvis Alethiometer (Windows & MacOS & Linux)

Retrieved via Wayback Machine from a site last logged in 2008, the NeonAvis Alethiometer is possibly the oldest Alethiometer on the list. The hands are moved by clicking and dragging the dials, and the question is posed by clicking the center of the compass. Each answer returns a whopping six symbols, and lists one of the meanings included with the app. This particular version is my second favorite because it actually gives you the ability to edit the meanings of each symbol yourself (with each symbol having up to six meanings). You can increase and decrease the window size using +/-. This version also has an Italian translation.

Because this version had to be recovered with Wayback and it took a rather considerable effort to download it, I have decided to host a copy of it myself and others via Google Drive, which is linked above. Along with the three OS versions, I have also managed to retrieve an Italian translation of the app as well as the source code. The creator of this app, Wendell M Jr. (aka NeonAvis), has listed it as freeware and open source, so if anyone has the knowledge to tinker with it, you are open to do so.

Note: If you try to add more than six meanings to a symbol in the .txt file containing said meanings, the program will read it as corrupt and stop working properly. Resetting the meanings file to default returns it to proper operation.

The Artemis-Beta Alethiometer  (Windows & Mac OS)

This version of the Alethiometer has a very simple presentation compared to others on this list but is no less effective. It too has three dials/needles for user input, but requires a scroll-wheel on a mouse to move the dials. Laptop users may run into the issues here; I managed to get it to work by pinching my fingers in the traditional 'zoom in' gesture. This version moves very quickly and requires you to pay close attention to the fourth needle. Each answer returns three symbols, but offers no meanings, leaving it up to the reader to discern and interpret the level of meaning for each symbol.

Because of this, I feel that this version is actually the closest simulation of a real Alethiometer.

Alethiometer: Magical Oracle/The Magical Oracle Alethiometer (Android App)

The Alethiometer: Magical Oracle app features a 3D rendered Golden Compass clearly based upon the BBC show's version. It is my least favorite of the apps because of two reasons: there is only one dial/needle for user input, severely limiting the questions you can ask, and the app itself never seems to remember any settings customization, meaning you have to reset it to your preferred specifications each time you open it. However, each answer returns five symbols, and will list one of the three associated meanings included in the app. It also includes a meanings glossary within the app menu that you can consult. I am unsure if there is an iOS version.

The Chartomancy Alethiometer (Gyromancy-based)

This iteration is a printable PDF adapted for gyromancy-based chartomancy, though I suppose it could just as easily be used as a pendulum board. It's pretty straightforward to use -- you spin a top and take note of where it comes to rest. What I like most about this one, however, is the helpful journal/interpretation template the author has included for recording your questions & answers, which also encourages you to think about alternative meanings to the answer you've been given. They also include an extensive personal glossary of interpretations of each symbol, which is an excellent example of an Alethiometrist discovering new meanings beyond the few we were provided with in His Dark Materials.

The 3d6 Alethiometer System (Dice-based)

I kind've adore this version mainly due to the clever usage of the dice in place of a watch-like object with hands and symbols. Two of the dice give you the number corresponding to a specific symbol, and the (optional) third gives you the meaning. While it isn't exactly a 'traditional' Alethiometer, it could work just as well, as you still have to hold your question in your mind while rolling the dice to divine your answer. The linked post also includes three or more levels of meanings for each symbol, with some meanings added or tweaked by the author. Major kudos to @hillbillyoracle for coming up with it!

The Alethiometer Oracle Cards by Eva Deverell (Printable Oracle Deck)

Finally, we come to the Alethiometer Oracle Cards. The author provides a link to download a printable deck of 36 cards based upon the symbols of the Alethiometer (it's advised you print these off on thicker paper like cardstock) as well as a custom deck box. The deck can then be consulted as a traditional oracle deck. The author also helpfully provides a few different ways to help memorize the symbols and their meanings. Nevertheless, despite my personal feelings, this iteration could still prove useful to some aspiring Alethiometrists.

Symbol Meanings:

Here are the 36 symbols of the Alethiometer and the meanings they are canonically associated with, according to the books and material provided by the author and publisher, and are unfortunately very Western and Christian-centric, mainly due to the subject nature of the books in question. Please remember that these are meant only to be starting points for you in your journey as an Alethiometrist. As I explained above, everyone's understanding of the meanings of each symbol is contextual and subjective, and no two Alethiometrists will interpret the symbols the same exact way.

Hourglass - Time, Death, change ... Sun -  Day, Authority, truth ... Alpha and Omega - Finality, Process, inevitability ... Marionette - Obedience, Submission, grace ... Serpent - Evil, Guile, natural wisdom ... Cauldron (crucible) - Alchemy, Craft, achieved wisdom ... Anchor - Hope, Steadfastness, prevention ... Angel - Messages, hierarchy, disobedience… Helmet - War, Protection, narrow vision ... Beehive - Productive work, Sweetness, light ... Moon - Chastity, Mystery, the uncanny ... Madonna - Motherhood, The feminine, worship ... Apple - Sin, Knowledge, vanity ... Bird - The soul (the dæmon), Spring, marriage ... Bread - Nourishment, Christ, sacrifice ... Ant - Mechanical work, Diligence, tedium ... Bull - Earth, Power, honesty ... Candle - Fire, Faith, learning ... Cornucopia - Wealth, Autumn, hospitality ... Chameleon - Air, Greed, patience ... Thunderbolt - Inspiration, Fate, chance ... Dolphin - Water, Resurrection, succor ... Walled garden - Nature, Innocence, order ... Globe - Politics, Sovereignty, fame ... Sword - Justice, Fortitude, the Church ... Griffin - Treasure, Watchfulness, courage ... Horse - Europe, Journeys, fidelity ... Camel - Asia, Summer, perseverance ... Elephant - Africa, Charity, continence ... Crocodile (caiman) - America, Rapacity, enterprise ... Baby - The future, Malleability, helplessness ... Compass - Measurement, Mathematics, science ... Lute - Poetry, Rhetoric, philosophy ... Tree - Firmness, Shelter, fertility ... Wild man - Wild man, The masculine, lust ... Owl - Night, Winter, fear ...

References:

"Definitions of Symbols of the Alethiometer." Archived by Wayback Machine. 20 March 2015. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150320073134/http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/materials/definitions.php] Accessed 24 December 2022.

"History of the Alethiometer." Archived by Wayback Machine. 20 March 2015. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150320072443/http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/materials/history.php] Accessed 24 December 2022.

"How to Read the Alethiometer." Archived by Wayback Machine. 20 March 2015. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150320072448/http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/materials/materials.php]. Accessed 24 December 2022.

Pullman, Phillip. The Golden Compass. Alfred A. Knopf Books. 1995.

Pullman, Phillip. The Subtle Knife. Alfred A. Knopf Books. 1997.

Pullman, Phillip. The Amber Spyglass. Alfred A. Knopf Books. 2000.

[argentvive]

Is This the Original Alethiometer?

Northern Lights, the first book of HDM, introduces the alethiometer. The US edition of the book even uses the alethiometer as its title, The Golden Compass.  

Between the book, the film, and the HBO series, we have three visual representations of what is described in the book.  

Here’s Chris Wormell’s illustration of it from The Secret Commonwealth, which matches Pullman’s description of it in the books.  (You can also see part of the box it comes in, with its velvet lining):

This is from the 2001 film.  Notice the addition of a hinged lid (top left).

You can also see the alethiometer, closed and open, at the beginning of the trailer for the film.  Again, unlike in the books, there is no box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHYoOGfBObU

For the HBO show, there’s a fascinating BTS video about how the alethiometer was designed--and why its appearance was changed. 

https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/trailers/1143974-learn-about-the-alethiometer-in-exclusive-his-dark-materials-clip

The production designer’s goal was to have it NOT look like a “Victorian pocket watch,” so he placed it  within a square that had slightly cropped corners.  I think I may have found where he got that idea from.

We don’t know much about the origins of the alethiometer, other than that it was created by Pavel Khunrath in Prague.  

As I’ve written before, “Pavel Khunrath” is a pretty obvious nod to the real alchemist Heinrich Cornelius Khunrath, who was one of the group of alchemists, astrologers, and astronomers at the court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague.  (Rudolf lived from 1552 to 1612.)  

I’ve been reading Rudolf II and Prague: The Court and the City, which is the companion book and catalogue to a major exhibition on Prague in 1997, on the Rudolfine era. 

Two compasses in the exhibition caught my eye.  First, a “mining compass,” c. 1600.  (Apologies for the poor quality of the images; they are tiny in the original and go out of focus when you enlarge.)

Second, an “astronomical compendium,” beginning of the 17th century.  

Other than not having cropped corners, these compasses are a match for the one in the HBO show.

The idea for placing the circular alethiometer in a square box might very well have come from these or similar examples.  Alternatively, or additionally, there is the well-known image of the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone by squaring the circle.

In this emblem from Atalanta fugiens, the Male and Female Principles of the work stand together in a circle, the Philosopher’s Stone, which is surrounded by a square, the Four Elements.  

[oakleystreet]

A L E T H I O M E T E R

CREATION: 1612 in Prague (first model).

CREATED BY: Pavel Khunrath.

MADE OF: usually gold, the needles being composed of an alloy of titanium and gold.

PURPOSE: interprets the truth by interacting with Dust.

The Alethiometer is an object created by Pavel Khunrath, an alchemist, around 1612 in the city of Prague. Khunrath had meant to create a device that could read the stars alignment, but upon discovering the alloy coming from the mixture of gold and titanium, he realised that the magnetic properties of this alloy worked much like the needle of a compass pointing north, except this one forced its mythical alloy needle to point to the truth.

Khunrath’s experiments benefitted from the rule of the emperor Rudolf II, who was liberal and keen on allowing alchemists to perform in the city, but once he died and his new successor, emperor Frederick, proved to be more conservative, Khunrath was sentenced to death, burned at the stake in the name of the Magisterium.

The Alethiometers were once deemed unreadable without the books, with the extraordinary exception of Lyra Belacqua’s innate skill. It is believed one takes years, even with the help of the books, to read properly and clearly any questions made. 

Six instruments are known to exist and they were scattered across the world. Their possession can be considered even heretical depending on the country one is using it, and the Magisterium often tries its best to get ahold of every single one of those, since a good reader with a single instrument and proper books can do a lot.

Before the Great Flood (likely post-February 1986, according to the timeline), some of the alethiometers moved hands quite considerably.

one alethiometer was placed in the University of Uppsala, and it’s implied someone read this instrument for Oakley Street (LBS, chapter 13, page 256);

one was placed in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, used by a group of scholars who did studies on the depth of particular symbols and used by Hannah Relf to make questions on behalf of Oakley Street (LBS, chapter 13);

one had been in Bologna, in possession of a scholar who also read on behalf of Oakley Street and who had been killed, and a few weeks prior to the flood, this instrument was handed to Hannah Relf personally, to be read for Oakley Street. (LBS, chapter 13);

one was placed in Geneva, being read by the Magisterium although it is never disclosed which group has it;

one was placed in Paris, assumingly in an university, and was read on behalf of the Magisterium;

one was with Gerard Bonneville, who had stolen it from monks in Bohemia, and then it was stolen by Malcolm Polstead and by the end of the flood, it was gifted to the Master of Jordan College and Lyra Belacqua.

Between the events of NL and TAS (ranging between 1996 and 1998), the alethiometers also seem placed in different places from the original locations in LBS:

one was in possession of the Consistorial Court of Discipline in Geneva, being read by Fra Pavel. It isn’t clear if this is the same one as the one in Geneva during 1986.

one was in possession of the Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit, also in Geneva;

one was in possession of Lyra Belacqua, moving worlds as she did so; this one is the same alethiometer that had been in possession of Bonneville;

one was with Lord Asriel at the Basalt Fortress; it isn’t disclosed which one this was;

two alethiometers are unaccounted for based on their original locations and because the ones owned in this time spot can’t be traced back to the old locations, it’s hard even to guess which one is which. Hannah Relf, for example, could have lent her alethiometer to Asriel’s alethiometrist, or they could have stolen one; the same goes for the CCD and the Society’s one. The only one accounted for is Lyra’s.

During the events of The Secret Commonwealth, the alethiometers seem to have changed hands once again.

one is placed in La Maison Juste, being read by Olivier Bonneville, who eventually leaves the city and takes it with him (i think he loses it when he is arrested but imnot sure /fc);

one is with Hannah Relf, very likely the same one from Bologna;

one is still with Lyra Belacqua, the one which had belonged to Bonneville;

Paris, Uppsala and Bodley’s (fact check but the other 3 are never disclosed but im not sure and im tired)

KNOWN ALETHIOMETRISTS

Hannah Relf, in Oxford (during HDM, although she never is portrayed reading it and TBOD);

Fra Pavel, in Geneva (during TAS);

Teukros Basilides, in the Basalt Fortress (during TAS);

Lyra Belacqua, in Oxford (during HDM, LO, S, TSC);

Olivier Bonneville, in Geneva (TSC);

A reader at Uppsala University (during LBS);

A reader at the Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit (during TAS);

THE SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS

The Alethiometer is composed of 36 symbols that can be drawn in different styles but that follow a same common principle, such as the hourglass always having a skull on top. (?) (The symbols will get a separate post discussing their meanings in canon).

Hourglass

Sun

Alpha and omega

Marionette

Serpent

Cauldron

Anchor

Angel

Helmet

Beehive

Moon

Madonna

Apple

Bird

Bread

Ant

Bull

Candle

Cornucopia

Chameleon

Thunderbolt

Dolphin

Walled Garden

Globe

Sword

Griffin

Horse

Camel

Elephant

Crocodile

Baby

Compass

Lute

Tree

Wild Man

Owl

[grlmissing]

so    it’s    time    to    talk    about     the    alethiometer   .        this    is    by    far    lyra’s    most    prized    and    important    possession  .        if    you    take    it    from    her    then    be    prepared    to    fight    a    twelve    year    old    bc    she    will    turn    up    at    your    home    and    spit    in    your    face            (        she’s    done    it    before        )            or    steal    it    back    by     any    means    necessary   .        it    is    incredibly    valuable    but    is    made    even    more    so    by    being    in    lyra’s    hands   ,        the    hands    of    someone    who    can    actually    read    it  .        

alethiometers    are    used    to    communicate    with    the    conscious    elementary    particle    called     dust     and    they    tell    the    truth  .        there    are    only    six    alethiometers    in    existence   .        it    was    invented    by    pavel    khunrath    in    prague    in    the    17th    century    in    lyra’s    world    and    was    intended    to    be    used    for    astrological    purposes   ,        such    as    measuring    the    influences    of    the    planets  .        the    experimental    theologian    discovered    that    an    alloy    of    two    particular    rare    metals    could    be    used    to    create    a    needle    that    pointed    towards    the     truth   .        the    first    alethiometer    consisted    of    this    needle    suspended    over    a    celestial    chart    showing    the    signs    of    the    zodiac   ,        with    khunrath    asking    questions    and    receiving    responses  .        khunrath    later    improved    the    alethiometer    by    using    symbols    from    the    memory  -  theatre    to    give    himself    a    wider    array    of    icons    to    draw    upon  .        as    his    research    went    on  ,        he    realised    that    the    meanings    of    the    symbols    already    existed    and    that    he    discovered    them    rather    than    inventing    them.        when    emperor    rudolf    ii    died    in    1612    and    emperor    frederick    succeeded    him   ,         research    deemed    occult    was    outlawed   .        khunrath    was    burnt    at    the    stake    for    heresy    in    the    name    of    the    magisterium   ,        but    some    of    his    instruments    and    notes    survived  .        scholars    in    more   tolerant    countries    continued    his    work   ,        naming    his    device    the    alethiometer     from    the    greek    truth    measure.

the    alethiometer    is    described        ‘    like    a    clock   ,        or    a    compass   ,        for    there    were    hands    pointing    to    places    around    the    dial   ,        but    instead    of    the    hours    or    the    points    of    the    compass    there    were    several    little    pictures   ,        each    of    them    painted    with    the    finest    and    slenderest    sable    brush  .    ‘        there    are     thirty    -    six    symbols     around    the    edge    of    its    face    and    they    each    hold    many    layers    of    meaning  .        in    basic    terms   ,         the    alethiometer    is    a    truth    telling    device     and    it    sometimes    called    a    symbol    reader  .        the    reader    points    the    three    movable    needles    towards    the    symbols    that    align    with    their    question    while    they    hold    it    in    their    mind    and    the    fourth    needle    will    swing    to    the    answering    symbols    and    reveal    the    truth  .        it    is    incapable    of    lying    but    there    is    an    element    of    sentience    to    it  .        lyra    tells    will    that    she    thought    that    if    she    only    asked    it    nosey   ,        intrusive    questions    about    others    then    it    would    refuse    to    answer    them  .         lyra    reads    the    alethiometer    far    easier    than    any    other    character   .        every    other    reader    consults    the    alethiometer    and    has    to    research    the    complicated    symbol    patterns    for    both    the    question    and    the    answer  .        it    takes    days    sometimes    for    simple    questions  .        lyra    is    capable    of    instinctively    asking    it    any    question    and    getting    a    near    instant    response    which    is    a    very    rare    gift    and    one    that    she    loses    with    the    grace    of    childhood    when    she    grows    up  .

the    alethiometer    is     hugely    significant     both    in    the    story    as    a    whole    and    personally    to    lyra  .        it    represents    pure    truth    in    a    society    that    is    attempting    to    control    the    thoughts    and    ideas    of    its    citizens  .        it    gives    lyra    freedom   ,        knowledge    and    control    in    a    way    she    would    never    have    without    it    and    also    slowly    teaches    her    the    value    of    truth    as    she    is    a     compulsive    liar     by    nature  .        lyra    was    given    the    alethiometer    by    the    master    of    jordan    collage    when    she    first    leaves    and    she    protects    and    uses    it    throughout    her    journey  .        it    is    often    sought    out    by    her    mother    and    others    within    the    magisterium    as    it    is    an    object    both    to    be    prized    and    feared  .        lyra    would    defend    the    alethiometer    with    her    life    and    she    uses    it    to    defend    herself    and    her    companions  .         losing    the    ability    to    read    the    alethiometer    as    an    adult    was    a    huge    loss    of    identity     for    lyra    as    she    had    defined    herself    by    her    ability    to    read    it    and    discover    the    truth  .        she    dedicates    much    of    her    adult    life    and    studies    to    relearning    it    the    long   ,        hard    way    and    keeps    it    in    her    possession  .

[argentvive]

The Furnace Man and the Mermaid: A Terrifying Chemical Wedding in The Secret Commonwealth

I wrote about Chapter 20, “The Furnace Man,” briefly in a response to @ssmhhh​--

https://argentvive.tumblr.com/post/637713923004678144/have-you-done-an-any-analysis-of-ch-20-the 

Obviously I barely scratched the surface of the alchemy in the chapter.  Pullman is writing alchemy on two levels here:

1.  Physical alchemy, with an actual alchemist, Johannes Agrippa, doing real alchemy in an alchemical laboratory

2.  Literary alchemy:  Lyra, the Philosopher’s Stone To Be, is tried and tested and emerges with greater knowledge and a clearer purpose

I. Setting

Lyra is in Prague, where she is recruited by a stranger to help a man who has been separated from his daemon--the “furnace man,” Cornelis van Dongen.  

With the help of the notebook she retrieved from the corpse of Hassall (Lyra’s original alchemist in TSC), Lyra finds Agrippa’s address and the trio reach his laboratory.  Here’s the description:

[The room] had a vaulted ceiling, black with the smoke of centuries. A large furnace stood in the very center, under a copper hood that went up through the ceiling as a chimney. Around the walls, hanging from the ceiling, or standing on the floor were a thousand different objects: retorts and crucibles; earthenware jars; open-topped boxes containing salt, or pigment, or dried herbs; books of every size and age, some lying open, some crammed into shelves, philosophical instruments, compasses, a photo-mill, a camera lucida, a rack of Leyden jars, a Van de Graaff generator; a jumble of bones, some of which might have been human; various plants under dusty glass domes; and an immensity of other objects. Lyra thought: Makepeace! It reminded her powerfully of the Oxford alchemist’s laboratory. (TSC, p. 385)

Let it never be said that Pullman doesn’t know his alchemy.  Here are a few images of real alchemy laboratories.  

First, and most authentic, from Heinrich Khunrath, Amphiteatrum sapientiae aeternae (1595), here’s a rendering of his own laboratory in Prague.  (Recall that the aletheiomster was invented in Prague by “Pavel Khunrath,” almost certainly an homage to the real Khunrath.)

Next, a genre painting by the Dutchman Adriaen van Ostade, “The Alchemist” (1661).  Although this is a couple of decades later than the heyday of alchemy, I include it since Van Dongen is also described as a Dutchman, and the haphazard messiness fits.  Although there’s a wooden ladder, rather than wooden steps, as in the book.  

There are many others, but I thought The Alchemists, by the Italian painter Pietro Longhi (1757), shows the alchemical apparatus particularly well, including the alchemical furnace, the athanor, on the right, smoking away.  

II.  The Alchemist.  The alchemist is Johannes Agrippa, presumably based on the real alchemist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535) that I wrote about here:

https://argentvive.tumblr.com/search/Heinrich+Agrippa

Here’s how he is described:

And standing by the furnace, in the red glare from the burning coals, was a man in rough workman’s clothing, stirring a cauldron in which something pungent was boiling. He was reciting what might have been a spell in what might have been Hebrew. What she could see of his face showed him to be of middle years, proud, impatient, and strong, the master of considerable intellectual force....

For a moment she was reminded of her own father, but she moved away from that thought at once.... (p. 385)

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pullman underlined the linkage between Agrippa and Lord Asriel:

Other links are nice to be able to put in,” Pullman says. “For example, there’s the magician in Prague, the furnace man, who brings together his son and his son’s daemon in this act of parental destruction that starts off his machinery. That was kind of an echo of what happens at the end of The Golden Compass where Lord Asriel sets things in motion by dividing Roger from his daemon. That was an act of fission if you like, and this is an act of fusion. They both involve destruction and things developing out of destruction.”

The line about “things developing out of destruction” is pure alchemy, of course--remember the maxim “no generation without corruption.”  But at this point in the chapter the main point being underlined is that Agrippa, like Asriel, will function as an alchemist FOR LYRA.  

Some alchemical mermaids I’ll write about in the next post.  

Cabala mineralis, from Adam McLean, alchemywebsite.com.

Solidonius manuscript.  Restored by Adam McLean

[argentvive]

Alchemists in “The Secret Commonwealth”

I’m more than half-way through Pullman’s new book, and I’ve found a LOT of alchemy in it.  Chapter 13, “The Zeppelin,” has the most imaginative solve et coagula scene I think I’ve ever read.  (Will write it up later.)

But there’s not just alchemical symbolism.  There’s actual physical alchemy too.  Chapter 9 is titled “The Alchemist,” and features Sebastian Makepeace in his laboratory.  Makepeace is an entirely invented character, first introduced by Pullman in “Lyra’s Oxford.”  What a perfect name for an alchemist--whose goal is to bring reconciliation, love, peace, and joy!

Pullman gives us a real alchemist, too.  Chapter 20, “The Furnace Man,” takes us to the alchemy laboratory of Johannes Agrippa in Prague.  I think it’s safe to say that this Agrippa is based on Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, a famous alchemist who also lived in Prague.

Pullman has done this before:  Pavel Khunrath, the inventor of the alethiometer, who worked under the sponsorship of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, is pretty obviously inspired by the real alchemist Heinrich Khunrath.  

http://web.archive.org/web/20150320072443/http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/materials/history.php

In story terms, however, the alchemist--the person who puts Lyra into the crucible, who sets her on the journey she will take in this and the following book--is Dr. Roderick Hassall.  We shall see.  

[argentvive]

Jon and Dany Conjoin: Mind, Heart, Body

@geekyfeminist-love

Love this.  Dany's sacrifice is also especially huge, because she makes her pledge to Jon unconditional in this scene. She's no longer saying "I'll do this if you bend the knee" and Jon bends the knee unbidden afterwards.

----------------------------------

This is an excellent point and one I should have included.  Thanks!  

One of my earliest posts was one about Jon and Dany in the cave at Dragonstone.  

https://argentvive.tumblr.com/post/165880094905/jon-and-dany-in-the-cave-at-dragonstone

After a few months of thinking about all this--and comparing it to the development of Jaime and Brienne in ASOS--I think that in Season 7 of GOT, Jon and Dany conjoined in an even more complete alchemical way, joining first in mind, then in heart, and finally in body.  

Some of the most complex alchemy emblems are the colored plates that accompany Heinrich Khunrath’s Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae, first published in 1595.*  (His Dark Materials fans may recognize the name; Pullman bases his character Pavel Khunrath, the inventor of the aleithiometer, on Heinrich Khunrath.)  

This plate illustrates the entire alchemical process.

At the center is the alchemical couple, the rebis, two heads--a man’s and a woman’s--on one body.  There’s the usual square (the four elements) and macrocosmic and microcosmic circles.  The triangle is there too, a triangle created--very unusually--by lines of words.  There are three words in red letters:  Anima (soul), Spiritus (spirit), and Corpus (body).  A book like The Little White Horse that hews tightly to original alchemy finds a way to label its Male and Female Principles as Spirit and Soul, respectively.  So in Goudge’s novel, Maria is Soul and Robin is Spirit, while Maria’s dog is Body.

In most stories, however, the Male Principle is Heart and the Female Principle is Mind, e.g., Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.  Another alternative is to mark the man as Power and the woman as Wisdom, as with Will and Lyra in His Dark Materials.  

But the concept of Heart, Mind, and Body can manifest itself in another way.  In Season 7 of GOT we see Jon and Daenerys conjoining gradually, first in mind, then in heart, and finally in body.  

Initially, Dany rejects Jon’s plea for help against the NK outright.  Tyrion has to persuade her to allow Jon to mine the dragonglass.  But then Jon takes her into the cave.  He shows her the cave paintings; he makes the case for all sides coming together--in alchemical terms, the reconciliation of opposites.  Surprisingly--I was quite surprised anyway--she agrees to help him against the NK if he will bend the knee.  As I’ve suggested, this was their first Chemical Wedding.  (After watching the rescue of the Thai boys from the cave and hearing how they survived by drinking water dripping from the cave walls, I’m convinced that when we get this scene in the book there will be plenty of water around to provide the solve aspect of solve et coagula.)

Yes, Jon’s refusing to bend the knee means that the sincerity of her offer is not tested at this point. I believe she means it though.  There is not just a meeting of the minds, but a joining of the minds.  The war against the dead is now Dany’s priority, not just Jon’s.  She is willing to postpone her own campaign for the Iron Throne, realizing she might lose her dragons or indeed her own life, to join Jon against the NK.  Curiously, Jon has a bit of a dual role here.  He is her alchemical partner in the Chemical Wedding, but he is also a mentor, an alchemist, for her.  He is putting her in a new, different crucible, a crucible she knowingly and willingly accepts.  Finally, Dany gets an alchemist who is noble and worthy, unlike the earlier ones (Viserys, Illyrio, and Melisandre).  

The cave adventure accelerates the joining of their hearts.  There’s little dialogue between Jon and Dany on Dragonstone, but the screenwriter still manages to work in references to their hearts.  In response to Davos’ question “What do you think of her?” Jon replies that she has “a good heart.”  Dany, curious after Davos’ introductory comment about Jon taking a knife to the heart for his people, asks Jon about it.  These lines accomplish two tasks.  First, they confirm that both Jon and Dany are heart characters.  Second, they alert us that they are falling in love.

And so, when Jon and the wight hunting party are trapped, he doesn’t hesitate to appeal to Daenerys for help.  And Daenerys doesn’t hesitate to risk everything and help him.  

As for joining in body?  Well there’s this:

Which happens after Dany gets to see the scar from Jon’s stabbing in the heart.

Oh --and also this:

Except Jon and Dany get a boat for their version.  And, since they’ve already had the “how many kids do you want?” talk, let’s see if Season 8 gives us the NEXT stage.

Philosophia reformata,1622.

In this version, the Red King/Sun and the White Queen/Moon join to produce the Fifth Element, the Philosopher’s Stone, Sophia (wisdom).

*Khunrath’s book is the source of my avatar.  The German phrase translates as “What good are torches, light, and glasses if people refuse to see?”  Basically the same idea as the English phrase “None so blind as he who will not see.”