GC1ZFYY Golden Compass (Unknown Cache) in British Columbia, Canada created by gearhedd

GC1ZFYY ▼

A cache by gearhedd Message this owner

Hidden : 6/4/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

An alethiometer (from the Greek 'aletheia' meaning truth), a fictional truth-measuring instrument created by Philip Pullman, the author of The Golden Compass. The alethiometer first appears in the novel The Golden Compass when it is given to the main character, a young girl named Lyra Belacqua by the Master of Jordan College.

The device most resembles a compass. It has a brass casing and a crystal face. There are three short hands which can be directed to a combination of 36 symbols painted on the face and a fourth longer hand made from a dullish metal which moves of it's own accord.
How Does the Alethiometer Work?
The art of alethiometry is extremely difficult to master and it takes years of study to combine the skill of both asking the right question and reading the correct answer from the results given by the instrument.
First of all, the user must direct the three smaller arrows to several symbols that represent the question that they wish to ask. Then they must find the meaning of each symbol on a mental 'ladder' visualized in their own mind and link these together while observing the movement of the longer hand.
It is the behaviour of the longer hand which answers the question. The user must assess the frequency and order in which the needle rests on a series of symbols, whilst holding the initial question in their mind. The correct reading of this activity allows the user to know the truth and the divine answer.

In order to find this cache you will need to decipher the message below using your homemade Golden Compass. Start with a print out of Alethiometer Cipher Wheels above, then cut them both out and put them together. Now the trick will be to figure out were I set the Outer Cipher Wheel in relation to the Inner Cipher Wheel. Keep in mind to match up the letter "A" on the Inner Cipher Wheel to a Symbol on the Outer Cipher Wheel.