Lyra's Prophecy

The witches' prophecy that identifies Lyra Belacqua as the second Eve.

Lyra Belacqua is central to a specific prophecy identifying her as the next Eve. This prediction drives the narrative arc of the trilogy, placing an eleven-year-old girl from Jordan College at the heart of a cosmic struggle against the Authority and the Magisterium. The Magisterium becomes determined to kill her before she yields to temptation and sin like the original Eve. However, the story reinterprets this destiny, framing her choices not as a fall but as a necessary step to liberate humanity from the control of religious dogma. This fate unfolds across parallel universes, involving key figures such as Will Parry, Lord Asriel, and Mrs. Coulter.

Quick Facts

Subject: Lyra Belacqua
Key location: Jordan College, Svalbard, Cittàgazze, The Land of the Dead
Primary antagonist to prophecy: The Authority (via the Magisterium and Metatron)

Lore & Background

The prophecy is the witches' prophecy: it identifies Lyra Belacqua as the second Eve, and when the Magisterium learns of it, it decides she must be killed to prevent a new fall. This destiny connects directly to Dust, mysterious elementary particles that the Church views as the basis of sin but which are revealed to be created by and nourishing self-aware life. Lyra's journey takes her from Jordan College in Oxford to the Arctic fortress of Svalbard, then through Asriel's portal to Cittàgazze, and finally to the Land of the Dead. In this realm, she acts alongside Will Parry and Gallivespian spies Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia to release ghosts from their captivity by temporarily parting with their dæmons.

Reader's Guide

Lyra's role as the prophesied 'next Eve' transforms the trilogy into a retelling and inversion of John Milton's Paradise Lost. Unlike the biblical narrative where Eve's choice brings tragic original sin, Pullman commends humanity for embracing knowledge. The Authority is revealed not as the creator but as the first angel to have emerged from Dust; aged and feeble, he dissolves when Lyra and Will free him from his crystal prison. To fulfill this destiny, Lyra must enter the Land of the Dead alongside Will Parry. In the prophecy Mary Malone plays the part of the serpent to Lyra's Eve. In the Land of the Dead Will cuts a window through which the ghosts can leave and dissolve into the universe, which fulfils the second part of the witches' prophecy, that there is "an end of destiny".

Did You Know?

Lyra was entrusted with an alethiometer, a truth-telling device, by the Master of Jordan College.
Lord Asriel killed Roger to sever him from his dæmon, releasing enough energy to create an opening to a parallel universe.