NEWTON, THE LAST OF THE MAGICIANS

It has often been said that if Newton were an astrologer, he surely would have written extensively about it, as he did with all of his other interests.

English historian of science Derek Thomas Whiteside reported that he did not find any reference to astrology among the 50 million words that have been preserved of Newton's writings.

However, there are extant writings showing clearly that Newton, while perhaps not a practicing astrologer, was very familiar with the discipline. In his work on chronology, he discussed what he saw as the origins of astrology.

"It may be presumed that they continued to observe the motions of the planets, for they called them after the names of their gods; and Nechepsos or Nicepsos, King of Sais, by the assistance of Petosiris, a priest of Egypt, invented astrology, grounding it upon the aspects of the planets, and the qualities of the men and women to whom they were dedicated."

It is not clear from what sources Newton took this information. Franz Cumont, along with others, writes that the texts bearing the name of Nechepso and Petosiris were written in 150BC, around 500 years after the supposed reign of Nechepso. The writings that bear the names of Nechepso and Petosiris were very popular and were considered to be divine revelations of astrology and Hermeticism.

These works do not survive intact, but mostly in excerpts quoted by later astrologers, particularly Dorotheus, Ptolemy, and Valens. They became popular again during the Renaissance with well-known astrologers and alchemists such as John Dee. It is likely that Newton also read these texts, attributing them to the 7th century BC and the beginnings of astrology.

Whether or not Newton was correct in his assessment, it shows that he did not reject astrology but saw it as a valid route to the past. It is unlikely that he ever practiced astrology in the sense of drawing up charts and interpreting them. What he did, however, was to take his understanding of astrological principles and apply them to his search for insight into the laws of ancient wisdom.