The Science of Pseudoscience:

The Role of Alchemy and Astrology in the Development of Modern Science

by
Marissa Cook

History 280-01
Professor J. Michael Raley
February 19, 2013

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The early modern, occult practices of astrology and alchemy are often viewed as nothing
more than unfounded superstition that quickly faded with the further development of science.
However, to subscribe to this belief would be to ignore that many founders of modern science
took part in astrology and alchemy as well. Figures such as Kepler, Galileo, Brahe, and Newton
all practiced either or both, and in fact, their work in such practices made a significant impact in
their better-known scientific pursuits. With the exception of Galileo, for whom astrology was
nonetheless largely influential, the practices and beliefs behind astrology and alchemy informed
the scientific views of each figure and were closely tied to the scientific methods of each, thus
containing significant elements of the methodologies that were to become modern science.
Johannes Kepler, to begin with, lived at a time when astrology provided for many,
especially learned elite, an explanation of the universe that based itself in mathematics and data
that could be observed.1 Kepler himself practiced and accepted astrology, and in defense of it
pointed out many ostensible successes of astrological predictions. He accepted its validity largely
because it had a mathematical foundation and could be proven and, based on experience, it
seemed to work.2 However, this acceptance did not come without reservations: anything truthful
in astrology needed to be based in nature, not a device created by humans.3 In this sense,
Keplers astrological beliefs were formed to fit his scientific and mathematic standards.
1Wright, Peter, Astrology and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, Social Studies of

Science, vol. 5, no. 4 (November 1975): 399-422 at 403, available on JSTOR at

www.jstor.org/stable/284805 (accessed April 7, 2013).
2Rabin, Sheila J. Keplers Attitude Toward Pico and the Anti-Astrology Polemic, Renaissance

Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3 (Autumn 1997): 750-770, at 761, available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/3039261 (accessed April 7, 2013).
3Ibid., 761.

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Accordingly, he carefully charted the stars, recording their movements scientifically, with both
qualitative and quantitative data.4 He wanted to perfect and make perfectly accurate his
observations, as well as establish knowledge of the metaphysical aspects of heaven in the
conclusions drawn from these observations.5 In this way, Keplers astrology contained significant
elements of the careful observation of the scientific method, an aspect of more modern science.
Although Kepler made more observations and computations based on the stars for the sake of
astronomy, for instance, in his New Astronomy, to some extent astrology informed his
conclusions. He believed, for example, that the natural world was formed with a hidden
geometrical structure, which came from his very astrological, mystical hypothesis of a universe
contained within sets of polyhedron, as described with a great deal of geometric proofs in his
Mysterium Cosmographicum. This astrological system made him certain that planetary
harmonies existed, and that the movements of planets were contained within geometric forms.6
Through the many calculations he underwent to support this explanation, he stumbled easily into
his laws of planetary motion, which he saw as the further development of his harmonic system.7
Thus, Keplers practice of astrology did not merely contain elements that fit alongside his
4Kepler, Johannes, New Astronomy, Trans. William H. Donahue (New York: Cambridge

University Press, 1992).

5Johannes Kepler, Mysterium cosmographicum, Trans. A.M. Duncan (New York: Abaris Books,

Inc., 1981), 41.

6E.J. Alton, Introduction to Mysterium cosmographicum, by Johannes Kepler (New York: Abaris

Books, Inc., 1981), 17-31 at 25.

7Cajori, Florian, Johannes Kepler, 1571-1630, The Scientific Monthly, vol. 30, no. 5 (May

1930): 385-393 at 393, available on JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/14833 (accessed April 7,

2013).

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scientific pursuits, but also spurred his more enduring discoveries through the belief that unity
exits between celestial and terrestrial systems.
The exception to this informing of science and astrology, however, is Galileo Galilei. Although
obviously a practitioner of astrology, as many in his time, in Galileos case, astrology played a
large role mainly along political lines. Of course his astronomy was closely related, but he
predominantly used astrology for the acquisition of patronage. In The Sidereal Messenger, he
greets his patron, Cosimo II de Medici, with an illustrious horoscope: Jupiter at the instant
of the birth of Your Highness occupying the middle quarter of the heavens poured forth into
a most pure air all the brightness of his majesty, thus bestowing on Cosimo all its virtues and
power.8 Astrology clearly plays a role in Galileos other scientific pursuits, even if it assists him
only in gaining the patronage that allows him to focus on such pursuits. Still, his relationship
with astrological discoveries appears more superficial than other figures, and his discoveries,
such as the similarities between heavenly and earthly bodies, which he determined from
observations and detailed drawings of the behavior of the moons surface, are far more driven by
his own scientific method and telescopic observation.9
On the other hand, the astrological work of Tycho Brahe does show a similar emphasis on
methodology that would eventually evolve into modern science. Prior to beginning his massive
recording of the stars motions, he had been more interested in this foretelling part of
Astronomy, but felt that the course of the stars upon which it builds were insufficiently
8Galilei, Galileo, The Sidereal Messenger, In The Essential Galileo, Ed. and Trans. Maurice A.

Finocchiaro (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2008), 45-84 at 46-47.

9Galilei, Galileo, The Starry Messenger, In The Scientific Revolution: A Brief History with

Documents, Margaret C. Jacob (Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010), 59-63.

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known and put it aside until [he] should have remedied this want.10 In doing so, his
involvement in astronomy greatly increased, and he followed a very scientific method of
observation. All that he claims is confirmed by actual experience, and the positions of the fixed
stars determined several times, and with different instruments, too, each leading to the same
result.11 With similar care every star has been assigned its proper position by cumbersome
trigonometric calculations, in spite of the mechanical devices that he could have used.12
Through repetition of his calculations and various methods, important aspects of modern
scientific inquiry, as well as a firm basis in direct observation over theory, Brahe ascertained
completely that his calculations for the location of the fixed stars could be relied upon. He
further continued to take the error of refraction into account, preparing a table to help to
remedy this error.13 This scientific perfectionism was then easily applied to the field of astrology.
His aim was to rid this field of mistakes and superstition, and to obtain the best possible
agreement with the experience on which it is based, and to this effect developed a method,
based on experience, to aid both judicial and natural astrology.14 His scientific methods and
astrology worked together in an attempt to find truth, based in physical reality, which follows the

10Brahe, Tycho, Description of his Instruments and Scientific Work, Ed. and Trans. Hans

Raeder, Elis Stromgren, and Bengt Stromgren (Copenhagen: I Kommission Hos Ejnar
Munksgaard, 1946), 117.
11Ibid.
12Ibid.
13Ibid., 114.
14Ibid., 117.

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standards of more modern methods, and to some extent his need for accurate measurements in
astrology prompted his astronomical work.
Of course, his use of astrology not only had to do with the importance of precision and accuracy,
but a belief in the Paracelsian theory that the objects on earth had a relation to the objects in
heaven based on natural laws, a sort of deeper unity.15 Brahe truly believed that this science
[astrology] is really more reliable than one would think,16 and that it had a close connection
with terrestrial substances. His work in alchemy was very closely related to his astrology, as he
viewed the substances treated as somewhat analogous to the celestial bodies and their
influences.17 With the same experimental control and care, he made findings about the nature of
metals and mineral as well as the precious stones and plants, and other similar substances.18
Although he keeps these findings largely unpublished, in light of his elaborately designed
laboratory in Uraniborg, which allowed for a practical organization and ease in using the
instruments needed for chemical experiments,19 it would seem as though his alchemical
practices, far from occult and hidden, begin to bridge the gap between alchemy and what is now
known as modern chemistry through his scientific treatment of the subject.
15Shackelford, Jole, Tycho Brahe, Laboratory Design, and the Aim of Science: Reading Plans

in Context, Isis, vol. 84, no. 2 (June 1993): 211-230, at 225, available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/236232 (accessed January 6, 2013).
16Brahe, Description of his Instruments and Scientific Work, 117.
17Ibid., 118.
18Ibid.
19Shackleford, Tycho Brahe, Laboratory Design, and the Aim of Science: Reading Plans in

Context, 211-230.

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Another major figure in the scientific revolution, Isaac Newton, showed a similarly deep interest
in the study of alchemy. With the same scientific standards, he made a great deal of detailed
notes and observations on alchemical experiments, including dates, the materials, and carefully
measured amounts of each substance. He records such experiments as the transformation in
ratios of two metals melted together to make a more fusible metal, and the amounts of each, in
grains, put into experiments, including the change in amount afterward.20 These systematic
activities seem to largely resemble more modern chemical experimentation, rather than a
mysterious occult practice. Through these experiments Newton did search for laws that stepped
outside of strictly mechanical philosophy, according to theories filled with religious ties to the
initial chaos of Genesis and the action of God as the creator. However, these theories also
focused largely on the ways in which minerals interact, get broken down, and come together, all
main purposes of the study of chemicals in a more scientific manner.21 In many ways, Newtons
alchemy was not so much an occult practice but, like Brahe, the beginnings of experimentation
with matter which would evolve into modern chemistry, and perhaps more significant to the
emergence of chemistry than is often realized.
Furthermore, alchemy showed considerable influence on Newtons scientific positions. The
abovementioned theories, for example, acted as a major reason for Newton to alter his scientific

20Issac Newton, Portsmouth Collection Add. MS. 3973 (1678-1696), The Chymistry of Issac

Newton, http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/mss/intro/ALCH00109 (accessed April 7,

2013).
21Young, John T, Isaac Newtons Alchemical Notes in the Royal Society, Notes and Records

of the Royal Society, vol. 60, no. 1 (January 22, 2006): 25-34, at 29, available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/20462548 (accessed April 7, 2013).

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perspective from a simply mechanical viewpoint.22 The Hermetic aspects of alchemy exposed
him to the idea that the world contains hidden forces that can be controlled by people, and that a
universal law connects all, from terrestrial microcosm to celestial macrocosm.23 A belief in
chemical experimentation and these secret and universal laws brought him to use chemical
phenomena as proof as well as to support the existence of secret principles in nature that could
not be directly observed.24 Eventually, this assertion led him to a new explanation of gravity as a
yet-unexplained attraction between masses.25 Thus, through experimentation and philosophy
derived from alchemical experiments and texts, Newtons alchemy not only had a connection to
the modern practice of chemistry, but held influence over the development of his more renowned
scientific thinking.
Kepler, Galileo, Brahe, and Newton each contributed significantly to the scientific revolution
and, consequently, to the experimental and method-based science recognized today. In spite of
modern conceptions of these great scientists, each participated in either science or alchemy,
today considered mere pseudoscience. Keplers astrology led him to further develop his
astronomical methodology and his belief that the universe was organized by harmonious,
geometric laws, as with Brahe. Galileo, while perhaps not quite so influenced by his use of
astrology, used it nonetheless as a way to receive the patronage to continue his astronomical
22Westfall, Richard, The Life of Isaac Newton (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993),

143.
23Olson, Richard G, Science and Religion, 1450-1900 (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University

Press, 2004), 92.

24Westfall, The Life of Isaac Newton, 144-5.
25Ibid., 145.

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studies. Both Brahe and Newton, in alchemy, also showed a considerable amount of scientific
thought in their supposedly occult experiments. On the whole, astrology and alchemy fit very
well into the scientific views and goals of each figure, in the process being influenced by and
significantly influencing the development of modern science.

Bibliography
Primary Sources
Brahe, Tycho. Description of his Instruments and Scientific Work. Ed. and Trans. Hans Raeder,
Elis Stromgren, and Bengt Stromgren. Copenhagen: I Kommission Hos Ejnar
Munksgaard, 1946.
Galilei, Galileo. The Sidereal Messenger. In The Essential Galileo, 45-84. Ed. and Trans.
Maurice A. Finocchiaro. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2008.
Galilei, Galileo. The Starry Messenger. In The Scientific Revolution: A Brief History with
Documents, 59-63. Margaret C. Jacob. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010.
Issac Newton. Portsmouth Collection Add. MS. 3973 (1678-1696). The Chymistry of Issac
Newton, http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/mss/intro/ALCH00109 (accessed April
7, 2013).
Kepler, Johannes. Mysterium cosmographicum. Trans. A.M. Duncan. New York: Abaris Books,
Inc., 1981.

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Kepler, Johannes. New Astronomy. Trans. William H. Donahue. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1992.
Secondary Sources
Alton, E.J. Introduction to Mysterium cosmographicum, by Johannes Kepler, 17-31. New York:
Abaris Books, Inc., 1981.
Cajori, Florian. Johannes Kepler, 1571-1630. The Scientific Monthly, vol. 30, no. 5 (May
1930): 385-393. Available on JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/14833 (accessed April 7,
2013).
Olson, Richard G. Science and Religion, 1450-1900. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University
Press, 2004.
Principe, Lawrence M. Alchemy Restored. Isis, vol. 102, no. 2 (June 2011): 305-312.
Available on JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/660139 (accessed January 6, 2013).
Rabin, Sheila J. Keplers Attitude Toward Pico and the Anti-Astrology Polemic. Renaissance
Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3 (Autumn 1997): 750-770. Available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/3039261 (accessed April 7, 2013).
Shackelford, Jole. Tycho Brahe, Laboratory Design, and the Aim of Science: Reading Plans in
Context. Isis, vol. 84, no. 2 (June 1993): 211-230. Available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/236232 (accessed January 6, 2013).
Young, John T. Isaac Newtons Alchemical Notes in the Royal Society. Notes and Records of
the Royal Society, vol. 60, no. 1 (January 22, 2006): 25-34. Available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/20462548 (accessed April 7, 2013).
Westfall, Richard. The Life of Isaac Newton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

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Wright, Peter. Astrology and Science in Seventeenth-Century England. Social Studies of
Science, vol. 5, no. 4 (November 1975): 399-422. Available on JSTOR at
www.jstor.org/stable/284805 (accessed April 7, 2013).