The intellectual and social declines of alchemy and astrology, circa 1650-1720

268 Pages·2017·1.78 MB·English

by  John Clements

The intellectual and social
declines of alchemy and
astrology, circa 1650-1720

John Clements
PhD
University of York
History
December 2017
Abstract:
By the early decades of the eighteenth century alchemy and astrology had ceased to be
considered respectable or credible by elite society. Astrology had been removed from
university curricula, while alchemy largely ceased to be publicly practised by the educated
and respected and became regarded by those of elite status to be little more than a tool for
charlatans or quacks. This thesis draws out these twin declines and considers them in
parallel, focusing on trying to analyse what changed intellectually and socially within
England to so dramatically alter the fates of these arts.
There is a scholarly tradition which has discussed the declines of alchemy and astrology as
part of a broader notion of a decline in ‘occult practices’ or ‘magic’, an idea which is often
twinned with the wider notion of a ‘rise of science’. This thesis will therefore consider
alchemy and astrology as connected arts, which nevertheless possessed separate identities,
and then analyse these arts’ declines alongside each other. Through this process it will
explore to what degree and in what ways one can describe the declines of these arts as
part of one unified trend, or if one needs to interpret these declines as purely grounded in
their own unique circumstances.
By utilising the works of alchemical and astrological practitioners and placing the decline of
these arts in a longer historical context this thesis studies what those who practised the
arts considered to be their core conceptual components and will therefore analyse how
these elements were changed or challenged by intellectual developments that occurred in
the second half of the seventeenth century. This is coupled with a wider analysis of
academic and literary works which discussed these arts, which will be used to consider
their social positions and how the events across the period in question affected and shaped
perceptions of alchemy and astrology and their acceptability to early modern people.
Page: 2
Contents:
Abstract 2

Contents 3

Decleration 4

Introduction: 5

Chapter 1: Historiography of these arts’ declines: 23

Chapter 2: Key alchemical and astrological works of the seventeenth century: 50

Chapter 3: Key alchemical and astrological works of the early eighteenth century: 99

Chapter 4: Links between alchemy, astrology, and other occult practices: 128

Chapter 5: Wider social, literary and satirical treatments of these arts: 172

Conclusion 212

Bibliography 232
Page: 3
Declaration
I declare that this thesis is a presentation of original work and I am the sole author. This
work has not previously been presented for an award at this, or any other, University. All
sources are acknowledged as References.

Page: 4
Introduction:
Between 1644 and 1666 William Lilly, the most prominent English astrologer of the
seventeenth century, had a business in the Strand, London. From his case books we can
ascertain that he served in the region of 2000 clients (a fair number of whom were
servants, but this number also included a sizable contingent of members of the gentry and
members of the aristocracy), and made the sizable sum of £500 each year1. During a similar
period, Lilly published an almanac that at its height saw 30,000 copies being sold each year.
But if Lilly during these years was the most prominent astrologer in England, he was far
from the only practitioner of astrology seeing thousands of clients and maintaining a very
visible profile as a public practitioner. Others, such as John Gadbury, at his most
astrologically active between about 1648-1690, and John Partridge, also active across the
second half of the seventeenth century, provided varied astrological services to a
considerable number of people2.
During these years astrology was also a central component of certain university curricula to
the degree that astrology and astronomy were often not far from interchangeable in those
curricula, and the art also continued to maintain an important place within syllabuses
teaching the art of the physician3. There is also evidence that even in the 1660s to 1680s,
when astrology suffered from a reputation for causing political trouble due to the position
Lilly and others had as proponents of the parliamentary cause during the Civil War and
Interregnum4, it was still publicly regarded as a useful and was utilised by well-regarded
individuals and even members of the Royal Society such as John Aubrey and John Webster5.

1 Derek Parker, Familiar to all: William Lilly and astrology in the seventeenth century, (London, 1975),
pp.117-129, where the nature of Lilly’s clientele and the services he offered to them such as the
drawing up of nativities and the dealing with questions of health are considered in some detail.
2 Paul Kleber Monod, Solomon's secret arts: the occult in the age of Enlightenment, (New Haven and
London, 2013), pp.55-60, which considers both the details of the practice of both men, such as
Gadbury’s speciality in cases concerning witchcraft, and the conflicts and feuds that emerged
between these two practitioners, conflicts that this thesis argues played a small role in astrology’s
inability to adapt to the challenges that faced it.
3 Steven Vanden Broecke, The limits of influence: Pico, Louvain, and the crisis of renaissance
astrology, (Boston, 2003), which traces from the medieval period the presence of astrology in
university courses related to the practice of medicine.
4Patrick Curry, ‘Astrology in early modern England, The making of vulgar knowledge’, in Stephen
Pumfrey, Paolo L. Rossi, and Maurice Slainski (eds.), Science culture, and popular belief in
Renaissance Europe, (Manchester, 1991).
5 Patrick Curry, Prophecy and power, astrology in early modern England, (Cambridge, 1989), p.59,
where Curry details the statements of these two founding members of the society supporting
astrology. Elias Ashmole, another member of the society, was a practising astrologer, and a keen
advocate of the art. However, it does need to be noted (as Curry does), that the Royal Society itself
Page: 5
While never possessing the public profile of astrology, alchemy during the years of 1650-
1680 showed signs of being very intellectually active, with there being more evidence of
alchemical work being done, and alchemical treatises being published in these years than
at any other time6. There is also evidence of alchemy being respected by influential figures
during these years. When Charles II returned from exile he was accompanied by Nicholas Le
Fèvre, a practising alchemist7, and recent scholarship has demonstrated the serious and
thoughtful interest both Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton had in the alchemical arts8.
Thus while compelling evidence can be presented demonstrating that the positions of both
arts were in some ways quite problematic, it is clear enough that in 1650 and the years
immediately following astrology and alchemy were thriving and were respected by a
significant number of educated and socially important individuals.
By 1700-1720 this had ceased to be the case. It is impossible to state categorically what
people believed during these two decades, and there is evidence that during these years a
fair number of educated people still had some respect at the very least for the art of
astrology9. Yet it is demonstrable that by 1720 neither of these arts was favourably
regarded in elite public spheres in a manner that was in anyway comparable with their
status in 1650. The number of alchemical tracts published by authors under their own
names had been dropping since the 1680s, and by the early eighteenth-century even those
well-regarded individuals, such as Newton, who were still interested in the art of alchemy,
did not feel able to acknowledge this interest publicly10. It is also clear that by 1720

cannot be viewed as generally supportive of astrology. Indeed, certain prominent works linked to
the society, particularly Thomas Sprat’s A History of the Royal Society (London, 1667), were entirely
hostile to judicial astrology, and can hardly be said to have been positively inclined to the art as a
whole.
6 Lawrence M. Principe, Chymists and chymistry: Studies in the history of alchemy and early modern
chemistry, (Sagamore Beach, 2007).
7 J. Andrew Mendelsohn, ‘Alchemy and politics in England 1649-1665’, Past & Present, 135 (May,
1992), pp. 30-78.
8 For Newton see: Patricia Fara, Newton: the making of genius, (London 2002), p.XV, which argues
that Newton: ‘wrote far more on alchemy, theology and ancient chronology than on either gravity or
optics’. There has also been recent evidence that indicates that Newton’s interest in alchemy was
much longer lived that previously indicated. In the past it has been alleged that Newton’s interest in
the art waned after his move to London in 1692, however his later correspondence with the
alchemist William Yworth now throws this assertion very much into doubt. For Boyle see: Lawrence
M. Principe, The aspiring adept, Robert Boyle, and his alchemical quest (Princeton, 1998).
9 For a case that is indicative of this see that of John Flamsteed, who wrote extensively regarding the
failures of astrology yet still made use of the art when deciding when the first stone should be laid in
Royal Greenwich Hospital: as discussed in Frances Willmoth (ed.), Flamsteed's stars: new
perspectives on the life and work of the first Astronomer Royal, 1646-1719, (London, 1999).
10The issue of the very private way Newton practised alchemy later in his life as opposed to his
earlier efforts is considered in: Karin Figala, and Ulrich Petzold, ‘Alchemy in Newtonian circles,
Page: 6
alchemy had become widely synonymous in literary works with trickery: for example after
the collapse of the South Sea Bubble in 1720 a common metaphor used for those who
falsely claimed to be able to conjure wealth out of nothing was a comparison with the art
of alchemy11.
The reduced status of astrology tended to be less obviously displayed, but after the deaths
of several prominent astrologers in the first two decades of the eighteenth century, notably
John Partridge and Francis Moore, there were after 1720 no equivalent figures who could
command the broad recognition that these previous practitioners had achieved. It is also
important to note that by 1720 previous attempts that had been made to redefine and
reform astrology as an art into something more aligned with principles of natural
philosophy had largely come to an end, leading to the conclusion that by that point there
were no individuals who could be regarded as astrologers of an equivalent intellectual
standing.
It is important to note here, and it is a fundamental element of this thesis, that the decline
being discussed was within academic, intellectual and elite discourse, with a focus on how
these arts ceased to be considered reputable by those higher in society. There is no
suggestion that these arts disappeared entirely: across the eighteenth century almanacs
containing astrological predictions continued to be sold, and in terms of numbers reached
new heights of popularity12. With alchemy the growth of Helmontian ideas within medicine
meant that the art saw renewed vigour as a tool of ‘quacks’, those medical practitioners
not recognised by the medical elite13. There are thus questions raised as to the ways in
which these arts were perceived and utilised by people at different levels in society, and
the implications of the apparent paradox that these arts could lose their reputation among
elite figures at a similar point as they were entering what could be argued to be their
greatest periods of popular appeal will be unpicked.

personal acquaintance and the problem of the late phase of Isaac Newton’s alchemy’, in J.V Field
and Franka James (eds.) Renaissance and Revolution, humanists, scholars, craftsmen and natural
philosophers in early modern Europe, (Cambridge 1993).
11 For an example of this see: Jonathan Swift, The Bubble; a poem, (London, 1721), which overtly
uses alchemical imagery to reference satirically ‘Magick [that] makes our money wise’, clearly
likening the art of alchemy to financial chicanery.
12 Bernard Capp, Astrology and the popular press: English almanacs 1500-1800, (London,2008).
13 Roy Porter, Health for sale, quackery in England 1660-1860, (Manchester, 1989), pp.8-12, which
references Yworth as one of a number of alchemists who claimed to be able to use their arts to cure
ailments.
Page: 7
The intellectual decline of these arts has long been studied by historians, and it is
demonstrably true that in the decades surrounding 1650 astrology in particular was a part
of the sphere of intellectual pursuits discussed by educated individuals, a tradition that can
be traced back to the late medieval period with the art’s inclusion in the great collections of
knowledge penned by the leading scholars of that age14. Prior to the 1970s the
conventional explanation for both alchemy and astrology ceasing to be considered valuable
intellectual tools15 was that a new rational system of ideas and ways of mentally
approaching the world had arisen and washed away older superstitious practices such as
alchemy and astrology. In some versions of this interpretation of the ‘rise of science’ it is
argued that some elements of these arts were transformed and made useful. Most
commonly parts of alchemy were thought to have become foundational to the newly
emerging art of chemistry. However, even in these discussions, this process was normally
interpreted in terms of the scattered elements of true knowledge being separated from the
‘chaff’ of mysticism16.
In scholarship originating after 1970 there is an emerging trend of acknowledging how
central some of the ideas that had previously been dismissed as the products of ignorance
were to the world views of early modern people17, and it was this scholarship which
established the importance of astrology as an element of seventeenth-century society. This
re-evaluation thus recast the declines of alchemy and astrology as a part of a much larger
shift where ideas of magic or the occult as an active component of people’s lives started to
disappear. This idea of a general disappearance of the occult has been widely discussed
and has been redefined several times. Those such as Brian Vickers refer to the idea of an
occult mind-set, in which there was an inherent idea that words can re-shape the world, in

14 For example, astrology is given over a hundred pages in Roger Bacon’s great discussion of earthly
knowledge, the Opus Majus, which gives great importance to the influence of celestial bodies upon
the world: Robert Belle Burke (Trans), The Opus Majus of Roger Bacon Volume II, (New York, 1961),
pp.159-269.
15Alchemy’s status as an academically accepted art can be seen as variable and debateable. While it
was clearly at certain points discussed in very intellectually advanced circles such as that
surrounding Samuel Hartlib, and can be seen mentioned in discussions at a number of universities, it
was never included in university curricula, and as such cannot be considered as closely tied into the
sphere of academic wisdom as astrology was.
16 A. Rupert Hall, The scientific revolution 1500-1800, (London, 1962), p.310, which speaks of how
chemistry emerged when, ‘grain of real knowledge’ within alchemy had been separated from the
‘vast deal of esoteric chaff’ that made up the majority of the art.
17 Keith Thomas, Religion and the decline of magic: studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and
seventeenth-century England, (London, 1971): this work has been argued to have played a central
role in starting this trend that was built upon by a large body of later works by such scholars as Allen
Debus and Brian Vickers.
Page: 8
opposition to a scientific mind-set where the world is viewed as fixed by immutable
physical laws 18. Alchemy and astrology have always had some difficulty fitting simply into
this idea of a broad occult sphere, and to a large degree this has been because of their
nature as practical arts, arts which were made active use of, an interpretation that has
often had difficulty in being combined with the quite theoretical, mysterious, and detached
notion to some extent implied by concepts of a broad ‘occult’. It should, moreover, be
noted that the degree to which these arts need to be viewed as largely practically focused
undertakings is contentious, especially in the case of alchemy. Some historians, such as
William Newman, have argued that alchemy needs to be seen as fundamentally a practical
art with its existence centred in the laboratory or workshop19, whereas others have
regarded this view as denying the importance of the large body of often ancient works that
made up the long established alchemical canon20.
While this debate will be touched upon in this thesis it is not a central focus, however it
does connect closely with the broader issue of the nature of the occult. With these debates
over alchemy’s nature as a practical art, and the idea that astrology, through the work of
prominent astrologers and its place within almanacs could play a regular role in early
modern life, it becomes highly questionable what exactly it means to refer to these arts as
‘supernatural’21 or ‘mystical’, and what role this played in the ultimate decline of these arts

18 Brian Vickers, ‘Analogy versus identity: the rejection of occult symbolism’, 1580-1680, in Brian
Vickers (ed.) Occult and scientific mentalities in the Renaissance, (Cambridge, 1986).
19 For example see: Anthony Grafton and William Newman (eds.), Secrets of nature: astrology and
alchemy in early modern Europe, (Cambridge 2001), pp.388-391, which actively challenges a view of
alchemy largely focused on the idea of self-purification, and of a spiritual journey. Newman links this
interpretation to a historiographical tradition tied to Mary Atwood’s A Suggestive Inquiry into the
Hermetic Mystery, and advocates a view of alchemy much more closely tied to what was practised in
the workshop. This trend can be seen in other historians’ works, especially those of Lawrence M
Principe, who argues that a principle of experimentation was central to the ideas of alchemists in the
seventeenth century, and thus views alchemy as a primarily practical art: Lawrence M. Principe, The
Aspiring Adept, Robert Boyle, and his alchemical quest, (Princeton, 1998).
20 Brian Vickers, ‘The “New Historiography” and the Limits of Alchemy,’ Annals of Science, 65 (2008),
pp.127–156.
21 In the seventeenth century this word appears to have a meaning similar to its modern definition,
of ‘something which is above or beyond the natural’. However it should be noted that while this
word could be used in a negative context to suggest something transgressed natural rules, this was
not always the case, as there are many theological works which use ‘Supernatural’ as a way to
discuss the perfect nature of the Divine. For example John Barret, God's love to man, and man's duty
towards God, (London, 1678), p.10, which discusses the question, ‘whether the Image of God in
Adam was natural, or supernatural?’ and in this context claims that, that the ‘supernatural, as being
quite above Man's Nature now corrupted, by Sin’. Coupled to this was the fact that theologians of
the sixteenth and seventeenth century were for the most part of the view that works of magic were
performed within the realm of the natural, arguing that only God had the power to supersede
nature and perform supernatural acts. However it should be noted that this nuance of terminology
Page: 9
among the educated. Therefore this thesis will aim, through a consideration of the writings
of those observing these arts and commenting upon them, to discuss to what degree these
arts were accepted parts of seventeenth and early eighteenth-century society, and how
this situation shifted across the period. Coupled to this will be a consideration of to what
degree these arts were viewed by contemporaries as mystical or inherently unnatural, and
how definitive a role this played in the arts rejection by educated elites. As a part of this
analysis there will be some examination of how discussion of these arts was linked to that
of ideas that were more demonstrably and directly mystical or unnatural, particularly those
of witchcraft or sorcery. In this attempt to consider the mystical this thesis will do all it can
to tread carefully around certain terms which have often been liberally applied when
discussing the declines of these arts.
While the previously held view of the ‘rise of science’ is no longer accepted, there are still
important questions which need investigating regarding the nature of these arts as
intellectual pursuits. Thus this thesis will when discussing the works of early modern
alchemists and astrologers attempt to unpick the intellectual foundations of these arts as
scholarly pursuits, and try to extract what principles were key to their practice among the
educated. Since most alchemical and astrological practitioners in the early modern period
made regular use of older works in explaining the basic concepts of their respective arts
this thesis will make reference to medieval and older works when necessary to draw out
what ideas were central to practitioners’ conceptions of their arts. Thus an impression will
be constructed of how those practising these arts either rejected or adapted to ideas which
developed in the second half of the seventeenth century, such as the challenging of
Aristotelian conceptions of the world, atomic theory, and the increasing prevalence of
ideas of Heliocentrism, with a view to discussing how hostile these ideas actually were to
the foundations of alchemy and astrology and thus how fundamental they were to their
declines. Something which has a central importance at this point, an importance which is
acknowledged throughout this thesis, is that the arts of alchemy and astrology, while
founded on vast collections of often ancient works, could prove dynamic, with new ideas
emerging within them. While the degree of this dynamism will be debated and analysed, it
is clear that attempts were made for these arts to reform themselves22, which has led

was not necessarily observed more widely by early modern authors who were freer with their use of
the term.
22 For an example of an astrological work which actively cites the art’s need to become closely
married to the principles of natural philosophy see: John Partridge, Opus Reformatum, (London,
1693), p.8. There is less evidence in alchemy for attempts being made to fundamentally redefine the
Page: 10