Isaac Newton: First Scientist, or Last Sorcerer?

Yes

Somewhere along the history of mankind there was a split between Science and Mysticism. We are all the poorer for it.

"Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727 ) was an English physicist, mathematician, alchemist, astronomer, natural philosopher, and theologian who is considered by many scholars and members of the general public to be one of the most influential people in human history. His 1687 publication of the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (usually called the Principia) is considered to be among the most influential books in the history of Science" http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Isaac_Newton

"Yet many writers of the post Enlightenment Age only recognized his work in the "sciences" and it was only the rediscovery of a large trove of his alchemical papers by the economist John Maynard Keynes in the mid-twentieth century that led scholars to realize the inspiration for Newton's laws of light and theory of gravity came from his alchemical work"

"In fact, Newton -- the revered founder of modern science and the mechanistic universe -- also ranks as one of the greatest spiritual alchemists of all time. In his The Religion of Isaac Newton (Oxford 1974), F.E. Manuel concluded: "The more Newton's theological and alchemical, chronological and mythological work is examined as a whole corpus, set by the side of his science, the more apparent it becomes that in his moments of grandeur he saw himself as the last of the interpreters of God's will in actions, living on the fulfillment of times"
The Hermetic Tradition
"This view has become more accepted in recent years, as more of Newton's private papers and alchemical treatises are being reexamined. "Like all European alchemists from the Dark Ages to the beginning of the scientific era and beyond," states Michael White in Isaac Newton:The Last Sorcerer (Addison Wesley 1997), "Newton was motivated by a deep-rooted commitment to the notion that alchemical wisdom extended back to ancient times. The Hermetic tradition -- the body of alchemical knowledge -- was believed to have originated in the mists of time and to have been given to humanity through supernatural agents" http://www.alchemylab.com/isaac_newton.htm

You might also enjoy this book:

The Foundations of Newton's Alchemy, B.J.T. Dobbs (Cambridge Paperback Library)

And this is where I argue with the followers of the new religion called scientism, which cannot allow the merest hint of the magical, in their exclusive purview of "Science"

Was Newton's Laws of Motion or Gravity or Thermodynamics influenced by his alchemical experiments? Yes I believe so, based on my own alchemical experience, but it isn't my job to convince anyone, just point people in that direction and let them decide for themselves.

But, to me, the fact that he understood 'an occultic concept of action across a distance would lead to discovery of the laws of gravitation', or his Hypothesis on Light is proof that he, as an alchemist, was aware of 'Hermetic ideas of attraction and repulsion between particles of energy'

This is where I try to lead people. To "search for knowledge, even to China" If the search leads to Astrology, or Homoeopathy, so be it. I did that already, at age 16. If the scientists who argue for the Electric Universe someday lead us to a Unified Theory of Matter, Energy, and Motion, I'm all for it.

From Wikipedia:

"A polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, "having learned much") is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath (or polymathic person) may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable. Most ancient scientists were polymaths by today's standards.

The common term Renaissance man is used to describe a person who is well educated or who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields. The idea developed in Renaissance Italy from the notion expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472): that "a man can do all things if he will" It embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance humanism, which considered humans empowered, limitless in their capacities for development, and led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted people of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts"

And if we somehow discover God and the meaning of the Soul, why not?