Newton's Work in Alchemy
Picture 2
Plate
II 
The Newton we've all read so much about, it seems, had been living something of a double life. While he is the founder of most modern sciences, it seems he dedicated a very large portion of his time to a bizarre science called alchemy.
One of Newton's major convictions was that the tiny particles known to the modern world as atoms could not arrange themselves in the organized forms we've all come to know and love. Instead, there must be some sort of divine guidance that Newton majestically termed "the vegetable spirit." This carrot/broccoli demi-God was what Newton was hoping to find in his alchemy studies. The new formations of metal were based in a way much like the birth of a child. The immature matter would be fertilized by a male seed leading to the formation or generation of gold. It was partially Newton's inability to accept the cold mechanical truth of particle motion that led him to search for his vegetable spirit. This was his fertilizing agent; he needed only to isolate it.
Alchemy was not without its own symbols. Light represented the power of God. It was this power that was able to create life from the lifeless matter. This is a very close representation to the rays of light seen in many different religions. Newton could also be found reading his daily horoscope, as the spring zodiacal signs of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini were often the symbol of his vegetable spirit.
The Plate II is a symbol that represents the entirety of alchemical research (see Picture 2). The three zodiac signs are seen at the top, the twins, the bull, and the ram. The three crowns represent increasing levels of perfection when read from bottom to top. At the bottom is the earth were plants and metals grow. The two cuts in the fields are representative of Mercury and Sulfur: the constituents of all metals. The fire in the middle symbolizes the joining of these two metals and the maturation of them.
Death and resurrection are shown by the pelican in the flask. What is in the flask is dead, but may be brought back by the streams of light flowing into it. This is the first level of perfection (the first crown). Mercury is created, symbolized by the two entwining snakes. This is the second level of perfection. The third level is reached when the creation of perfect Sulfur (represented by the triangle) is joined with the perfect Mercury.
Even alchemy has Christian roots however. The cross is a Christian symbol, and makes up the backbone of Plate II. The pelican (which pierces its chest to feed its young its blood) is a symbol of Christ. It was believed that Christ carried with him the active alchemical agent. Newton wasn't just looking for any vegetable spirit; he was looking for Christ.