Magus #9: Sir Isaac Newton

For our April 2026 episode of Magus we're plunging elbow-deep into the Enlightenment to talk about the magical life of Sir Isaac Newton!

Arriving on this planet during the first few months of the English Civil War, Newton was abandoned by his mother, raised by his dead father's parents, and was a vengeful, mischievous child.

After a fist-fight in a churchyard during his early teens Newton turned things around, becoming the top student at his local Grammar School, earning a scholarship to Trinity College Cambridge.

The standard view of Newton's life was then that, while refusing to complete his training to become a priest, he also made some of the most important discoveries in all of physics. What people speak less of is his occult life, which remained hidden until the 1930s.

For Newton laboured for 27 years seeking the Philosopher's Stone, translating the works of Hermes Trismegistus, reading myths and legends and alchemical formulae, and doing terrible things to his own health.

A tale of secretive obsessions, heretical beliefs, and monk-like solitude, as Keynes said of him, "He was not the first of the Age of Reason by the Last of the Magicians."

We really hope you enjoy!

Speak with you again on Thursday for a double-bill of fairy tales and chats about them with "Soria Moria Castle" and "The Death of Koschei the Deathless."

Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.

Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...

Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.

With a range of exclusive content on Patreon, too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?

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