“The most familiar lettered square in the Western world.”
“No consensus on its origin and meaning.”
The Templar Magic Square is a palidrome from the Roman era.
The square has long associations with magical powers throughout its history (and even up to the 19th century in North and South America), including a perceived ability to extinguish fires, particularly in Germany. The square appears in several early and late medieval medical textbooks such as the Trotula , and was employed as a medieval cure for many ailments, particularly for dog bites and rabies, as well as for insanity, and for relief during childbirth.
The words are in Latin, and the following translations are known by scholars:
SATOR
sower, planter, founder, progenitor (usually divine); originator; literally ‘seeder’.
AREPO
unknown word, potentially a proper name, either invented to complete the palindrome or of a non-Latin origin.
TENET
he/she/it holds, keeps, comprehends, possesses, masters, preserves, sustains.
OPERA
work, care, aid, labour, service, works, deeds.
ROTAS
wheels; turn or cause to rotate.
