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==Magic Squares== | ==Magic Squares== | ||
Magic squares have a long history, dating back to 650 BC in China. At various times they have acquired magical or mythical significance, and have appeared as symbols in works of art. In modern times they have been generalized a number of ways, including using extra or different constraints, multiplying instead of adding cells, using alternate shapes or more than two dimensions, and replacing numbers with shapes and addition with geometric operations.Magic squares were known to Chinese mathematicians as early as 650 BC,and to Islamic mathematicians possibly as early as the seventh century AD. The first magic squares of order 5 and 6 appear in an encyclopedia from Baghdad circa 983, the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity (Rasa'il Ihkwan al-Safa); simpler magic squares were known to several earlier Arab mathematicians. | Magic squares have a long history, dating back to 650 BC in China. At various times they have acquired magical or mythical significance, and have appeared as symbols in works of art. In modern times they have been generalized a number of ways, including using extra or different constraints, multiplying instead of adding cells, using alternate shapes or more than two dimensions, and replacing numbers with shapes and addition with geometric operations.Magic squares were known to Chinese mathematicians as early as 650 BC,and to Islamic mathematicians possibly as early as the seventh century AD. The first magic squares of order 5 and 6 appear in an encyclopedia from Baghdad circa 983, the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity (Rasa'il Ihkwan al-Safa); simpler magic squares were known to several earlier Arab mathematicians. | ||
Magic squares of order 3 through 9, assigned to the seven planets, and described as means to attract the influence of planets and their angels (or demons) during magical practices, can be found in several manuscripts all around Europe starting at least since the 15th century. Among the best known, the Liber de Angelis, a magical handbook written around 1440, is included in Cambridge Univ. Lib. MS Dd.xi.45. The text of the Liber de Angelis is very close to that of De septem quadraturis planetarum seu quadrati magici, another handbook of planetary image magic contained in the Codex 793 of the Biblioteka Jagiellońska.The magical operations involve engraving the appropriate square on a plate made with the metal assigned to the corresponding planet, as well as performing a variety of rituals.The Sator square, one of the most famous magic squares found in a number of grimoires including the Key of Solomon.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_square Magic Square]</ref> | |||
Magic squares of order 3 through 9, assigned to the seven planets, and described as means to attract the influence of planets and their angels (or demons) during magical practices, can be found in several manuscripts all around Europe starting at least since the 15th century. Among the best known, the Liber de Angelis, a magical handbook written around 1440, is included in Cambridge Univ. Lib. MS Dd.xi.45. The text of the Liber de Angelis is very close to that of De septem quadraturis planetarum seu quadrati magici, another handbook of planetary image magic contained in the Codex 793 of the Biblioteka Jagiellońska.The magical operations involve engraving the appropriate square on a plate made with the metal assigned to the corresponding planet, as well as performing a variety of rituals. | |||
The Sator square, one of the most famous magic squares found in a number of grimoires including the Key of Solomon.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_square Magic Square]</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||