#rotas square

[thesilicontribesman]

Manchester Roman Rotas Wordsquare, 180 CE, Eltoft Street, Manchester Museum

This Roman wordsquare may be the earliest evidence of Christianity in northern Britain.

[sheydmade]

Question: "Can Sator Squares be used to protect protestors?" Answer: Yes!

Here's a snippet from 'Protection Work in Folk Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Protecting Yourself & Others' — and an upcoming bonus post is going to focus on more methods of protecting protestors and protecting/boosting their goals. | Support on Ko-Fi

Protection from Violence, Assault, & Harassment:

Sator Squares:

Pennsylvania Dutch variation of a Sator Square found in 'Long Lost Friend' by German-American Pennsylvania Dutch healer and charm worker, John George Hohman; published in 1820.

The Sator Square / Rotas-Sator Square is a palindromic word square used as a magical charm or amulet. It's been around for quite some time (with the oldest known square possibly being from as early as AD 50) and has been found to have been used historically throughout Europe, Africa, Asia Minor, and the Americas. As to its origins and intended purpose, no one knows for sure, but the Sator Square has come to have a number of magical uses, including as a tool for curing ailments, aiding in childbirth, putting out fires, and, in fitting with the theme of this piece, in protection magic.

Medieval Sator Square etched into a wall; Oppède-le-Vieux, France.

There are many variations of Sator Squares / Rotas-Sator Squares, but the most common forms consist of five rows of five words, each with five letters, arranged in a 5x5 grid. The Rotas-Sator Square (in which rotas is the word listed first, pictured below on the left) was the more common in pre-medieval use, but the Sator Square (in which sator is listed first, pictured below on the right) became far more prevalently used than the Rotas-Sator variation at some point in medieval Europe.

Rotas-Sator Square (left) and Sator Square (right).

In Southern Appalachian and some Southeastern folk practices within the United States, one can use a Sator Square for protection from violence or assault against your person.

What to do:

-Write out a Sator Square or Rotas-Sator Square and carry the charm with you. It can be kept in the pocket, especially a shirt pocket, in the shoe, or even be sewn into one's clothes.

It's also said to be used in/on charm bags for general protection from evil in Cornish folkloric based witchcraft.

[obsession-beats-desolation]

Sator Square

The Sator Square (or Rotas Square) is a word square containing a five-word Latin palindrome. It features in early Christian as well as in magical contexts. The earliest example of the square dates from the ruins of Pompeii, which some scholars attribute to pre-Christian origins, such as Jewish or Mithraic.

It is a 5 × 5 square made up of five 5-letter words, thus consisting of 25 letters in total, all derived from 8 Latin letters: 5 consonants (S, T, R, P, N) and 3 vowels (A, E, O).

It is a square two-dimensional palindrome with four symmetries (its symmetry group is the Klein four-group), being identity, two diagonal reflections, and 180-degree rotation. The text may be read top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, or right-to-left; and it may be rotated 180 degrees and still be read in all those ways. 

Translation:

SATOR (nominative or vocative noun) (from serere=to sow) sower, planter, founder, progenitor (usually divine); originator; literally “seeder”.

AREPO unknown, likely a proper name, either invented or, perhaps, of Egyptian origin, e.g. coded form of the name Harpocrates or Hor-Hap (Serapis).

TENET (verb) (from tenere=to hold) he/she/it holds, keeps, comprehends, possesses, masters, preserves, sustains.

OPERA (nominative, ablative or accusative noun) work, care, aid, labour, service, effort/trouble; (from opus): (nominative, accusative or vocative noun) works, deeds; (ablative) with effort.

ROTAS (rotās, accusative plural of rota) wheels; (verb) you (singular) turn or cause to rotate. 

[thesilicontribesman]

'Rotas Square' Early Religious Acrostic, 2nd Century CE Roman Plaster, Corinium Museum, Cirencester

[behindawhitemask]

A reversed Sator Square, also known as a Rotas Square.

The Sator Square, ancestor of crosswords, is a famous word square in Latin. It is a word square containing a Latin palindrome featuring the words SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS written in a square so that they may be read top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, and right-to-left.

The Sator-Rotas Square (or Templar Magic Square), with the embedded anagram of Pater Noster, is an ancient charm of great power and mystery. The earliest example was discovered scratched on a wall in the buried city of Pompeii and dated back to the first century AD. Although used by early Christian Mystics as a magical charm the square has surfaced in cultures and religions all over the world. Because of the hidden anagram, Pater Noster, the square was originally thought to be of Christian design, but there is now strong evidence that it predates Christianity by a considerable margin and refers to the ancient God, Mithras.

In Rome during the Middle Ages this square was inscribed on a variety of common, everyday objects such as utensils and drinking vessels. It was also found above doorways. It was believed that the square had magical properties, and that making it visible would ward off evil spirits. The words on this square roughly translate to "The Creator (or Savior) holds the working of the spheres in his hands." C. W. Ceram read the square boustrophedon (in alternating directions), with tenet repeated. This produces Sator opera tenet; tenet opera sator, translated: 'The Great Sower holds in his hand all works; all works the Great Sower holds in his hand.' (Ceram 1958, p. 30)

-- The Sator Magic Square

You might find a Sator Square inscribed inside a drawer in the Macduff residence.