Malay Magic _ Being an introduction to the - Walter William Skeat

Of the mystic figures used in divination, the first in importance is, no doubt,
what has been called the “magic square,” a term applied to “a set of numbers
arranged in a square in such a manner that the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal
columns shall give the same sums.”

The ordinary form of magic square, which was formerly in use in Europe, is the
following; it is occasionally found even among the Malays.

Magic Square of 3.

816

357

492

Magic Square of 5.

17241 8 15

235 7 1416

4 6 132022

101219213

1118252 9

Magic Square of 7.

3039481 101928

38477 9 182729

466 8 17263537

5 141625343645

1315243342444

21233241433 12

223140492 1120

But the form of magic square generally used by the Malays is the same figure
reversed.

Magic Square of 3.^242