This book offers new and better methods for performing tricks with magic squares. The methods are quicker, more powerful, and less taxing than previously published methods. They enable tricks that are more surprising, and therefore more entertaining. There are also new methods that permit demonstrations that were not previously possible in a live performance.

This volume presents a collection of some of the seminal articles of Professor K. S. Shukla who made immense contributions to our understanding of the history and development of mathematics and astronomy in India. It consists of six parts: Part I constitutes introductory articles which give an overview of the life and work of Prof. Shukla, including details of his publications, reminiscences from his former students, and an analysis of his monumental contributions. Part II is a collection of important articles penned by Prof. Shukla related to various aspects of Indian mathematics. Part III consists of articles by Bibhutibhusan Datta and Avadhesh Narayan Singh—which together constitute the third unpublished part of their History of Hindu Mathematics—that were revised and updated by Prof. Shukla. Parts IV and V consist of a number of important articles of Prof. Shukla on different aspects of Indian astronomy. Part VI includes some important reviews authored by him and a few reviews of his work. Given the sheer range and depth of Prof. Shukla’s scholarship, this volume is essential reading for scholars seeking to deepen their understanding of the rich and varied contributions made by Indian mathematicians and astronomers.

Humanity's love affair with mathematics and mysticism reached a critical juncture, legend has it, on the back of a turtle in ancient China. As Clifford Pickover briefly recounts in this enthralling book, the most comprehensive in decades on magic squares, Emperor Yu was supposedly strolling along the Yellow River one day around 2200 B.C. when he spotted the creature: its shell had a series of dots within squares. To Yu's amazement, each row of squares contained fifteen dots, as did the columns and diagonals. When he added any two cells opposite along a line through the center square, like 2 and 8, he always arrived at 10. The turtle, unwitting inspirer of the ''Yu'' square, went on to a life of courtly comfort and fame. Pickover explains why Chinese emperors, Babylonian astrologer-priests, prehistoric cave people in France, and ancient Mayans of the Yucatan were convinced that magic squares--arrays filled with numbers or letters in certain arrangements--held the secret of the universe. Since the dawn of civilization, he writes, humans have invoked such patterns to ward off evil and bring good fortune. Yet who would have guessed that in the twenty-first century, mathematicians would be studying magic squares so immense and in so many dimensions that the objects defy ordinary human contemplation and visualization? Readers are treated to a colorful history of magic squares and similar structures, their construction, and classification along with a remarkable variety of newly discovered objects ranging from ornate inlaid magic cubes to hypercubes. Illustrated examples occur throughout, with some patterns from the author's own experiments. The tesseracts, circles, spheres, and stars that he presents perfectly convey the age-old devotion of the math-minded to this Zenlike quest. Number lovers, puzzle aficionados, and math enthusiasts will treasure this rich and lively encyclopedia of one of the few areas of mathematics where the contributions of even nonspecialists count.

Within the pages of this book lies one of the most powerful mandalas of the Western Mystery Tradition. For the first time in English, Nineveh Shadrach has lifted the veil on a magic square whose properties astonished Magi of an age long past. They hid this square from the uninitiated with arcane terms such as the red sulfur and great elixir. They attributed its power to the rise of figures such as Alexander the Great. For hundreds of years advanced adepts of Western Occultism had no inkling of the existence of such a powerful magical artifact. Now you do. You'll expand your knowledge of authentic ancient sacred magic when you get: a) A partial translation of an ancient manuscript, revealing some of its secrets b) The blueprint for constructing this mandala of power to awaken its energy in your life c) Advanced teachings of esoteric numerology that shed light on its mysteries d) Ten additional variations, each designed to fully manifest the spiritual power of the emanations of the Tree of Life. This book is not for beginners or for those looking for quick fix spells. Anyone who has dug in hidden places in search of secret knowledge that can change lives will find a master key inside. All that is left is for you to use that key and unleash the ancient power of kings.

The science of magic squares witnessed an important development in the Islamic world during the Middle Ages, with a great variety of construction methods being created and ameliorated. The initial step was the translation, in the ninth century, of an anonymous Greek text containing the description of certain highly developed arrangements, no doubt the culmination of ancient research on magic squares.