the classics pages letters

Greetings oracle!

I've often encountered the following 'magic square':

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

Although I know a little Latin, I can't make much sense of the sentence
"Sator arepo tenet opera rotas". Do you know what it means?

Thanks,
Chris

It "means":
"Arepo the sower holds the wheels at work" - if that means anything - but
the real meaning is in the anagram which can be formed from the letters. The
pentagram was thus a Christian secret symbol, like the fish.

 

A

P
A
T
E
R
A  P A T E R N O S T E R  O
O
S
T
E
R

O

Not only does it form a cross, but it reads "Our Father" across and down,
with alpha and omega at the beginning and end of each!
Trust you are suitably amazed!
Andrew