$\noindent If $A = PDP^{-1}$ in general ($D$ diagonal), then defining $B= PD^{\frac{1}{2}}P^{-1}$, we have $B^{2} = A$. Here $D^{\frac{1}{2}}$ is a square root of $D$, which is a diagonal matrix with diagonal entries all being square roots of the entries in $D$. In your example, you can do this...