Not all stars twinkle in the sky. Some glisten on the shore or wink up at us from the grass beneath our feet. Their shape is often best appreciated from above. However, I drew the Queen Anne’s Lace flower, shown at top, from the perspective of an ant that might be looking up towards the sky from a position on the stem.
Star shapes consist of five or more points radiating from a centre.
These star polygons are given different names depending on how many points they have. For example, a pentagram has five points while an octagram has eight.
Many of these star shapes hold spiritual significance. Pentagrams are considered magical and often used in occult practices. The Star of David and the Seal of Solomon are both hexagrams, star polygons with six points.
On land, the variety of star shaped flowers is endless. In the water, echinoderms are marine animals that reveal radial symmetry in some part of their design at the adult stage. Sea urchins, sand dollars and starfish are echinoderms that often wash up on Nova Scotia’s shores.
Sometimes, the star structure of the polygon is not as obvious, as is the case with the hexagonal chambers of bees. Like other shapes in nature, such as the circle, the branch, the spiral and the meander, these tiny hexagons form exquisite patterns and are the building blocks for larger things, in this case, the honeycomb.
Over the past five Saturdays, I’ve examined five different shapes found frequently in nature as a lead-in to a Summer Scavenger Hunt. Next Saturday on June 20th, Midsummer’s Eve, I’ll provide final details of the hunt. Wherever you make your home on the planet, whether you live in the city or in the country, I hope you’ll consider taking part.