An n-pointed magic star is a star polygon with Schläfli symbol {n/2} in which numbers are placed at each of the n vertices and n intersections, such that the four numbers on each line sum to the same magic constant. A normal magic star contains the consecutive integers 1 to 2n. No numbers are ever repeated. The magic constant of an n-pointed normal magic star is M = 4n + 2.
No star polygons with fewer than 5 points exist, and the construction of a normal 5-pointed magic star turns out to be impossible. The smallest examples of normal magic stars are therefore 6-pointed. Some examples are given below. Notice that for specific values of n, the n-pointed magic stars are also known as magic hexagram etc.
| Magic hexagram M = 26 |
Magic heptagram M = 30 |
Magic octagram M = 34 |
Famous quotes containing the words magic and/or star:
“We’re not blind and we’re not fools. We’re just plain, sensible people who refuse to be fooled by a lot of supernatural nonsense.... There’s no magic in dried lizards and dead chickens.”
—Eric Taylor. Robert Siodmak. Frank Stanley (Robert Paige)
“The professional celebrity, male and female, is the crowning result of the star system of a society that makes a fetish of competition. In America, this system is carried to the point where a man who can knock a small white ball into a series of holes in the ground with more efficiency than anyone else thereby gains social access to the President of the United States.”
—C. Wright Mills (1916–1962)