How do you draw a pentagram properly?

[StormVixen]

im makin a new altar pentacle and i wanna know how to make a pentagam evenly, my old one was all lopsided. Are the points of the stars always the same angle, no matter what the diamiter of the circle?
:bouncybob

[Xentor]

Full instructions, drawn by yours truly.

[MoonDragn]

heh who says you never need math in your life? This is a good example that you can learn how to do it if you know a little geometry. Yes the angles are always the same.

[StormVixen]

thankyou! my math was ruined by an ex boyf of mine! he was in the same class as me but he was mean and stuff... anyway thanx!

[-Ember]

Just to make the instructions a little more clear... the 1/3 in step 2 is 1/3 of the radius, correct?

[Xentor]

Yup. I merely estimate it, I'm not calculating at all. (I can't ;) )

(For those who don't know: the radius is half the height of the circle.)

[SilverClaw]

Hey Xen that is totally cool.

[Xentor]

:)

[Shatril]

http://asiya.org/drawpentagrams.html

Here is a website that gives instructions on pentagrams that are used in ritual. They are the invoking and banishing pentagrams of the elements of air, fire, water and earth. Now remember that these pentagrams are made in one line starting at the places shown in the diagrams on this page.

Shatril

[Xentor]

Ooh nice. Didn't know that yet.

However, hardly applicable when someone wants to carve a pentacle in their altar...

[Shatril]

Ooh nice. Didn't know that yet.

However, hardly applicable when someone wants to carve a pentacle in their altar...

You know for some reason i only saw your diagram. I didn't see the number 1 post. My apologies for the gaff.
Shatril

[barlitone]

Xen has a good set of instructions, but a bit more than is needed, really. If you have a protractor (to measure angles) and a compass, it's not too tough at all.

Basically, draw a circle. You know that already, of course. Then, put a point on the very top of that circle. Draw a light line from that point to the center of the circle (the dot where your compass was anchored). Then, draw another light line 72° from that line, from the center to the circle. Continue until you have five lines. Each time the line you draw intersects the circle, put a point there.

Now, you can do one of two things. You can either connect the dots by starting at one point, skipping the one to the right or left, and going to the next one--this will give you a pentagram right away--or, you can connect each dot to the one next to it. This will give you a pentagon.

If you end up with a pentagon (5-sided shape, not a star!), just extend the lines that make the sides so that they intersect beyond the circle. This will look a little funny, but it works and if you have a stencil that has a regular pentagon on it, just use it as a starting point.

[Phoenix Risingstar]

Cool. Thanks everyone.

[-Ember]

However, hardly applicable when someone wants to carve a pentacle in their altar...

Depends... I've played with it that way. There are ways to make it applicable.

[StormVixen]

yeah thanx.... when im finished ill try post a pick of my creation...(although itds on a circle of australian rubber wood or something so i probly cant scan it!)

[AlAskendir]

im makin a new altar pentacle and i wanna know how to make a pentagam evenly, my old one was all lopsided. Are the points of the stars always the same angle, no matter what the diamiter of the circle?
:bouncybob

Yes! 72 degrees if you are using a protractor (Which I suggest the first couple of dozen times to get used to it).

[-Ember]

Now, you can do one of two things. You can either connect the dots by starting at one point, skipping the one to the right or left, and going to the next one--this will give you a pentagram right away--

Just an fyi... any time you have more than 5 dots evenly spaced around a circle you can create an interlaced star by starting at dot 1, skipping dots 2 and 3 to dot 4, skip two, skip two, etc. Up until they link. Obviously some numbers don't work. This is why hexagrams are tricky to interlace. Nonagrams also I believe. It does also work with 5, but you end up drawing a banising pent. 4 you get a line. 3 you get a dot. 1 and 2 you just have nowhere to go.

[AlAskendir]

Yes! 72 degrees if you are using a protractor (Which I suggest the first couple of dozen times to get used to it).

Draw your circle, using the protactor as a guide, then , using pencil, put a mark at the top of the circle and slide the protractor around to put " 0 degrees " on that mark, put another mark at 72 degrees, and another mark at 144 degrees. Slide the protractor to put " 0 degrees " on one of those marks, then put another mark at 72 degrees, and another mark at 144 degrees. Slide the protractor to put the " 0 degrees" on the last of those marks and check that the first mark is at 72 degrees. Using the flat part of the protractor, and numbering the marks clockwise 1-5: put one end of the straight edge on mark 1 and the other on 3, draw a straight line, put one end of the straight edge on mark 2 and the other on 4, draw a straight line, put one end of the straight edge on mark 3 and the other on 5, draw a straight line, put one end of the straight edge on mark 1 and the other on 4, draw a straight line, put one end of the straight edge on mark 5 and the other on 2, draw a straight line.

Now, if you want to get fancy (and for carving this really makes it stand out) mark the center of the circle, lay the straight edge with one end at the center and the edge at one of the points, measure inward half an inch, make another mark, and repeat for the other 4 points. Draw another pentacle. See these two pentacles as a wide-lined one pentacle, and erase lines where they cross in such a way that the lines interweave...following any line from any point it should go 'over' the first line in intersects and 'under' the next. Thus, when you carve it, you will sxee which lines to continue and which lines to interrupt (as if the other line is going over them)