In ancient Mesopotamia, over 4000 years ago, there was a culture that used a base-60 number system. Two things today can be traced to this. First, the measurement of time with 60 second minutes and 60 minute hours. The second is the division of the circle into 360 degrees. The word minute is used by both.
Base-60 numbering offers the advantage that 60 is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 12. Seven is the lowest number known to the ancients that could not divide evenly into 60. It was considered a special number.
I heard an astrologer discuss septiles, an aspect that divides a circle by 7. I started wondering what a 7-pointed star would look like, was it possible to draw?
360 / 7 = 51.4285714
Before computers, no one would have known.
I experimented on my 18X24 sketch pad. Using a 6-inch protractor I drew a circle and marked every 51 degrees. I then connected every other point to form a 7-sided figure called a heptagon. I tried different ways of connecting points within and outside the center circle.
I tried several versions of a mandala connecting a central 7-pointed star to new stars.
