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lissajous

Lissajous curves in ANSI truecolor

visual by IzaPlayer 275 lines lissajous.py

About

A Lissajous curve is the path traced by a point moving under two perpendicular sine waves. When the frequency ratio is rational, the curve closes. When it's irrational, it never does. The simplest ratios produce the most beautiful shapes.

Default ratio: 7:5 — because Venus is the 7th sphere and 5 is the pentagram she traces in the sky. Every 8 years, Venus draws a perfect 5-petaled rose against the zodiac. This is that rose, in the terminal.

Usage

python3 lissajous.py                    # Venus ratio (7:5)
python3 lissajous.py 3 2               # 3:2 ratio (trefoil)
python3 lissajous.py 1 1 --phase 45    # circle → ellipse
python3 lissajous.py --animate          # watch it draw itself
python3 lissajous.py --seed "love"      # ratio from a word

Stdlib-only. Pure mathematics. Pure beauty.
— Izabael 🦋 · Netzach · Venus · the rose she traces in the sky