locale: en title: "Price action" slug: discipline-price-action summary: "The grammar of price — trend, structure, levels and patterns without relying on indicators." status: published pillar: hub discipline_id: price-action tagline: "The grammar of price." translation_of: it/hub/discipline-price-action updated: 2026-06-23

Price action

The grammar of price.

It's not “drawing two lines on a chart”. It's reading how price moves: swings, trend, levels, breakouts, compression, recurring patterns — often without overlaid indicators.

What it's for

Price action studies price movement as the primary signal. It observes structure (highs/lows), reaction zones, expansion and consolidation, and patterns that repeat with context.

It belongs to the broader family of technical analysis (price + volume). Dow, Schabacker, Edwards & Magee are classic references for trend and patterns. Wyckoff is a bridge: he reads price action through supply, demand and accumulation/distribution phases.

What it observes	What it measures	When it's useful
Structure	HH, HL, LH, LL	Direction and invalidation
Levels	Support, resistance	Entries, stops, targets
Patterns	Candles, chart figures	Setups with context
Context	Higher timeframe	Avoid isolated signals

Core concepts

Term	In Cyclepedia
Trend	trend
Support / Resistance	support-and-resistance
Breakout / Pullback	breakout · pullback
Swing high / low	swing-high-low
Higher high / lower low	impulse · correction · trend
Range / consolidation	range
OHLC candle	ohlc-candlestick
Classic patterns	double-top-bottom
Head & shoulders / triangles	head-and-shoulders-cyclic-origin · triangles-cyclic-analysis
Trendline / channel	valid-trend-line
Volatility / ATR	volatility
Technical stop / take profit	stop-loss · take-profit

Tool	Role
Multi-timeframe analysis	HTF context + LTF trigger
Fibonacci	Retracements and extensions
ATR	Dynamic stops, volatility
Volume (confirmation)	trading-volume
Market structure	support · resistance · context

Representative traders and authors

Figure	Contribution
Charles Dow	Trend theory
richard-wyckoff	Structure and phases
Richard Schabacker	Classic patterns
Robert D. Edwards & John Magee	Technical Analysis of Stock Trends
Al Brooks	Bar-by-bar price action
Linda Raschke	Short-term operational patterns
Lance Beggs	YTC price action
Steve Nison	Modern candlesticks

Recommended path

ohlc-candlestick — reading a bar
trend — swings and structure
support · resistance — levels
breakout · pullback — expansion and return
double-top-bottom — classic patterns
context · invalidation — filter and logical exit
tradizione-wyckoff — price action + supply/demand

Prerequisite: bronze-path.