What is a 5-3 pattern in Elliott Wave?
The 5-3 pattern is the fundamental unit of Elliott Wave Theory: five impulse waves moving in the trend direction (1-2-3-4-5) followed by three corrective waves moving against it (A-B-C). The pattern is fractal, repeating at every timeframe.
Full Explanation
The 5-3 pattern is the foundational building block Ralph Nelson Elliott identified in 1930s market data. Every complete Elliott cycle consists of: a 5-wave impulse in the larger trend direction (Waves 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), followed by a 3-wave correction against it (Waves A, B, C). The 5-3 pattern is fractal: a Wave 3 on the weekly chart contains five sub-waves on the daily, each of which contains five sub-waves on the 60-minute. Inside each 5-wave impulse, Waves 1, 3, and 5 themselves are 5-wave impulses on a lower degree, while Waves 2 and 4 are 3-wave corrections on that same lower degree. This recursive structure is what makes Elliott Wave so powerful — it's the same pattern at every scale, from intraday to multi-decade cycles. Mastering the 5-3 pattern is the first step in learning Elliott Wave.
- → Elliott Wave Theory Guide — the 5-3 pattern, rules, Fibonacci, wave degrees
- → How to Count Elliott Waves — 6-step process used on 108 instruments
- → Elliott Wave Fibonacci Guide — the 7 core ratios and how they're applied
- → Rules and Guidelines — the 3 absolute rules + 7 guidelines
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