Wyckoff summarised his ideas in schematic diagrams that label the events inside accumulation and distribution ranges. They are idealised maps — a shared vocabulary for the sequence of behaviour, not templates that any real chart will match exactly.
Accumulation events
- PS (preliminary support): early buying appears as the decline slows.
- SC (selling climax): a sharp, high-volume capitulation low.
- AR (automatic rally): a sharp bounce as selling dries up, setting the range top.
- ST (secondary test): a return toward the SC lows on lighter volume.
- Spring: a false break below support that shakes out sellers.
- Test: a low-volume retest confirming supply is gone.
- SOS (sign of strength): a wide, high-volume rally out of the range.
- LPS (last point of support): a higher low on the pullback after the SOS.
Distribution events (the mirror)
- BC (buying climax): a sharp, high-volume surge that marks the top.
- AR (automatic reaction): a sharp drop that sets the range bottom.
- ST (secondary test): a return toward the highs on lighter volume.
- UTAD (upthrust after distribution): a final failed break above resistance.
- SOW (sign of weakness): a wide, high-volume break down out of the range.
- LPSY (last point of supply): a lower high on the bounce after the SOW.
The value is in the sequence and logic, not the labels themselves. A climax leads to an automatic move, which defines the range; tests probe the extremes; a spring or upthrust shakes the wrong side; and a sign of strength or weakness confirms the resolution.
Schematics are a vocabulary for the accumulation and distribution sequence — read the story they tell, not the exact shape.
Real charts rarely match the textbook. Events appear out of order, get skipped, or repeat, and hindsight makes labelling look easier than it is in real time. Use the schematic as a checklist of what to look for, then defer to what price and volume actually do.