Signs of Weakness (SOW)
Volume Spread Analysis glossary · Wyckoff Phases & Schematics
Definition
The catalogue of bar patterns that reveal professional selling or the absence of professional buying—the bearish counterparts to Signs of Strength. Each SOW is presented in a three-part protocol: Bar Description (the specific volume, spread, and close-position characteristics), Background Context (the conditions required for the signal to be valid), and Future Expectations (what should happen next). Core categories include No Demand, Up-Thrust (and variants including Hidden Upthrust, UTAD, Upthrust After Weakness, Upthrust After Supply), End of a Rising Market, Supply Coming In, Supply Overcoming Demand, Supply Swamping Demand, Buying Climax, Hidden Selling, and Failed Test. True weakness always appears on up-bars.
Signs of Weakness (SOW) in plain English
Signs of Weakness are the tell-tale bar patterns that reveal the big professional players are quietly selling—or simply aren't buying—so a fall is likely coming. Think of them as the exact opposite of Signs of Strength: the warning lights instead of the green lights. Each one is read in three steps: what the bar itself looks like (its volume, its height, and where it closed), what needs to be happening around it for the signal to count, and what you should expect to happen next. A key insider trick: real weakness shows up on UP-bars, because that's when smart money uses rising prices as cover to unload their shares onto eager buyers.
Also called: SOW
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