Tape reading alone can't tell the trader exactly how to buy or sell. It only identifies when short-term conditions are favorable or unfavorable for a chosen strategy. The best execution trigger price can only be uncovered using pattern analysis. Price remembers. Past battles between bulls and bears leave their mark long after the fight ends.

As stocks pass through old prices, they must continually navigate the trading debris generated from these battles. Volatility rises sharply at these powerpoints as the current trend strikes dramatic support/resistance zones, volume spikes and runaway gaps. But rather than add confusion, this scarred battleground provides technicians with a trading map of incredible value.

Use Trend Mirrors to locate these major battle zones. Look horizontally at past price action to predict where the current trend will bounce or fail.The more often price reverses off either side of a powerpoint, the more dependable that price becomes in predicting the current move. Note whether the powerpoints act as support/resistance or a swing axis for price to shift back and forth. Each type requires a different trading strategy.

Solving this intricate puzzle of time and price requires skill. The Trend Mirror landscape will define profitable buy and sell points throughout the range from old low to new high. But an infinite variety of external forces can overcome a stock's natural tendency to reverse right at the exact level it did before. So the trader must use moving averages, deviation bands and retracement tools to filter the Mirror's message.

Powerpoints also have a finite shelf life. As time passes, individual characteristics of prior trends are reinforced or softened through subsequent price experience. This trend digestion highlights the TA wisdom: the more often support holds, the stronger support becomes. And equally important: price not holding support weakens its importance in future trading swings.