An overview of the three families of corrective waves: zigzag family (sharp corrections), flat family (sideways with deep B), and triangle family (sideways time corrections). All corrective waves are labeled A-B-C (or A-E for triangles) or W-X-Y(-X-Z).
Description
Corrective waves move against the direction of the larger trend and consist of three families: (1) zigzag family — sharp price corrections; (2) flat family — sideways corrections with deep B wave retracement; (3) triangle family — sideways time corrections. Compound corrections (double/triple zigzags, double/triple threes) combine elements from these families.
Key Points
- All corrective waves consist of 3 waves (or multiples of 3)
- Zigzag family: A-B-C (5-3-5); B retraces less than 100% of A; C extends beyond A
- Flat family: A-B-C (3-3-5); B retraces ~90–100%+ of A; C ends near or beyond A start
- Triangle family: A-B-C-D-E (3-3-3-3-3); sideways, time-consuming; followed by thrust
- Compound corrections: two or three of the above connected by X waves
- Corrective waves are labeled with letters (A, B, C, W, X, Y, Z), not numbers
