D3 Expansion and D4 Continuation: follow-through and the wick zone

The canonical path is valid D2 Sweep → D3 Expansion → final D4 Continuation. Ownership matters at every step: D3 belongs to the original sweep, only a D3 that followed through arms the D4 wick zone, and the cycle ends at D4.

D3 and D4 are the last two stages of the four-candle fractal model, after D1 Range and D2 Sweep. The D stands for Davidovich.

D3 Expansion: continuation after a valid D2 Sweep

D3 Expansion tests whether the confirmed shift can follow through. The D2 Sweep's wick profile frames the trade-off:

• Large reversal wick. Much of the move was already rejected inside the D2 Sweep; the methodology points to the D3 continuation.
• Small or expansion wick. The D2 Sweep already moved; D3 can still run but carries chase and retrace risk.

The methodology gives no numeric cutoff, so wick size never filters a setup. FMP+ does not remove, rank, or score a setup by wick profile, and we make no claim that either branch performs better. Use the wick profile to describe how much of a move is already behind you, not to decide which trade is likely to work.

The D3 Expansion designation is a separate path: the sweep candle traded through a qualified level but did not close back inside, and the next candle body-closes back through that swept level into the range. That is a late close back inside. The later candle's color and the D2 candle's model-candle open are not separate qualification tests. The swept level plus the trigger close, which is always required, decide it. It inherits the original sweep's location and never shops for a new one. Do not confuse it with a trigger close that lands in the D3 window, where the D2 Sweep already closed back inside and only the trigger close came on the next candle.

The cycle counts model candles. D2 is the sweep candle, D3 the next model candle, and D4 the one after. A D3 designation sits on the D3 candle itself. Every chart that reads the same model numbers the same candles, wherever its own trigger close landed. The trigger close must land by the close of the D3 window; a later one is too late and the candidate expires.

Follow-through vs a weak D3

"Followed through" has three observable requirements:

1. Body closes in the setup direction
2. A new directional extreme prints
3. The wick holds in the prior candle's directional half (beyond its midpoint)

A D3 that did not follow through arms no D4 wick zone.

D4 Continuation: final, framed by the midpoint

The midpoint is the 50% level of D3's range. The D4 wick zone is drawn only when the D3 followed through and the D4 candle opens in D3's directional half. From there, the D4 retrace is expected to hold D3's directional half:

The wick zone is the band between the forming D4 candle's open and D3's midpoint. It grows with the candle, freezes at its close, and carries the tag D4. It is context, not an entry. A retrace touching the zone, even at a qualified location inside it, still requires a fresh trigger close. A midpoint touch may stop an old ray from extending; it never substitutes for the close. The planner's D3 block follows the same order: it waits for the D3 window to close, a retrace into a gap inside the last model candle's directional half, then a fresh trigger close.

The model ends at D4, at the D4 close. There are no fifth or sixth zones and no perpetual relabeling. The chart waits for the next independent structure, and the next confirmed setup in either direction starts a new count. After a D4 that followed through, an early read in the opposite direction is called out at the right edge, not drawn, until it confirms at the model close and installs. An early read in the same direction draws at once.

Common mistakes

• Numbering continuation after an invalid D2 Sweep. Later candles cannot repair a bad origin.
• Chasing D3 after an expansion-style D2 Sweep already used the move.
• Arming D4 on chronology instead of follow-through quality.
• Treating the midpoint as a reversal guarantee. It frames retrace depth, nothing more.
• Calling a zone touch a trigger close.
• Expecting a new D2 Sweep on every continuation candle. While a setup follows through, same-direction candidates are absorbed into it.

FAQ

Can D4 exist after any D3?

A fourth candle always follows chronologically; actionable D4 context requires a D3 that followed through.

Why D3's midpoint?

It tests whether the retrace stays in the half consistent with continuation. Opening on the wrong side of it breaks the premise.

What comes after D4?

Nothing from this sequence. Wait for the next valid structural event.

The model organizes structure; it cannot guarantee follow-through or outcomes. Prerequisites: the D2 Sweep and the trigger close. Fractal Model Pro+ preserves the origin, follow-through quality, the midpoint, and the final state on the chart automatically.