Cypher

Five-point (X-A-B-C-D) harmonic whose C leg is measured against XA (not AB) and whose D retraces the XC leg by 0.786. Bullish (D a swing low) → +1, bearish → -1.

Quick reference

Item	Value
Family	Harmonic Patterns
Input type	Candle (uses high, low)
Output type	f64 (+1 / -1 / 0)
Output range	{-1.0, 0.0, +1.0}
Default parameters	none (swing threshold 5%, baked)
Warmup period	6
Interpretation	Reversal at the D completion

Formula

last five pivots X-A-B-C-D:
  AB / XA ∈ [0.382, 0.618]
  BC / XA ∈ [1.13, 1.414]  (C measured against XA, not AB — C extends beyond A)
  CD / XC ∈ [0.74, 0.83]   (≈ 0.786 retracement of the XC leg — the D completion)
direction: D a swing low → +1, a swing high → -1

The Cypher's BC and D ratios are measured against XA and XC respectively, which sets it apart from the Gartley-family ratios. See crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/cypher.rs.

Parameters

None. Swing threshold 0.05 is a baked-in family constant (pattern_swing.rs); the Fibonacci windows are documented detector constants. Cypher::new is infallible.

Inputs / Outputs

const _: fn(&mut wickra::Cypher, wickra::Candle) -> Option<f64> =
    <wickra::Cypher as wickra::Indicator>::update;

• Python. update((o,h,l,c,v,ts)) → float (never None); batch(open, high, low, close) → 1-D ndarray.
• Node. update(open, high, low, close) → number; batch(open, high, low, close) → number[].
• WASM. update(open, high, low, close) → number.

Warmup

warmup_period() == 6. Five confirmed pivots are required. Pinned by test accessors_and_metadata.

Edge cases

• Bullish Cypher reports +1 (test bullish_cypher_is_plus_one).
• Bearish Cypher reports -1 (test bearish_cypher_is_minus_one).
• Legs outside the windows report 0.0 (test out_of_ratio_does_not_trigger).
• reset clears state (test reset_clears_state).
• Streaming equals batch (test batch_equals_streaming).

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, Cypher, Indicator};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let bars = [
        (149.85, 150.0, 149.85, 149.85),
        (100.0, 148.5, 100.0, 100.0),
        (101.0, 140.0, 101.0, 101.0),
        (120.0, 138.6, 120.0, 120.0),
        (121.2, 168.0, 121.2, 121.2),
        (114.55, 166.32, 114.55, 114.55),
        (115.6955, 126.005, 115.6955, 115.6955), // D confirms → bullish
    ];
    let mut pat = Cypher::new();
    let mut last = 0.0;
    for (ts, (o, h, l, c)) in bars.iter().enumerate() {
        last = pat.update(Candle::new(*o, *h, *l, *c, 1.0, ts as i64)?).unwrap();
    }
    println!("{last}"); // 1
    Ok(())
}

Python

import wickra as ta

bars = [
    (149.85, 150.0, 149.85, 149.85, 1.0, 0),
    (100.0, 148.5, 100.0, 100.0, 1.0, 1),
    (101.0, 140.0, 101.0, 101.0, 1.0, 2),
    (120.0, 138.6, 120.0, 120.0, 1.0, 3),
    (121.2, 168.0, 121.2, 121.2, 1.0, 4),
    (114.55, 166.32, 114.55, 114.55, 1.0, 5),
    (115.6955, 126.005, 115.6955, 115.6955, 1.0, 6),
]
pat = ta.Cypher()
print([pat.update(b) for b in bars][-1])  # 1.0

Node

const wickra = require('wickra');
const bars = [
  [149.85, 150.0, 149.85, 149.85], [100.0, 148.5, 100.0, 100.0],
  [101.0, 140.0, 101.0, 101.0], [120.0, 138.6, 120.0, 120.0],
  [121.2, 168.0, 121.2, 121.2], [114.55, 166.32, 114.55, 114.55],
  [115.6955, 126.005, 115.6955, 115.6955],
];
const pat = new wickra.Cypher();
let last = 0;
for (const [o, h, l, c] of bars) last = pat.update(o, h, l, c);
console.log(last); // 1

Streaming

pat = ta.Cypher()
for o, h, l, c, v, ts in candle_feed:
    signal = pat.update((o, h, l, c, v, ts))
    if signal != 0:
        pass  # Cypher completed at D — reversal setup

Interpretation

1. Different ratio basis. Because BC is measured on XA and D on XC, the Cypher often coexists with — but is not interchangeable with — the Gartley family; run both if you want full coverage.
2. 0.786 D of XC. The reversal zone is the 0.786 retracement of the whole X→C move, not of a single sub-leg.

Common pitfalls

• Ratio basis confusion. Do not compare the Cypher's BC window to the Gartley's BC/AB — they measure different legs.
• Confirmation lag. Non-repainting but lags the visual D.

References

• Pesavento, L. and others; Carney, S. Harmonic Trading (2010) for the modern ratio conventions.

See also

• Shark, Gartley, Bat.
• Indicators-Overview — full taxonomy.