Market structure (HH/HL/LH/LL)

The skeleton of every chart

Forget indicators for a moment. Every chart, in every market, in every timeframe, is just a series of SWING HIGHS and SWING LOWS. Read those, and you read the chart. An uptrend = higher highs (HH) and higher lows (HL). A downtrend = lower highs (LH) and lower lows (LL). A range = highs and lows roughly even.