What a candle's shape is actually telling you.

Each candle plots four prices for its timeframe: open, high, low, and close. The body is the range between open and close — filled or coloured one way if the close is higher than the open (bullish) and another if lower (bearish). The thin lines above and below the body, called wicks or shadows, mark the high and low reached during that period.

A single candle's shape says something about the balance of buying and selling pressure during that period: a long body means one side dominated, a small body with long wicks means price moved a lot but ended near where it started, reflecting indecision.

Most candlestick patterns are read in the context of the trend that precedes them — the same shape means something different appearing after a strong rally versus appearing mid-range, which is why patterns are described below alongside the context they're normally read in.

A doji forms when a candle's open and close are virtually equal, leaving little to no body — buying and selling pressure roughly cancelled out over the period. The wicks can still be long, showing the price ranged widely before closing back near the open.

On its own, a doji signals indecision rather than a specific direction. Its significance comes from context: a doji after an extended uptrend or downtrend is often read as a sign that the prevailing momentum is stalling, while a doji in the middle of a range carries less weight.

A doji is rarely traded in isolation — it's typically used as a signal to watch the next one or two candles for confirmation of a reversal, rather than as an entry trigger by itself.

Both patterns share the same shape: a small body near the top of the candle's range with a long lower wick at least twice the length of the body, and little to no upper wick. What differs is the context they appear in.

A hammer forms after a decline and is read as bullish — sellers pushed price down during the period, but buyers stepped in and drove it back up to close near the open, suggesting selling pressure may be exhausting.

A hanging man has the identical shape but forms after an advance, and is read as a bearish warning — even though buyers defended the close, the fact that sellers were able to push price down sharply within the period is seen as an early crack in an uptrend.

These are the upside-down counterparts of the hammer and hanging man: a small body near the bottom of the candle's range with a long upper wick and little lower wick.

A shooting star forms after an uptrend and is read as bearish — price pushed to a new high during the period but was rejected and closed back near the open, suggesting buying pressure failed to hold the highs.

An inverted hammer has the same shape but forms after a decline, and is read as a potential bullish reversal signal — buyers were able to push price up sharply intraperiod even though it closed back down, hinting that selling pressure may be fading.

An engulfing pattern is a two-candle formation where the second candle's body fully covers the first candle's body. A bullish engulfing forms after a decline: a down candle followed by a larger up candle that opens below the prior close and closes above the prior open — signalling buyers have decisively overwhelmed the prior selling.

A bearish engulfing is the mirror image after an advance: an up candle followed by a larger down candle that fully engulfs it, signalling sellers have taken control.

The size of the engulfing candle relative to recent average range, and whether it occurs at a meaningful support or resistance level, both affect how much weight traders give the signal — an engulfing candle at a well-tested level carries more significance than one in the middle of an unremarkable range.

These are three-candle reversal patterns. A morning star forms after a downtrend: a long bearish candle, followed by a small-bodied candle that gaps or drifts lower (showing the decline losing steam), followed by a strong bullish candle that closes well into the first candle's body — read as a bottoming pattern.

An evening star is the mirror pattern after an uptrend: a long bullish candle, a small-bodied middle candle, then a strong bearish candle closing well into the first candle's body — read as a topping pattern.

The middle candle is the key structural element in both patterns — it represents the moment momentum stalls before reversing, and the stronger that stall looks (a small body, ideally with a gap), the more traders tend to trust the pattern.

Three white soldiers is three consecutive long-bodied bullish candles, each opening within the prior candle's body and closing at or near a new high — read as a strong, sustained shift into buying control, often after a downtrend or consolidation.

Three black crows is the bearish mirror: three consecutive long-bodied down candles, each closing at or near a new low, read as sustained selling pressure taking hold.

Because both patterns represent three periods of consistent, one-sided movement rather than a single candle's signal, they're generally read as a stronger confirmation of a trend shift than single or two-candle patterns — but also mean a trader spotting the full pattern has already missed the first leg of the move.

A spinning top has a small body with upper and lower wicks of roughly similar length, longer than the body itself — similar in meaning to a doji but with a small, visible body rather than none at all.

It reflects a period where price moved significantly in both directions but ultimately closed near where it opened, signalling a tug-of-war between buyers and sellers with no clear winner.

Like a doji, a spinning top is read for what it suggests about the preceding trend losing conviction, and is typically combined with the next candle or two, or with a level of support or resistance, rather than traded as a standalone signal.