Reading Candlesticks: The Language Of Price
Every candle tells a short story about buyers and sellers. Learn the anatomy and the patterns that actually matter in context.
The Anatomy Of A Candle
A candlestick shows four prices for a period: open, high, low and close.
The thick part is the body (open to close). The thin lines above and below are wicks or shadows (the extremes reached).
A green/white candle closes above its open (buyers won the period). A red/black candle closes below its open (sellers won).
What Wicks And Bodies Really Say
Bodies show conviction. Long bodies mean one side dominated. Tiny bodies mean indecision.
- Long upper wick — buyers pushed up, sellers slammed it back. Rejection of higher prices.
- Long lower wick — sellers pushed down, buyers reclaimed it. Rejection of lower prices.
- Big body, small wicks — clean, decisive move in one direction.
The Patterns Worth Knowing
Patterns are just shortcuts for supply and demand:
- Pin bar — small body, long wick. A price rejection.
- Engulfing — a candle swallows the previous one. A shift in control.
- Doji — open ≈ close. Balance and hesitation.
- Inside bar — range inside the previous candle. Compression before a move.
Context Beats The Pattern
No candle pattern means anything on its own. A bullish pin bar in the middle of nowhere is noise; the same pin bar at a major support level after a sweep is a setup.
This is why we learn support/resistance and market structure next — they give candles their meaning.
✅ Key Takeaways
- A candle = open, high, low, close.
- Bodies show conviction, wicks show rejection.
- Pin bars, engulfing and doji are the core patterns.
- A pattern only matters at a meaningful location.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- Trading every doji or pin bar blindly.
- Ignoring where the candle forms.
- Reading a single candle without the trend context.
🧠 Quick Quiz
Lock in the lesson — answer, then check your score.
Keep The Momentum.
Finish the track, take the quizzes, and come back to these notes before your next session.