Candlesticks are the language of price. Each one tells a small story about the battle between buyers and sellers over a fixed period — and learning to read them is the foundation of all technical analysis.
Anatomy of a candle
Each candle shows four prices: open, high, low and close. The body spans open-to-close; the wicks (shadows) reach to the high and low. A close above the open is usually drawn bullish (often green); a close below is bearish (often red).
What the shape tells you
A long body shows conviction; a small body shows indecision. Long wicks show rejection — price went there and was pushed back. A long lower wick after a downtrend hints buyers stepped in; a long upper wick after a rally hints sellers did.
Reading context, not single candles
One candle in isolation means little. The skill is reading candles in sequence and at meaningful levels — a rejection wick at support is information; the same wick in the middle of nowhere is noise.
Key takeaways
- Each candle shows open, high, low, close — body plus wicks.
- Long bodies = conviction; long wicks = rejection; small bodies = indecision.
- Candles matter most at meaningful levels, read in sequence not isolation.