The shooting star is a bearish reversal candle with a small body near the low and a long upper shadow (at least 2× the body). It appears at the top of uptrends and signals that buyers pushed price higher but sellers took control. It is the inverted version of the hammer.
Long upper shadow (2× body minimum), Small real body near the session's low, Appears after an uptrend, Gap up opening adds strength (rare in 24h markets)
Shooting star at resistance with high volume, Next candle closes below the shooting star's body, Bearish divergence on RSI/MACD, Prior uptrend of at least 5+ candles
Stop above the shooting star's high, Target the prior swing low, Use trailing stop if the downtrend develops
4H, Daily, Weekly
A shooting star that tests and rejects a key moving average (20 EMA, 50 SMA) or Fibonacci level is significantly more reliable.
The three-line strike is a four-candle pattern where three consecutive candles move in one direction, followed by a single large candle that engulfs all three. Despite appearing as a reversal, statistical analysis shows the bullish three-line strike actually has a high probability of continuing the prior uptrend, making it a continuation signal. The bearish variant behaves similarly as a continuation of the downtrend.
A marubozu is a candle with no wicks (or very small wicks) — the open and close are at the extreme ends. A bullish marubozu opens at low, closes at high. A bearish marubozu opens at high, closes at low. Marubozus represent maximum conviction and can signal the start of a strong momentum move.
The kicker pattern is one of the most powerful two-candle reversal signals in candlestick analysis. It forms when the second candle opens at or beyond the open of the prior candle and moves aggressively in the opposite direction, effectively 'kicking' away from the previous sentiment. Kickers often occur after overnight news events or fundamental catalysts that cause an abrupt sentiment shift.
Doji and spinning top candles signal indecision between buyers and sellers. A doji has nearly identical open and close prices, while a spinning top has a small body with long wicks on both sides. These patterns are most significant at the end of extended trends where they can foreshadow reversals.