What One Candle Represents
Every candlestick shows four prices for a chosen time period (1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day — whatever timeframe you're viewing): the open (price at the start), close (price at the end), high (highest point reached), and low (lowest point reached).
(close above open)
(close below open)
(rejection both ways)
(indecision)
Body vs. Wick
The thick rectangle is the body — the range between open and close. The thin lines above and below are wicks (or "shadows") — the range the price reached but didn't hold, between the body and the high/low.
- Green (or unfilled) body — price closed higher than it opened. Buyers won that period.
- Red (or filled) body — price closed lower than it opened. Sellers won that period.
- Long wicks — price pushed hard in a direction, then got rejected back. Often a sign of a level where the market is fighting.
- A tiny body (a "doji") — open and close were nearly identical. Indecision — neither side clearly won that period.
Why This Matters for Reading a Signal
Our own signal engine uses EMA trend direction, RSI momentum and MACD confirmation rather than candlestick pattern-reading — but understanding what a candle actually represents makes the price action around your entry, stop loss and take profit far easier to follow visually, instead of the chart just being "lines that go up and down."
Patterns Worth Actually Knowing
| Pattern | What It Suggests |
|---|---|
| Pin bar / long-wick rejection | Price tested a level and got firmly rejected — often near support/resistance |
| Engulfing candle | A candle's body fully "swallows" the previous one — a potential shift in control |
| Doji at a trend extreme | Momentum stalling after a strong move — worth watching for confirmation, not acting on alone |