Anatomy of a Candlestick
Every candle is a battle report. Learn to read who won.
Researched and written by Laurent The Four Data Points
Every candlestick on your chart packs four prices into a single visual shape. Whether the candle covers 1 minute or 1 month, it always tells you the same four things:
- Open: The price when the candle started.
- Close: The price when the candle ended.
- High: The highest price reached during the candle.
- Low: The lowest price reached during the candle.
What the Body Tells You
The body (the thick rectangle) shows the distance between open and close. A large body means strong conviction: buyers pushed price far up (green) or sellers pushed it far down (red). A tiny body means neither side won decisively.
What the Wicks Tell You
Wicks (also called shadows) show rejection. A long upper wick means buyers pushed price up, then sellers aggressively rejected it back down. A long lower wick means sellers pushed it down, then buyers rejected it back up.
Long body, tiny wicks
Long body, tiny wicks
Long upper wick
Long lower wick
Doji (tiny body)
Why This Matters
Each candle is essentially a battle report. By the time a candle closes, you know who was in control, how strong they were, and whether anyone pushed back. This becomes the raw material for every pattern, signal, and decision in technical analysis.
Key Takeaways
- • A candle has 4 data points: open, high, low, close (OHLC).
- • The body shows where price opened and closed. The wicks show the extremes.
- • Green (or white) candles closed higher than they opened. Red (or black) closed lower.
- • The size of the body and length of wicks tell you about conviction and rejection.