Candlestick Anatomy
Master the body, wick, and range of a candle — the raw data from which every price action read begins.
Body, wick, and range
Every candle has a body (between open and close) and wicks (or shadows) above and below. The body shows where price spent most of the period with conviction; the wicks show where price was rejected. The full range is from wick high to wick low.
A long body with small wicks = strong conviction. A small body with long wicks = indecision and rejection. Reading this relationship is the foundation of price action.
Context is everything
A single candle means little in isolation. A bullish engulfing candle at a key support after a sweep is significant; the same candle in the middle of a range is noise. Always read candles in context of structure, liquidity, and location.
Beginners over-weight individual candlestick names (doji, hammer, shooting star). Professionals read the story the candles tell about who is in control at a meaningful location.
One candle, two meanings
EURUSD prints a hammer — small body, long lower wick — at two different locations on the same day.
- 1First print: mid-range, during lunchtime chop, nowhere near a level. Read: noise. No trade.
- 2Second print: at 1.1000 — an old low that just swept sell-side liquidity. Read: rejection of the lows at a meaningful location.
- 3The second hammer, combined with the sweep it sits on, signals buyers absorbing the stop hunt — the location gives the candle its meaning.
- 4Only the second print justifies looking for a long (with CHoCH confirmation). The candle name was identical; the context was everything.
Professionals don't trade candle names — they trade what the candle says about control at an important price.
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