A concise field guide to shapes covered in our foundation workshop. Patterns describe price action — always check trend and nearby levels before acting on a label alone.
Small body at the upper end of the range with a long lower wick at least twice the body length. Appears after a decline. Suggests sellers pushed price lower but buyers recovered by the close. Confirmation: bullish candle in the following session strengthens the signal. A hammer after an uptrend is a hanging man — same shape, different name and implication.
Small body at the lower end with a long upper wick. Emerges after an advance. Indicates buyers tried to push higher but lost control by the close. Most meaningful when appearing at a known resistance level or after an extended run. Not every candle with a upper wick qualifies — proportion relative to body matters.
Open and close are virtually equal, producing a cross or plus shape. Signals equilibrium between buyers and sellers. A lone doji mid-trend often means little; at the end of a strong move it may precede a pause or reversal. Subtypes include gravestone (long upper wick), dragonfly (long lower wick), and long-legged (both wicks extended).
A two-candle pattern: first candle bearish, second candle bullish with a body that fully wraps the prior body. Stronger after a clear downtrend and when the second candle closes near its high. Volume increase on the engulfing candle adds weight, though volume study is beyond our workshop scope.
Mirror of bullish engulfing: first candle bullish, second bearish body engulfing the first. More significant at the top of an uptrend or against resistance. A small first body and large second body typically carry more meaning than two similar-sized candles.
Large first candle followed by a smaller candle whose body sits entirely within the prior body. Suggests momentum slowing. Bullish harami after a decline may precede a turn; bearish harami after a rise may precede weakness. Easy to confuse with inside bars — harami specifically refers to the body containment relationship.
Candle with little or no visible wicks — the open and close define the range extremes. Bullish marubozu opens at the low and closes at the high, showing sustained buying. Bearish marubozu the reverse. Common mistake: marking wicks on a true marubozu because the screen rendering adds a pixel of shadow.
Print this page or keep it beside your charts while practising. Label patterns on historical data before applying names to current price action. If you want guided practice with feedback, our Foundation Workshop walks through each shape with printed exercises.