Shooting Star
BearishReliability: MediumAlso called · shooting star candlestick, inverted hammer at a high
A long upper wick with a small body at the bottom. At a high, it signals a fall.
How to spot it
- The upper wick is at least twice the body
- It appears at the end of an uptrend
Why this shape forms
Price was pushed up hard and gave all of it back by the close. Someone genuinely sold up there.
Where it actually means something
It belongs near the high after an advance. The same shape at a low means something different.
What else to check
Watch whether the next candle trades below the body. An upper wick at least twice the body is the typical version.
This means you're wrong
Void if the next candle exceeds the shooting star's high.
The mistake beginners make
Judging by the wick alone. Always read the trend that came before it.
Easy to confuse with
Identical in shape to an inverted hammer. At the end of a decline it is an inverted hammer; at the end of a rally it is a shooting star.
Real examples from the community
Patterns are probabilistic tendencies, not guarantees. This is not investment advice.