🕯️ How to Read a Candlestick Chart (Even if Charts Confuse You)
One candle = one battle
Every candlestick summarises price action over a period (1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day). It shows four prices: open, high, low and close. The body spans open to close; the wicks (shadows) show how far price travelled beyond the body.
Green and red
- Green candle: the close was higher than the open — buyers won the period.
- Red candle: the close was lower than the open — sellers won.
Colour conventions vary by platform (some use white/black or blue/red); what matters is close vs open.
Reading the wicks
Wicks are the story of rejection. A candle with a long lower wick (like a pin) shows price fell far but was bought back up — sellers tried, buyers rejected them. A long upper wick shows the opposite: price rose but was sold back down. Long wicks at support or resistance levels are signals — they show which side lost the battle at that level.
Body size tells conviction
Long bodies = strong conviction in that direction. Tiny bodies (doji) = indecision, buyers and sellers in balance — often a sign a move may be tiring out.
Putting candles together
Individual candles matter less than the sequence. Higher lows with green bodies = buyers in control. A pattern of long upper wicks at the same price level = resistance. This is the basis of candlestick patterns — and the reason experienced traders read charts before news. Practice reading candles on any live chart, including our live markets page.