# How to Read Candlestick Charts: A Beginner's Guide

> Candlesticks are the language of price charts. Learn the anatomy of a candle, what bodies and wicks tell you, and four key signals every new trader should recognise.

Canonical: https://learnertrades.com/article/how-to-read-candlestick-charts-for-beginners
Published: 2026-09-01

A candlestick is a compact way of showing everything that happened to price in one period (a minute, an hour, a day). Once you can read them, a chart stops being a wall of bars and starts telling a story.

## Anatomy of a candle

{{diagram:candle-anatomy}}

Each candle has four prices:

- **Open:** where the period started.
- **High:** the highest price reached.
- **Low:** the lowest price reached.
- **Close:** where the period ended.

The **body** is the thick part between open and close. The thin lines above and below are the **wicks** (or shadows).

## What the shape tells you

- **A big body** means strong, one-sided pressure: buyers (green) or sellers (red) dominated.
- **A small body** means indecision.
- **A long upper wick** means price pushed up but was rejected by sellers.
- **A long lower wick** means price pushed down but was rejected by buyers.

## Four signals to know

{{diagram:candle-patterns}}

1. **Hammer:** a small body at the top with a long lower wick, after a decline. Buyers rejected lower prices. More meaningful at support.
2. **Shooting star:** a small body at the bottom with a long upper wick, after a rise. Sellers rejected higher prices. More meaningful at resistance.
3. **Bullish engulfing:** a large green candle whose body fully covers the previous red candle. Buying has overwhelmed selling.
4. **Doji:** open and close almost the same. It signals indecision; wait for the next candle to see who wins.

## How to use them properly

- **Context first.** A signal in the middle of nowhere means little. Look for candles at [support and resistance](/article/support-resistance-and-liquidity-where-price-actually-reacts).
- **Wait for the close.** A candle is not final until the period ends. A wick can look like a hammer and then close as something else.
- **Combine with structure.** Use candles to time entries inside a trend you have already identified with [market structure](/article/market-structure-how-to-read-trends-like-a-professional).
- **Always define a stop.** A candle pattern is not a guarantee. Place the stop beyond the candle's extreme.

## Key takeaways

- A candle shows open, high, low and close; body and wicks show who won the period.
- Rejection wicks and engulfing bodies are the most useful beginner signals.
- Patterns matter at key levels and with the trend. Educational only, not financial advice.

## Related guides

- [Forex trading for beginners](/article/forex-trading-for-beginners-the-complete-guide)
- [Chart patterns cheat sheet](/article/chart-patterns-cheat-sheet-reversal-vs-continuation)
- [Support, resistance and liquidity](/article/support-resistance-and-liquidity-where-price-actually-reacts)
- [Market structure explained](/article/market-structure-how-to-read-trends-like-a-professional)

**What does the colour of a candle mean?**
Usually green (or hollow) means the price closed higher than it opened, and red (or filled) means it closed lower. Colours can be customised, so check your platform.

**What timeframe should beginners use?**
Start with the H4 or daily chart. They produce cleaner structure and slower decisions, and are less noisy than one-minute or five-minute charts.

**Are candlestick patterns reliable on their own?**
Not on their own. A candle signal matters most when it forms at a meaningful level (support or resistance) and in line with the broader trend.