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Anatomy of a candle

Lesson 4.1 Free

Anatomy of a candle

Every candle records four prices. The body shows where price opened and closed, the wicks show how far buyers and sellers pushed before they were pushed back.

In this lesson you learn to read one candle properly: its four prices, its body and its wicks, and what each part says about buyers and sellers. Every pattern in this module is built from these parts.

  1. 1 Four prices in one shape

    You met candles in lesson 0.6. This module looks at them more closely, because the shape of a candle tells you what happened inside it.

    Every candle records four prices for its time period:

    • Open: the first price of the period.
    • High: the highest price reached.
    • Low: the lowest price reached.
    • Close: the last price of the period.

    If the close is above the open, it is an up candle: price rose over the period. If the close is below the open, it is a down candle. Charts colour the two kinds differently.

  2. 2 Body and wicks

    A candle has two parts.

    • The body is the thick part, from the open to the close. Its size shows how far price moved over the whole period.
    • The wicks (also called shadows) are the thin lines above and below the body. The upper wick runs from the top of the body to the high. The lower wick runs from the bottom of the body to the low.

    To measure them:

    • Body = close − open (or open − close for a down candle).
    • Upper wick = high − the top of the body.
    • Lower wick = the bottom of the body − low.

    A real up candle, EURUSD D1, 31 March 2026: open 1.14611, high 1.15632, low 1.14469, close 1.15524.

    • Body: 1.15524 − 1.14611 = 0.00913 = 91.3 pips.
    • Upper wick: 1.15632 − 1.15524 = 0.00108 = 10.8 pips.
    • Lower wick: 1.14611 − 1.14469 = 0.00142 = 14.2 pips.

    Together they add up to the full range: 91.3 + 10.8 + 14.2 = 116.3 pips, which is the high minus the low.

    Quick check

    1. Question 1 · Calculation

      EURUSD D1, 17 April 2026: open 1.17790, high 1.18488, low 1.17602, close 1.17616. How many pips long is the upper wick?

    2. Question 2 · Calculation

      Same candle, EURUSD D1, 17 April 2026: open 1.17790, low 1.17602, close 1.17616. How many pips long is the lower wick?

  3. 3 What buyers and sellers did

    Read a candle as a short story about a fight between buyers and sellers.

    • A big body, small wicks: one side was in control from open to close.
    • A long upper wick: buyers pushed price up, then sellers pushed it back down before the close. Higher prices were rejected.
    • A long lower wick: sellers pushed price down, then buyers pushed it back up. Lower prices were rejected.
    • A tiny body with wicks on both sides: neither side won. Traders call this indecision.

    A real example, EURUSD D1, 17 April 2026: open 1.17790, high 1.18488, low 1.17602, close 1.17616.

    • Body: 1.17790 − 1.17616 = 0.00174 = 17.4 pips, a down candle.
    • Upper wick: 1.18488 − 1.17790 = 0.00698 = 69.8 pips.
    • Lower wick: 1.17616 − 1.17602 = 0.00014 = 1.4 pips.

    Buyers took price almost 70 pips above the open. By the close, sellers had pushed it all the way back and a little further. The long upper wick is the record of that rejection.

    Quick check

    1. Question 3 · Multiple choice

      A daily candle has a small body near its low and a long upper wick. What does the long upper wick tell you?

  4. 4 Read a candle in the terminal

    In the terminal, on EURUSD D1:

    1. Scroll to April 2026 and find the 17 April candle, the one with the long upper wick.
    2. Move the crosshair over it. The terminal shows that candle’s open, high, low and close.
    3. Check the four numbers against the ones above, then work out the body and both wicks yourself.
    4. Do the same for the candles on either side of it and compare their shapes.

    Reading the four prices off a candle, rather than guessing from its shape, is the habit the rest of this module needs.

    EURUSD D1 chart up to 17 April 2026, as described in "Read a candle in the terminal".
    EURUSD D1 chart up to 17 April 2026, as described in "Read a candle in the terminal".
    Open this in the terminal (opens in a new tab)

    Quick check

    1. Question 4 · Click the chart

      On the EURUSD D1 chart from 13 to 24 April 2026, click the candle with the longest upper wick.

      EURUSD, D1, up to 2026-04-24 (UTC).

      Tap or click the chart to pick a spot, then press Check.

      Loading chart…

  5. 5 One candle is not a forecast

    The 17 April wick showed sellers winning that day. It did not tell you what came next. On Monday 20 April price rose again, to 1.17901. Only after that did it fall, to 1.16688 on 23 April.

    A candle is a record of one period. On its own it says nothing about the next one. The rest of this module is about the few places where a candle’s story matters more: at the support and resistance levels from Module 2.

0 of 4 questions right. Answer them all to complete the lesson.