In the high-stakes arena of global financial markets, price is the only truth. While fundamental analysis tells us what should happen, price action tells us what is happening. At the heart of this real-time narrative lies the Japanese candlestick—a 300-year-old charting technique that has evolved from the rice markets of Osaka into the most powerful tool in a modern trader’s arsenal.
This is not just a list of shapes; it is a psychological map of human emotion—fear, greed, indecision, and conviction—rendered in red and green. To master these 105 patterns is to learn how to read the "tape" of the market, identifying where the "Smart Money" is entering and where the "Weak Hands" are folding.
I. Single-Candle Patterns: The Seeds of Reversal and Indecision
Single-candle patterns are the building blocks of technical analysis. They represent a snapshot of a specific timeframe where the battle between bulls (buyers) and bears (sellers) reaches a localized climax.
1. Hammer — Bullish reversal (downtrend; small body, long lower wick)2. Inverted Hammer — Bullish reversal (downtrend; small body, long upper wick)3. Bullish Spinning Top — Indecision (small body, long wicks; potential reversal)4. Dragonfly Doji — Bullish reversal (long lower wick, open/close near high)5. Bullish Marubozu — Strong bullish momentum/continuation (long green body, no/minimal wicks)6. Bullish Belt Hold — Bullish reversal (opens at low, strong close higher)7. Bullish Pin Bar — Bullish reversal (long lower wick rejection)8. Takuri Line — Strong Bullish reversal (like Hammer but lower wick ≥3x body)9. Bullish Paper Umbrella — Bullish reversal (umbrella line variant)
10. Northern Star — Bullish variant (star-like at bottom)
11. Hanging Man — Bearish reversal (uptrend; small body, long lower wick)
12. Shooting Star — Bearish reversal (uptrend; small body, long upper wick)
13. Bearish Spinning Top — Indecision (potential bearish shift)
14. Gravestone Doji — Bearish reversal (long upper wick, open/close near low)
15. Bearish Marubozu — Strong bearish momentum (long red body)
16. Bearish Belt Hold — Bearish reversal (opens at high, strong close lower)
17. Bearish Pin Bar — Bearish reversal (long upper wick rejection)
18. Southern Cross — Bearish variant (star-like at top)
19. One-Black Crow — Bearish (single strong red candle)
20. Bearish Paper Umbrella — Bearish reversal variant
21. Standard Doji — Neutral indecision (open ≈ close)
22. Long-Legged Doji — Strong indecision (long wicks both sides)
23. Four-Price Doji — Extreme indecision (open=high=low=close)
24. High Wave Candle — Indecision/volatility (long wicks, small body)
25. Rickshaw Man — Indecision (Doji with very long wicks)
26. Short Candle — Low volatility/neutral
27. Flat Top — Potential resistance (flat upper area)
28. Flat Bottom — Potential support (flat lower area)
29. Neutral Star — Indecision star variant
30. Closing White — Bullish close (body emphasis)
31. Closing Black — Bearish close
II. Dual-Candle Patterns: The Dynamics of Interaction
When two candles interact, the signal gains "confluence." These patterns show how the market reacts to previous sessions, often revealing traps or sudden shifts in sentiment.
32. Bullish Engulfing — Bullish reversal (small red engulfed by large green)
33. Bearish Engulfing — Bearish reversal (small green engulfed by large red)
34. Piercing Line — Bullish reversal (bullish closes into prior red body)
35. Dark Cloud Cover — Bearish reversal (bearish closes into prior green body)
36. Bullish Harami — Bullish reversal (small green inside large red)
37. Bearish Harami — Bearish reversal (small red inside large green)
38. Bullish Harami Cross — Stronger bullish (Doji inside large red)
39. Bearish Harami Cross — Stronger bearish (Doji inside large green)
40. Tweezer Bottoms — Bullish reversal (matching lows)
41. Tweezer Tops — Bearish reversal (matching highs)
42. Bullish Kicker — Strong bullish reversal (gap up + strong green)
43. Bearish Kicker — Strong bearish reversal (gap down + strong red)
44. Bullish Meeting Lines — Bullish (opposing candles meet at close)
45. Bearish Meeting Lines — Bearish counterpart
46. Matching Low — Bullish (similar lows on two candles)
47. Matching High — Bearish (similar highs)
48. Descending Hawk — Bearish reversal (harami-like engulfing down)
49. Homing Pigeon — Bullish reversal (two small bodies, second inside first, downtrend)
50. Pipe Bottom — Bullish (two long candles forming a "pipe" at bottom)
51. Pipe Top — Bearish
52. Bullish Separating Lines — Bullish continuation (gap + same direction)
53. Bearish Separating Lines — Bearish continuation
54. In-Neck — Bearish continuation (small pullback touching neckline)
55. On-Neck — Bearish continuation variant
56. Thrusting Pattern — Bearish continuation (bullish thrust into red body fails)
57. Upside Gap Two Crows — Bearish reversal (gaps with two crows)
58. Side-by-Side White Lines (Bullish) — Bullish continuation (parallel whites after gap)
59. Side-by-Side White Lines (Bearish) — Bearish variant (or mixed)
60. Bullish Tasuki Gap — Bullish continuation (gap with partial fill)
61. Bearish Tasuki Gap — Bearish continuation
62. Gapping Doji (Bullish) — Bullish (Doji with gaps in up context)
63. Gapping Doji (Bearish) — Bearish
III. Triple-Candle Patterns: The Confirmation of Trend
Triple-candle patterns provide the "Third Act" of the market story—the confirmation. By the time the third candle closes, the new trend is usually established.
64. Morning Star — Bullish reversal (red, small body/gap, strong green)
65. Evening Star — Bearish reversal (green, small body/gap, strong red)
66. Morning Doji Star — Stronger bullish (Doji in middle)
67. Evening Doji Star — Stronger bearish
68. Three White Soldiers — Bullish reversal/continuation (three strong greens)
69. Three Black Crows — Bearish reversal/continuation (three strong reds)
70. Three Inside Up — Bullish reversal (Harami + confirming green)
71. Three Inside Down — Bearish reversal
72. Three Outside Up — Bullish reversal (Engulfing + confirming green)
73. Three Outside Down — Bearish reversal
74. Abandoned Baby (Bullish) — Rare strong bullish reversal (gaps around Doji)
75. Abandoned Baby (Bearish) — Rare strong bearish
76. Tri-Star Bullish — Bullish (three Dojis, middle gapped)
77. Tri-Star Bearish — Bearish
78. Unique Three River Bottom — Bullish reversal (specific hammer-like sequence)
79. Identical Three Crows — Strong bearish (very similar crows)
80. Advance Block — Bearish (weakening uptrend; shortening green bodies)
81. Deliberation Pattern — Bearish stalling (similar to Advance Block)
82. Three-Star in the South — Bullish (three small declining then reversal)
83. Bullish Three Line Strike — Bullish (three reds engulfed by large green)
84. Bearish Three Line Strike — Bearish
85. Two Crows — Bearish reversal (gap up then two crows)
86. Upside Tasuki Gap — Bullish continuation (gap variant)
87. Downside Tasuki Gap — Bearish continuation
88. Collapsing Doji Star — Bearish (Doji collapse variant)
89. Three Stars in the North — Bearish (three small at top)
IV. Multi-Candle Patterns: The Complex Architecture of Price
These patterns develop over four or more sessions, showing the "macro" psychology of the market, including periods of consolidation and "traps."
90. Rising Three Methods — Bullish continuation (long green, small pullback, strong green)
91. Falling Three Methods — Bearish continuation
92. Mat Hold — Bullish continuation (strong variant of Rising Three)
93. Bullish Breakaway — Bullish reversal (declining series ending in strong gap up)
94. Bearish Breakaway — Bearish reversal
95. Ladder Bottom — Bullish (step-like decline then reversal)
96. Ladder Top — Bearish
97. Concealing Baby Swallow — Rare bearish continuation (four-candle engulfing)
98. Stick Sandwich — Bullish (two matching closes sandwiching opposite candle)
99. Hikkake Pattern — Trap/continuation (inside bar breakout failure; bullish/bearish)
100. Modified Hikkake — Variant of Hikkake
101. Fry Pan Bottom — Bullish (rounded bottom with volatility)
102. Dumpling Top — Bearish (rounded top)
103. Tower Bottom — Bullish (tall candles at bottom after decline)
104. Tower Top — Bearish
105. 8-New Price Record Lines (Hook) — Often bullish continuation or exhaustion after 8+ higher highs (can act as reversal in overextended moves)
The Golden Rule of Candlestick Trading
While these 105 patterns are incredibly descriptive, they are not magic spells. A Hammer at a random price point means nothing; a Hammer at a major historical support level with high trading volume means everything.
To succeed, a trader must combine these visual signals with:
Context: Is the market trending or ranging?Confluence: Do moving averages or RSI support the candle signal?Risk Management: Where is the "invalidated" point if the pattern fails?
The market is a conversation. Candlesticks are the words. Those who learn the language will never find themselves lost in the noise of the charts.
By
@MrJangKen • ID: 766881381 • April 1, 2026
#TradingStrategy #PriceAction #TechnicalAnalysis #StockMarket #CandlestickPatterns