Candlestick patterns

Shooting star

Usually bearish

A candle with a small body near the low and a long upper wick, appearing after a rally.

What a shooting star tells you

Buyers pushed price up and lost all of it before the close. Like the hammer, it needs confirmation.

Why it forms

Demand is met by heavy supply above; late buyers are immediately underwater.

How traders enter it

Entry below the following candle low, stop above the wick high.

How it fails

In strong trends the wick is simply absorbed and the trend continues the next day.

That last section is the one worth rereading. A pattern is only useful because it comes with a level that proves you wrong — without one you have a shape and a hope.

People also ask

Is a shooting star bullish or bearish?

A shooting star is usually read as bearish, but only once it confirms. Before the confirming break it is a shape, and shapes fail. Context decides more than the label does.

How do you trade a shooting star?

Entry below the following candle low, stop above the wick high.

When does a shooting star fail?

In strong trends the wick is simply absorbed and the trend continues the next day.

Can ChartLens spot a shooting star for me?

Yes. Photograph or screenshot any chart and ChartLens names the pattern if it is clearly formed, with a confidence level and whether it is forming, confirmed or failed — and says nothing if it is not there.

Last updated .