Shooting Star candlestick pattern
A small body near the bottom of the range with a long upper wick, appearing after a rally. Buyers pushed to new highs but sellers slammed price back down before the close.
Illustrative shape. Real patterns vary in proportion.
How to identify a Shooting Star
- Appears after an uptrend
- Small body near the session low
- Upper wick at least twice the body's length
- Little or no lower wick
What the Shooting Star tells you
The rally pushed into fresh highs, then ran into heavy selling. Closing near the low after printing a new high is a clear rejection of higher prices.
How traders use it
Many traders want a lower close the next session before acting. A stop above the shooting star's high keeps risk tight. Shooting stars at a known resistance level or after an extended run are taken more seriously.
Before taking any pattern-based trade, decide your stop first and size the position from it with the position size calculator.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the Shooting Star bullish or bearish? +
The Shooting Star is a bearish reversal pattern. A small body near the bottom of the range with a long upper wick, appearing after a rally. Buyers pushed to new highs but sellers slammed price back down before the close.
How reliable is the Shooting Star? +
No candlestick pattern works every time. Patterns are more reliable when they form at a meaningful level (support, resistance, a moving average), after a clear trend, on higher volume, and when the next candle confirms them.
Do I need confirmation to trade the Shooting Star? +
Most traders want it. Waiting for the next candle to move in the expected direction filters out many false signals, at the cost of a slightly worse entry price.
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