Evening Star Candlestick Pattern: What It Looks Like and What It Means
An evening star is a three-candle pattern that forms at the top of a rise: a big up candle, a small candle showing indecision, then a strong down candle. As the bearish mirror of the morning star, it is a possible reversal, a hint that control is passing from buyers to sellers. Sellers are the bearish side, the camp that favors lower prices. Three finished periods make the shape; the fourth has not happened yet.
How It Forms
Think of it as three short scenes. First, buyers push the price up and the candle is big. Second, the next period opens higher but goes nowhere, so the candle is small: neither side is winning. Third, sellers take over, and a strong down candle drives the price well into the first body.
Every candle sums up a single period. The body marks the span from open to close, and the wicks are slim lines that continue to the period's highest and lowest prices. Up candles end higher than they began, and down candles end lower.
The drawing's five candles, with made-up prices in dollars (the pattern is candles 2, 3 and 4):
| Candle | Open | High | Low | Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $11 | $20 | $9 | $18 |
| 2 (big up) | $17 | $35 | $15 | $33 |
| 3 (small pause) | $36 | $39 | $34.50 | $37.50 |
| 4 (strong down) | $33 | $35 | $18 | $20 |
| 5 | $20 | $22 | $11 | $13 |
Candle 2 has a body $16 tall. Candle 3 opens at $36, above that $33 close, yet its body is only $1.50 tall. Candle 4 opens back at $33 and closes at $20, which is $13 down inside candle 2's body and $5 below that body's $25 midpoint (halfway between $17 and $33).
How to Read It
- The handoff. Read the three candles in order: buyers, then balance, then sellers taking over.
- The third candle. A larger third candle strengthens the reading, because it shows sellers moving the price farther.
- The mirror. The evening star is the bearish twin of the morning star, which does the same job at a bottom.
What to Watch For
The small middle candle matters most. Without that pause, the three candles are not a genuine evening star. Where the rise happened also matters, and support and resistance levels show where earlier moves have paused.
Three patterns sit close to it:
- A morning star has the same three-part layout turned upside down, at a bottom. It differs by position and direction.
- A doji is one candle where the open and close almost match. The middle candle of an evening star also hesitates, with a small body, but a doji alone is not the pattern, which needs the two candles around it.
- Dark cloud cover differs by shape: it has two candles and goes straight from the up candle to the down candle, with no pause between them.
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Charts and Rapunzl's Stock Scanner both include the evening star at no cost, since it is a core pattern (one of 13).
Try It in Rapunzl
Pattern Markers live under Customize Chart → Chart Indicators → Levels, Patterns & AI Charts, and the chart needs to be Candlestick or OHLC. The evening star is bearish, so it gets a ▼, and a list of detected patterns sits below the chart.
In the Stock Scanner, the Bearish candlestick filter includes Evening Star among its choices, and results are stocks whose pattern was completed on the latest daily bar. Open a result to reach that stock's chart, turn on Pattern Markers there, and look for the three scenes: a big rise, a pause, then a strong fall.
A 15-Minute Class Activity
Three Days, Three Moods. Students work in pairs with graph paper and two colored pencils. Day 1 opens at $60 and closes at $78. Day 2 opens at $80 and closes at $81. Day 3 opens at $77 and closes at $62. All prices are made up.
- 4 minutes. Draw the three candles to scale, up candles in one color and down candles in the other.
- 3 minutes. Under each candle, write who is in charge: buyers, balance or sellers.
- 3 minutes. Redraw Day 3 so it closes at $74. The first body's midpoint is $69. Does the new candle still push well into the first body? (No. It only dips into the top part.)
- 2 minutes. Redraw Day 2 as a tall candle, opening at $80 and closing at $97. Which essential piece of the pattern is now missing? (The small pause.)
- 3 minutes. Exit ticket: in one sentence, say why the small middle candle matters.
Related Patterns
- Morning Star: the same three scenes at a bottom.
- Doji: the single-candle form of indecision.
- Dark Cloud Cover: a two-candle bearish reversal.
- How to Read a Candlestick Chart: a good place to start if a body or wick still looks unclear.
Frequently Asked
Questions
Three: a big up candle, a small pause candle, and a strong down candle. In the drawing here, candles 1 and 5 only set the scene.
The description says the small middle candle opens higher, and in the drawing it does: candle 3 opens at $36, above candle 2's $33 close. It does not leave an empty space on the chart, though, because the ranges overlap: candle 3's $34.50 low sits just under candle 2's $35 high.
It is described as a topping pattern, so it belongs after a rise. The same layout at a bottom is a morning star.
Bring Candlesticks Into Your Classroom
Teachers can request a demo to watch Rapunzl's charts and simulator work together in a course. Parents can start from the parents page.
Indicators, patterns and examples in this article are for education and are not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
By Nate Thomas, School Partnerships Lead at Rapunzl.