Shooting Star Candlestick Pattern: What It Looks Like and What It Means
A shooting star is a one-candle pattern: a small body with a long upper wick, appearing after a rise. The tall wick suggests sellers pushed back against the higher prices, so the pattern is read as a possible bearish reversal, a hint that a rising price may be turning into a falling one. Treat it as a place to start investigating, not an answer.
How It Forms
A shooting star appears after the price has climbed for a while. Within one period the price rallies to a new peak, then falls back until it closes near the open. Each candle covers one period of trading; picture its body as the box that spans the open and the close, and a wick as the thin line reaching the high or low. Bearish means sellers are gaining ground; bullish means buyers are.
The five candles below carry made-up prices:
| Candle | Open | High | Low | Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $14 | $22 | $12 | $20 |
| 2 | $20 | $30 | $18 | $28 |
| 3 (shooting star) | $31 | $45 | $28 | $29 |
| 4 | $30 | $32 | $22 | $24 |
| 5 | $24 | $26 | $15 | $17 |
Candles 1 and 2 each close above where they opened, so the price is rising. Candle 3 opens at $31 and closes at $29, a body only $2 wide, yet its upper wick stretches $14, from $31 up to $45. The price climbed, then sellers appear to have pushed it nearly all the way back. Candle 4 closes at $24, below the star's $29.
How to Read It
- The pushback. The long upper wick suggests sellers stepped in at a high price and pulled the market back within the period.
- The location. It carries the most weight after a long climb, when price has run into a ceiling known as resistance.
- The next candle. A following candle that closes below the star's close adds weight, as candle 4 does in the drawing.
What to Watch For
A single shooting star proves little by itself. If the next candle closes higher, the sellers' push did not stick. Read the pattern together with nearby support and resistance levels, because the same shape in open space carries less meaning.
Three other candles resemble it.
- An inverted hammer is this same shape after a decline instead of a rise.
- A hanging man also follows a rise, but its long wick points down, not up.
- A gravestone doji has almost no body and no lower wick, so it lacks the shooting star's small body.
Free or Premium
Shooting Star is on the list of 13 core patterns, which makes it free to mark on a chart and free to filter for in Rapunzl's Stock Scanner. Only the 10 extended patterns are part of Rapunzl Premium, and only on charts.
Try It in Rapunzl
Switch a stock to Candlestick or OHLC, then find Pattern Markers under Customize Chart → Chart Indicators → Levels, Patterns & AI Charts. Once it is on, ▲ marks bullish patterns, ▼ bearish ones and ◆ indecision, and a detected-patterns list sits below the chart.
In the Stock Scanner, the Bearish candlestick filter lists stocks that completed a bearish pattern on the latest daily candle. Pick Shooting Star among its patterns to narrow the list to that one shape. Treat the list as a research starting point: candlestick patterns are hints, not promises, and many are not followed by a fall.
A 15-Minute Class Activity
Two Endings. Each pair needs a pencil and a blank page for sketching. A made-up shooting star opens at $31, reaches $45, dips to $28 and closes at $29, after two rising candles. Ending 1: the next candle opens at $30 and closes at $24. Ending 2: the next candle opens at $29 and closes at $36.
- 3 minutes. Pairs sketch the star and measure its body, upper wick and lower wick. (They are $2, $14 and $1.)
- 5 minutes. Compare each ending's close with the star's $29 close. Decide which ending backs up the bearish idea, and write one sentence for each using the words "hint" and "promise." (Ending 1 closes lower, so it does. Ending 2 closes higher, so it does not.)
- 4 minutes. Discuss ending 2. Pairs list two things to check on a chart before leaning on a shooting star. (What came before it, and where it formed.)
- 3 minutes. Exit ticket: a short written answer to this question: what has to be true before a shape counts as a shooting star?
Related Patterns
- How to Read a Candlestick Chart: a candle-by-candle look at bodies and wicks.
- Candlestick Patterns for Beginners: where the shooting star sits among the basic shapes.
- Inverted Hammer: the same shape, after a decline.
- Hanging Man: a long lower wick after a rise.
Frequently Asked
Questions
A shooting star is a candle with a small body and a long upper wick that appears after a rise. The wick shows sellers pushed back against the higher prices.
Only what came before. Both have a small body and a long upper wick. After a rise it is a shooting star, read as a possible bearish reversal, and after a decline it is an inverted hammer, read as a possible bullish one.
No. It is a hint to investigate, and a lower close on the next candle gives it more weight.
Make Chart Reading Part of Your Course
Ready to try this with your class? Request a demo to see Rapunzl's charts and simulator in action. Parents can read the family details on our 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 Myles Gage, CEO & Co-Founder at Rapunzl.