Level 1 — Foundations

Anatomy of a
Candlestick

Every candle tells a story. Learn to read the language of price — one candle at a time.

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01 — Why Candlesticks?

More Than Just a Line

A line chart only shows you the closing price — one number. But in any time period, four important things happen: where price opened, the highest it reached, the lowest it fell, and where it closed.

A candlestick captures all four in a single shape. That's why traders have used them for over 300 years — they were invented by Japanese rice traders in the 1700s.

O
Open
First price of the period
H
High
Highest price reached
L
Low
Lowest price reached
C
Close
Last price of the period

02 — Build a Candle

Watch It Construct Itself

Choose bullish or bearish, then watch each part animate in with an explanation.

Tap ▶ Auto Play or Next → to build the candle step by step.

03 — Reading the Clues

What Size Tells You

Not all candles are equal. The relative size of the body and wicks tells you the story behind the price action.

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Big Body, Small Wicks

Strong signal

Strong conviction. One side dominated with little resistance. Clear trend move.

📏

Small Body, Long Wicks

Caution signal

Indecision. Both sides fought hard but neither won convincingly. Potential reversal ahead.

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Long Upper Wick

Bearish pressure

Selling pressure. Buyers pushed up but got rejected. Sellers are defending that higher price.

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Long Lower Wick

Bullish pressure

Buying pressure. Sellers pushed down but got rejected. Buyers are defending that lower price.

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Tiny Body (Doji-like)

Wait and see

Complete indecision. Open ≈ Close. The market is pausing to decide its next move. Watch the next candle for confirmation.

04 — Common Patterns

Tap a Pattern to Learn

These single-candle patterns appear constantly. Recognising them is your first edge.

05 — Knowledge Check

Quick Quiz

5 questions. Pass to unlock your certificate.

Question 1 of 5

What do the four letters O, H, L, C stand for?

Order, Hedge, Limit, Cancel
Open, High, Low, Close
Offer, Hold, Long, Cover
Output, Height, Length, Cost

Question 2 of 5

If a candle's Close is higher than its Open, what does that mean?

Sellers won this period
Buyers won this period (bullish)
The market was closed
There was no trading

Question 3 of 5

What does a very long lower wick tell you?

Buyers were weak
Price never went down
Sellers pushed down but buyers rejected that price
The candle is invalid

Question 4 of 5

What is a Doji candle?

A candle with no wicks
A very large bullish candle
A candle where Open and Close are nearly the same
A candle that appears only on Mondays

Question 5 of 5

A Hammer pattern at the bottom of a downtrend signals:

More selling ahead
A potential bullish reversal
Nothing — patterns don't matter
You should close all trades

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Complete the quiz to unlock your Lesson 1.3 Certificate

Up Next

Lesson 1.4 — Reading Your First Chart

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