Meet Candle Types
Imagine walking into a bakery and discovering that all pastries look similar… but each tells a different story. Candlesticks work the same way. They may share the same basic anatomy, but the shape, size, and wick proportions reveal what kind of candle you’re dealing with.
This lesson is all about understanding the basic types — without turning them into predictors or strategy tools.
Just shapes. Just structure. Just vibes.
Candle Example (1): Full Body Candle
A large, thick candle with almost no wicks, centered in the image. No text.
How Candle Types Work
Candles vary based on the relationship between the open, high, low, and close.
Even without advanced interpretation, traders need to recognize basic shapes.
Let’s break down the most common candle types.
1. Full Body Candles
These candles have a body that stretches most of the candle’s total height.
Wicks are minimal or absent.
They simply show that price moved strongly from the open to the close.
Candle Example (2): Small Body / Doji Style
A candle with a tiny body, long wicks on both ends, floating in the middle of the image. No text.
2. Small Body Candles
A candle with a small body compared to its total height.
Price didn’t travel far between open and close, even if the wicks show movement.
3. Doji
A special kind of small body candle where the open and close are nearly the same.
This creates a very thin or nonexistent body.
Doji candles often appear during quiet or indecisive moments, but we’re not interpreting them — only identifying them.
4. Wick-Heavy Candles
These candles have wicks much longer than their bodies.
The body is typically small and close to one end of the structure.
They simply show that price explored higher and/or lower levels during the period.
5. Indecision Candles
This is a broad category of candles with small bodies and reasonably balanced wicks.
They don’t show clear control from buyers or sellers — structurally speaking.
Again, no strategies, no signals… just recognition.
Candle Example (3): Wick-Heavy Candle
A candle with a tiny body near the bottom and a tall upper wick. No text.
Candle Example (4): Engulf-Like Candle (Shape Only)
A large candle beside a smaller candle, visually showing size contrast without implying pattern logic. No text.
Why This Matters in Real Trading
Different candle types help traders visually understand how price behaved within a timeframe. You don’t need advanced pattern logic to benefit from this basic structure awareness.
Pros
- Helps identify volatility in a single glance
- Builds chart-reading familiarity
- Makes future lessons on structure easier
- Strengthens your understanding of OHLC behavior
Common Mistakes
- Assuming wick-heavy candles mean reversals
- Believing full body candles guarantee strong future movement
- Reading doji candles as predictions instead of just shapes
- Treating candle types as strategies (not allowed yet!)
Practical Examples
- A tiny-bodied candle suggests quiet trading, regardless of its direction
- A full body candle shows strong directional movement for that period
- Wick-heavy candles show price exploration without conclusion
💡 Tip: When learning candle types, focus on shape first — interpretation comes much later.
📌 Note: No predictive or strategic meaning here — only identification.
🤓 Did You Know?: The doji is named after the Japanese word meaning “same thing,” referring to its nearly equal open and close.
Key Takeaways
- Candles come in many shapes: full body, small body, doji, wick-heavy, and indecision forms.
- Candle types describe structure, not direction or expectation.
- Wick size, body size, and proportion define each category.
- Understanding shapes builds your chart vocabulary before learning patterns.
- Stay focused on identification — not prediction.
Thumbnail Idea:
A comic-style astronaut sorting various floating candlestick shapes like puzzle pieces in space, with planets and stars in the background — one unified scene, no text.
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