Candlesticks fully illustrated: from a single candle to classic patterns

This is lesson-collection #01 of Stock Knowledge 101, merging the former kb01–kb04 (4 mini-lessons). Read in order.

What a candle looks like: bullish, bearish, body, shadows

This is Lesson 1/31 of Stock Knowledge 101 〔Candlesticks〕.

• A candle = one time unit (day/week/min) summarised by open/high/low/close.
• Bullish (close>open): A-shares usually red/hollow; bearish (close<open): green/filled.
• Body = rectangle from open to close; upper shadow = high to body; lower shadow = body to low.
• Longer body = stronger one-sided move; longer shadow = more overhead/underlying pressure.

📌 Red up, green down in A-shares; body length = strength, shadow length = battle.

The market psychology of a single candle

This is Lesson 2/31 of Stock Knowledge 101 〔Candlesticks〕.

• Long white candle with no shadows: relentless buying, bulls in control (launch/main rise).
• Long black candle: panic selling or distribution; weight with location (dangerous at highs).
• Doji (open≈close): buyers vs sellers stalemate, often a reversal warning.
• Long lower shadow (hammer) = strong support at lows; long upper shadow = fading momentum at highs.

📌 Same candle means opposite at lows vs highs — read location first, then shape.

Bullish/Bearish engulfing & doji

This is Lesson 3/31 of Stock Knowledge 101 〔Candle patterns〕.

• Bullish engulfing: a large green candle fully covers the prior red near a bottom → bear-to-bull.
• Bearish engulfing: a large red covers the prior green near a top → bull-to-bear.
• Doji at the end of a long trend, confirmed by the next session, raises reversal odds.
• Pattern signals need volume and trend context; an isolated candle means little.

📌 Engulfing = body covers; star = confirmation; only reliable within a trend.

Hammer, hanging man, morning/evening star

This is Lesson 4/31 of Stock Knowledge 101 〔Candle patterns〕.

• Hammer: long lower shadow, small body at lows → dip rejected, bullish.
• Hanging man: long lower shadow at highs → looks stable but risky, confirm with a breakdown next.
• Morning star (red→doji→green) = bottom reversal; evening star is the top mirror.
• These are most reliable near key support/resistance.

📌 Location > shape; morning star at lows, evening star at highs; reversed ones are traps.

⚠️ This article is a methodological illustration and does not constitute any investment or trading advice. Markets are risky; decide with caution.