Candlestick Anatomy — Understanding Price Charts
The thick, rectangular part of a candlestick is called the body. It spans the distance between the opening price and the closing price for that period.
The Body
The thick, rectangular part of a candlestick is called the body. It spans the distance between the opening price and the closing price for that period.
A long body means price moved a large distance between open and close; a short body means the period was relatively calm or indecisive.
[Read the lesson: Candlestick Anatomy](/learn-to-trade/understanding-price-charts/candlestick-anatomy)
The Wicks (or Shadows)
The thin lines extending above and below the body are called wicks or shadows. The upper wick marks the highest price reached during the period, and the lower wick marks the lowest price reached.
Long wicks tell you that price was pushed in one direction but was then rejected and pulled back before the period closed — a sign of an intraperiod tug-of-war between buyers and sellers.
[Read the lesson: Candlestick Anatomy](/learn-to-trade/understanding-price-charts/candlestick-anatomy)
Putting It Together: Reading One Candle
To read any single candle, ask four questions: Where did price open? Where did it close? How high did it go? How low did it go? Those four answers are the entire story of that candle.
**A Single Hourly Candle:** Suppose on the 1-hour EUR/USD chart, a candle opens at 1.0820, rises to a high of 1.0845, dips to a low of 1.0812, and closes at 1.0838. The body spans 1.0820 to 1.0838 (an 18-pip gain), the upper wick extends from 1.0838 to 1.0845 (7 pips), and the lower wick extends from 1.0812 to 1.0820 (8 pips). This tells us buyers were in control for most of the hour but faced some early selling pressure before recovering.
[Read the lesson: Candlestick Anatomy](/learn-to-trade/understanding-price-charts/candlestick-anatomy)
Why Shape Matters More Than Color Alone
Many traders focus only on whether a candle is 'up' or 'down,' but the proportions matter just as much. A small body with long wicks on both sides describes hesitation, while a large body with tiny wicks describes conviction.
No single candle guarantees what happens next — think of each candle as one data point describing probability and sentiment, not a certain prediction of future price.
[Read the lesson: Candlestick Anatomy](/learn-to-trade/understanding-price-charts/candlestick-anatomy)