GlossaryLevel 1
Body and wick language
The length of a body tells you how decisive the period's move was: a long green body means price was carried firmly upward from open to close, a long red body is the same conviction pointing down, and a short body marks a period in which neither side gained the upper hand. Wicks are prices that were tested but did not hold — a long upper wick shows price pushed higher, met selling pressure and came back down; a long lower wick shows buyers stepping in below and carrying price back up. A candle with almost no body is a doji, the picture of indecision. The common misreading comes in two forms: mistaking colour for strength, since a green candle with a short body describes a far less decisive period than a green candle with a long one, and reading a doji on its own as a sign that the direction has changed. A candle's meaning depends on where it appears, and that question of "where" belongs to the levels that follow. A note for risk literacy: a wick is information, but a single wick on its own is never a reason.
This content is educational information, not personalised investment advice. The chart examples are illustrative.