Shooting Star Pattern: Shape, Meaning, and Examples on Crypto Charts
Schematic of the Shooting Star shape. What matters is the proportion of body and wicks, not the price figures.
Shooting Star pattern shape
- A small body at the bottom of the range, taking up less than half of the candle's range.
- A long upper wick, at least twice the length of the body.
- A short lower wick, no longer than the body.
General meaning
A period that was pushed far up but closed back near its low. The rise within the period wasn't held until the close. What it shows is rejection of higher prices within one period.
Where it usually appears
Often appears at the end of a series of rallies, just below price areas that previously capped rallies, and after a fast spike that isn't followed by further volume.
Worth noting. In a strong uptrend, shooting stars can appear again and again while price keeps rising. The shape records one period, not the whole trend.
See live detection on the chart
The CryptoHalley chart engine marks Shooting Star automatically with id shooting_star, no extra indicator needed. Open the chart and browse the labeled candles.
FAQ
- What's the difference between a shooting star and an inverted hammer?
- The shape is identical. The name changes with position: a shooting star when it appears after a rise, an inverted hammer when it appears after a decline. CryptoHalley marks the shape, and the context is read from the chart.
- Is a shooting star stronger when its wick is very long?
- CryptoHalley's engine assigns strength 3 when the upper wick is at least three times the body and the candle's range exceeds average volatility. A longer wick means a greater distance between the high and the close.
- Why is this pattern sometimes not marked even though the wick is long?
- Because there are other conditions: the lower wick must stay short and the body can't exceed half the range. A long-upper-wick candle with a big body is marked as a pin bar, not a shooting star.