The morning star is a three-candle bullish reversal: a large bearish candle, a small body candle (the star) that gaps down, and a large bullish candle that closes well into the first candle's body. The evening star is the bearish mirror. These are among the strongest candlestick reversal patterns.
Three-candle formation, Gap between candles 1-2 and 2-3 (gaps may not appear in forex/crypto 24h markets), Star candle shows indecision, Third candle confirms reversal
Morning star at significant support / weekly demand zone, Evening star at resistance / supply zone, Third candle closes beyond midpoint of first candle's body, Volume increases on the third candle
Stop below morning star's lowest point / above evening star's highest point, Target the start of the prior trend move, Use Fibonacci extensions for profit targets
4H, Daily, Weekly
In 24-hour markets like crypto and forex where true gaps are rare, look for 'quasi-gaps' where the star candle opens near the prior candle's close but creates a visible separation.
Tweezers are two-candle patterns where both candles test the same high (tweezer top) or low (tweezer bottom). The first candle extends the trend and the second candle reverses. The matching highs/lows create a visual 'tweezers' shape indicating a rejection level.
While not strictly a candlestick pattern, continuation triangles (ascending, descending, symmetrical) are multi-candle patterns where price contracts between converging trendlines. Breakouts from triangles tend to continue the prior trend. Triangles are measured-move patterns — the target equals the height of the triangle projected from the breakout point.
Pin bars are single-candle reversal patterns with a long tail (shadow) on one side and a small body on the opposite side. The tail shows a sharp rejection of a price level. Pin bars are the most widely used price action signal among naked chart traders and work on all markets and timeframes.
The piercing line is a two-candle bullish reversal pattern where a down candle is followed by an up candle that opens below the prior low and closes above the midpoint of the prior body. The dark cloud cover is its bearish counterpart — an up candle followed by a down candle that opens above the prior high and closes below the midpoint. Both patterns signal a potential shift in sentiment when they appear at key support or resistance levels.