Candle Body and Wick
Explained
Learn what the body and wick of a candlestick represent, and what their relative proportions can suggest about price behaviour.
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Building on the previous lesson's explanation of OHLC placement, this guide focuses specifically on the two structural components of every candlestick: the body and the wick.
This is general educational content explaining foundational candlestick anatomy.
What Is the Body?
The body is the thicker, rectangular part of a candlestick, representing the range between the open and close prices. A larger body indicates a greater difference between open and close (more decisive movement in one direction during that period), while a smaller body indicates the open and close were relatively close together.
What Is the Wick?
The wick (also called a shadow) refers to the thin lines extending above and/or below the body, representing the high and low prices reached during the period, beyond the open and close range captured by the body.
What Wick Length Can Suggest
A long upper wick suggests that price reached significantly higher during the period before pulling back to close lower within the body's range, sometimes discussed as reflecting selling pressure that emerged after an initial push higher. A long lower wick suggests the opposite — price fell significantly before recovering, sometimes discussed as reflecting buying pressure after an initial decline. These are general tendencies discussed in technical analysis education, not guaranteed interpretations.
Body and Wick Together
The relative proportions of body and wick — a large body with small wicks, a small body with large wicks, or various combinations — form the basis for many of the specific candlestick patterns covered in the next lesson, such as doji (very small body) and hammer (small body with a long lower wick).
🔖 Summary
The candle body represents the range between open and close, while the wick represents the high and low reached beyond that range, with wick length sometimes discussed as suggesting where buying or selling pressure emerged during the period. The relative proportions of body and wick form the foundation for the specific candlestick patterns covered in the next lesson.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the candle body represent?
The range between the open and close prices for that period.
What does the candle wick represent?
The high and low prices reached during the period, beyond the open-close range captured by the body.
What might a long upper wick suggest?
That price reached higher before pulling back, sometimes discussed as reflecting selling pressure after an initial push higher — a general tendency, not a guaranteed signal.
How do body and wick relate to specific candlestick patterns?
Their relative proportions form the basis for recognized patterns like doji and hammer, covered in the next lesson.
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