What is the shooting star pattern?
The shooting star is a bearish candlestick pattern. A small body at the bottom with a long upper shadow, after a rally. The push higher was rejected outright.
How to spot a shooting star
- 1Confirm price has been rising into the candle.
- 2Look for a small body near the bottom of the range.
- 3The upper shadow should be at least twice the body, with little lower shadow.
How does the shooting star form?
After an advance, a bar spikes well above its open and closes back near the low, leaving a long upper shadow and a small body.
How do you confirm a shooting star?
The wick should reach into territory the trend has not held before. A rejection from the middle of a range says very little.
When does the shooting star fail?
It fails when the push higher comes from thin trading rather than a sustained attempt. A single fast trade moves the price up, then it returns without meeting substantial selling pressure.
No chart pattern works every time. The examples on this page were chosen because they show the pattern clearly, and in real markets patterns fail often.
Practice on real charts
3 real examples of the shooting star, cut off where the pattern completed. Make your call, then see what happened.
The shaded area is a shooting star. Where did price go next?
Shooting Star: common questions
Is the shooting star bullish or bearish?
The shooting star is bearish. A shooting star into a known resistance level is where the shape means most.
How do you spot a shooting star?
Confirm price has been rising into the candle. Look for a small body near the bottom of the range. The upper shadow should be at least twice the body, with little lower shadow.
What is the difference between the shooting star and the inverted hammer?
The shooting star: A small body at the bottom with a long upper shadow, after a rally. The push higher was rejected outright. The inverted hammer: A small body at the bottom with a long upper shadow, after a decline. Buyers pushed higher but have not yet managed to hold that ground.
How reliable is the shooting star?
No chart pattern works every time. It fails when the push higher comes from thin trading rather than a sustained attempt. A single fast trade moves the price up, then it returns without meeting substantial selling pressure. That is why it helps to wait for confirmation and to practice on many real examples before relying on it.
How can I practice spotting the shooting star?
Use the real charts on this page: each one stops where the shooting star completed, so you can make a call and then see what happened. The free Chartle app mixes the shooting star in with 48 other patterns in short daily sessions.
Keep learning
- Chart pattern gameGuess where price goes next on real charts, all 49 patterns mixed.
- All 49 chart patternsEvery bullish and bearish pattern, with a printable cheat sheet.
- How to read candlestick chartsBodies, wicks and colors explained from the start.
- Cheat sheet PDFAll patterns on two printable pages.
