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 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?
