What are the body and lower wick?
Reveal the worked answer
0.50 and 3.00.
Use the open/close extrema, not the whole range.
Technical Analysis · TA-02 · Core
Candlestick anatomy and the ten-pattern path
What does a candle reveal—and what does it omit?
What you will learn and prerequisites
- Explain the mechanism in the lesson question.
- Reproduce the worked comparison and recognize its failure case.
Read first: Market structure comes first
A candle compresses an interval into open, high, low and close. The body spans open to close, and the shadows extend to the extremes. These four prices do not reveal the order in which the high and low occurred within the interval.
Understand the mechanism
Body=|C−O|, upper wick=H−max(O,C), lower wick=min(O,C)−L. A long wick describes a visit and recovery, not proof of a dealer's intention. Engulfing normally compares real bodies; context distinguishes a hammer-like shape after a decline from the same shape inside chop.
Walk through the process
Read location, sequence, confirmation and failure in that order. Premark relevant levels before seeing the pattern. The ten micro-lessons use explicit fictional geometry, not universal detection thresholds or historical win rates. Continuous markets can have different gap behavior from daily stock sessions.
Pause before deciding
Describe what the example actually establishes and what remains unknown. A technical observation supplies context, not an automatic options entry. Contract cost, horizon, liquidity and the consequence of failure still need to match the thesis. Record the contrary branch so a named pattern cannot become an excuse to ignore new evidence.
A worked example
With O=100, H=101, L=97 and C=100.50, the body is 0.50, lower wick 3.00 and upper wick 0.50. The lower wick is six times the body. A later close below 97 challenges rejection; later acceptance above 101 supports it. Both next-bar branches must remain possible.
Open the calculation without leaving this lesson
Candlestick anatomy and the ten-pattern path—worked comparison
Vertical: Price units (USD)
Horizontal: Candle component
1. Fictional example
Read the graph as a data table
| Candle component | Fictional example |
|---|---|
| 0 | 100 |
| 1 | 97 |
| 2 | 101 |
| 3 | 100.5 |
What would invalidate the reading?
Naming a shape first and inventing its supporting trend afterward is hindsight. An incomplete candle can also lose its apparent pattern before the close.
Check your understanding
Try the question before revealing its answer. These are reading checks, not trading certification or a site completion record.
What is the critical failure to avoid?
Reveal the worked answer
Naming a shape first and inventing its supporting trend afterward is hindsight. An incomplete candle can also lose its apparent pattern before the close.
Explain this risk before treating the example as a decision rule. A correct calculation does not guarantee a favorable market outcome.
Return to the question: What does a candle reveal—and what does it omit? State the observed facts, the assumptions and the failure condition separately.
Sources, assumptions and downloadable script
External references support definitions and conventions. Worked scenarios and prose are original. No current quotes or dealer inventory are claimed.
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