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A powerful single-candle bearish reversal signal that appears at the top of uptrends, showing sellers rejecting higher prices and taking control.
The Shooting Star is a single-candle bearish reversal pattern that forms at the top of an uptrend. It features a small body at the lower end of the range and a long upper shadow at least twice the body length, with little to no lower shadow.
The pattern looks like an inverted Hammer and gets its name from its appearance â like a shooting star falling from the sky. During the session, buyers pushed price significantly higher, but sellers stepped in and drove it back down near the open. This failed attempt to sustain higher prices at the top of an uptrend signals potential exhaustion.
The Shooting Star tells a story of failed strength. During the session, buyers made their move - they pushed price up aggressively, continuing the uptrend and testing new highs. Bulls seemed in complete control.
But something changed. Whether it was profit-taking, new sellers entering, or simply the exhaustion of buying pressure, the market reversed course. By the close, sellers had erased most or all of the session's gains.
The long upper shadow is the *evidence of rejection*. The small body at the bottom is the *verdict*: buyers tried to push higher and failed. When this happens at the end of a sustained uptrend, it often marks the point where sentiment shifts from bullish to bearish.
Conservative: Enter short on a break below the shooting star's low, confirmed by a bearish candle close.
Aggressive: Enter at the close of the shooting star candle if other confluence factors align.
Place stop above the high of the shooting star's shadow. This is the point where the pattern is invalidated - if price returns to that level, the "rejection" failed.
T1: Previous swing low or nearest support level. T2: Measured move equal to the shooting star's total range projected downward. T3: Use trailing stop on 50% position for extended moves.
Minimum 1:2 R:R required. Shooting stars with longer shadows naturally offer better R:R due to tighter stops relative to potential targets.
A shooting star is only as good as the context it appears in. The same candle shape can be a high-probability reversal signal or noise - the difference is where it forms and what surrounds it.
The upper wick tells the story. It should be at least 2x the body length, showing that buyers pushed hard but sellers slammed it back down.
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