What Is the Morning Star? Key Candle Patterns, Explained

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Learn to identify, trade, and interpret the morning star candle

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: July 9, 2026 Fact Checked

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What is a morning star?

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Interpreting a Morning Star

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Trading Morning Star Patterns

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Morning Star VS. Doji Morning Star

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VS. Evening Star

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If you’re learning how to trade and trying to understand the common candlestick patterns, you’ve likely stumbled across the morning star and heard that it’s one of the more consistent candlestick patterns in technical analysis (TA). The morning star is indeed a potent signal that fortunes may be changing for an asset, so if you’re doing any kind of short-term trading, it’s good to know how they work. We’ll break all of this down and more.

Morning Star Candlestick Diagram: Key Takeaways

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An illustrated diagram demonstrating the anatomy of the morning star candlestick pattern.

Morning star candlestick patterns require 3 candles: a large red candle, a gap down green spinning top, and a large green candle.
Morning stars indicate a potential bullish reversal after a prolonged downtrend.
Do not rely solely on candlestick patterns to trade. Pay attention to volume and fundamentals to avoid making costly mistakes.

Section 1 of 5:

What is a morning star candlestick pattern?

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Morning stars are a three-candle pattern. Morning stars require three candles that appear in a certain order after a prolonged downtrend (or channel). The TL;DR here is: big red candle, gap down tiny green candle, big green candle.^{[1]
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Research source} Here are the key components of the candles in detail:
- Candle 1: a large red body with short wicks. The red candle should have a substantial body compared to the candles that previously appeared in the downtrend.
- Candle 2: a tiny green body with short wicks. This candle must open and close below the close of the previous candle, and it may appear as a gap. These candles are referred to as “spinning tops.”
- Candle 3: a large green candle with short wicks. The third candle should be roughly the same size and structure as the first candle, except its green. It can close slightly below or slightly above the open of the first candle, but it must have a relatively similar stature.

Section 2 of 5:

What does a morning star pattern mean?

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A morning star signals a potential downtrend reversal. Morning stars are generally bullish patterns that indicate bears are finally losing momentum. The first candle is worrying if you want a position to go up, but the tight spinning top indicates a serious fight over that price level. The fact that the second candle ends up slightly green signals that buyers are barely in the lead, so the third green candle is confirmation that the downtrend may be over.^{[2]
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- The morning star pattern is much less meaningful if it appears in a channel (versus a downtrend), but if you’re a channel trader, the opening of the third candle could be an opportunity.

Section 3 of 5:

Trading Morning Star Patterns: Tips & Tricks

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Use morning star patterns to spot good swing entries at cheap prices. The morning star is a reversal pattern, which means it signals a potential change in momentum. If you’re looking to purchase a security or asset at a good discount right before the price action shifts, keep an eye out for morning stars on the chart.^{[3]
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- When do you actually buy? You have two realistic options here:
  - The first is to try and front-run the morning star by buying on the second candle at the end of the trading period. If you do this, you likely want to keep a tight stop loss on in the event the third candle isn’t a confirmed morning star.
  - The other option is to buy at the end of the third candle, since a confirmed morning star could signal a shift in direction for the position.
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Monitor the volume on the second candle for key info. One of the big question marks with a morning star is whether the second candle is a sign of more downward pressure, or a reversal of fortunes. Look at the volume profile on the second candle and compare it to the other previous periods to see if the volume is high or low.^{[4]
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- If the volume is low, it’s a sign the spinning top candle is the byproduct of low interest in the stock at these levels. The market is waiting to see what happens next, so it’s unlikely the morning star’s third candle will come through.
- If the volume is high, it’s a really good sign the morning star is likely to be confirmed. The high volume reflects a battle between bears and bulls, and the lack of a strong downward price action means the bulls are coming back.
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Do not rely exclusively on a morning star to enter trades. Technical analysis is just one element of effective trading, so if you’re only using candlestick patterns to enter trades, you’re going to have a bad time. Data has shown time and time again that candlestick TA is only beneficial if it’s just one part of a broader strategy—on its own, it’s basically meaningless.^{[5]
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- Other elements that also matter to a trade include the fundamental value, the financial ratios, your quantitative strategy, the broader macroeconomic conditions, and your personal risk-reward management.
- If you’re a long-term investor, using TA to get a good entry price is totally reasonable, but don’t rely on the candlesticks too much to guide your decision-making.

Section 4 of 5:

Morning Stars vs. Doji Morning Stars

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Doji morning stars have dojis, not spinning tops. The difference between a traditional morning star and a doji morning star is found in the pattern’s second candle. If that second candle has no body, and small wicks sticking out the top and the bottom (like a + sign), it’s a doji. If the next candle is a large green candle that mirrors the first red candle, it’s a doji morning star.^{[6]
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- What does a doji morning star mean? Doji morning stars are also bullish reversal patterns. Some people claim that they’re more bullish than traditional morning stars because they’re easier for traders to spot, but that’s just speculation.

Section 5 of 5:

Morning Stars vs. Evening Stars

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The evening star is the opposite of the morning star pattern. If you take a morning star and literally create a vertically-mirrored version, it’s an evening star. Evening stars appear at the top of uptrends. They require a large green candle, followed by a gap up with a tiny red spinning top, and it ends with a large red candle that matches the size of the first candle.^{[7]
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- What does an evening star morning star mean? The evening star (and evening doji star) is a bearish reversal pattern. It indicates that a strong uptrend or channel is potentially reversing.