SkyTrade
Sign up
FeaturesPlatformSecuritySign in
Glossary · Candlestick patterns

Evening star

A three-candle bearish reversal pattern: a long bullish candle, a small-bodied candle, then a strong bearish candle closing deep into the first.

By Sky Trade editorial teamUpdated

The evening star is the mirror image of the morning star and appears after a rise:

  • a long bullish candle shows buyers in control;
  • a small-bodied candle, sometimes a doji, shows the advance stalling;
  • a strong bearish candle closes at least halfway down the first candle's body.

The name refers to Venus, visible in the evening sky just before night falls — a fitting image for the end of an advance.

Traders look for it at resistance after a sustained move up, with a third candle clearly larger than recent ones. The textbook version includes gaps between the candles, which are rare in round-the-clock forex, so the practical version relies on bodies.

Common pitfalls:

  • calling the pattern before the third candle has closed;
  • ignoring the bigger trend — in a strong higher-timeframe uptrend, evening stars on short charts often mark nothing more than a pause;
  • spotting it inside ranges, where three-candle sequences like this are routine.

As with any candle pattern, its influence fades quickly. It is a timing hint for the next few candles, not a forecast for the session. See morning star and evening star and reversal pattern.

Example

EUR/JPY on M15: a bullish candle from 163.10 to 163.45, a spinning top near 163.47, then a bearish candle from 163.44 to 163.18, closing below the first body's midpoint of 163.275.

Learn more in the academy

Related terms

Practise first, then decide

Every Sky Trade account comes with a $10,000 demo balance on the same prices and payouts as the real account. Create an account or read how the demo works.

Create an accountAbout the demo account