Definition
Each candle has a body, the range between the open and the close, and wicks (also called shadows) that mark the high and low. A candle whose close is above its open is usually drawn green or white; one that closes lower is red or black. Candlestick charts came from Japanese rice trading.
How it is used
Candles show who controlled a period: long bodies suggest one side dominated, long wicks show a price that was rejected.
Watch out for
Research on candle patterns on their own has been mixed. Most traders read them together with levels, trend and volume.