Shooting Star

beginner

7 min read

Updated 2026-07-13

Reviewed by SST Editorial

A Shooting Star is a single-candle bearish reversal pattern that forms at the top of an uptrend. It features a small real body near the bottom of the session's range and a long upper shadow that is at least twice the length of the body, with little or no lower shadow. It indicates that buyers pushed price high during the session but were ultimately overwhelmed by sellers.

Key Takeaways

01.Forms at the peak of an uptrend or swing high.
02.The upper wick is at least twice the length of the real body.
03.Shows an intraday rejection of higher prices, indicating buyers are exhausted.
04.Requires bearish confirmation on the next candle before taking action.

Why it matters

The Shooting Star shows that the bulls have run out of steam and are unable to hold onto their gains. It provides a clear invalidation level for short trades: a close above the high of the upper shadow.

When it matters

It is most critical when it prints at historical resistance, major supply zones, or when indicators like RSI show extremely overbought conditions.

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Visual Reference: diagram

A small body near the bottom with a long upper tail and no lower tail.

Interactive Tool: terminal-embed

Draw a horizontal resistance line across the tip of the Shooting Star upper wick to mark the invalidation level.

Common Mistakes

Trading the pattern in a flat range

In a sideways range, a shooting star-like candle is simply noise. It must occur after a sustained upward run to serve as a meaningful reversal trigger.

📖 Real-World Example: Exhaustion spike on earnings release

An industrial stock rose 15% leading up to its earnings announcement. On the day of the release, it opened high but closed near the daily low, printing a Shooting Star. The breakout failed, and price declined 10% over the next two weeks.

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