One candle, four prices
Each candle covers one slice of time, for example 1 hour or 1 day. It shows the open (first price), the close (last price), the high and the low.
Body and wicks
The thick part is the body: it runs from the open to the close. The thin lines above and below are wicks (or shadows). They show how far the price went before it was pushed back.
A green candle closed higher than it opened. A red candle closed lower.
Example
On a 1-day Bitcoin candle the open was $70,000, the high $72,500, the low $69,000 and the close $71,800. The candle is green, the body goes from 70,000 to 71,800, the top wick reaches 72,500 and the bottom wick 69,000.
Remember
- Long body = strong move in one direction.
- Long wick = the price got there but could not stay.
- One candle is a clue, not a signal. Look at what came before it.