Evening Star

The Evening Star is a three-candle bearish reversal pattern — the mirror of the Morning Star. It begins with a strong bullish candle, followed by a small-bodied "star" candle showing indecision, and completes with a strong bearish candle that closes below the midpoint of the first candle's body. Buyers dominate, then hesitate, then sellers take over.

Pattern Anatomy

• Candle 1: Strong bullish candle — buyers in full control
• Candle 2 (star): A small body relative to candle 1 — indecision between buyers and sellers
• Candle 3: Strong bearish candle closing below the midpoint of candle 1's body
• Candle 3's body must be substantial relative to candle 1's body
• Engulfy's detection is tuned for modern markets where gaps are less common — traditional definitions require price gaps

How to Interpret

• One of the strongest bearish reversal signals in candlestick analysis
• Most significant after a sustained uptrend — signals potential reversal to the downside
• Volume increasing on candle 3 confirms selling pressure and adds conviction
• Best when appearing at a known resistance level

Expert References

• Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques — names the Evening Star after Venus appearing in the evening sky, a harbinger of darkness
• Thomas Bulkowski, Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts — found Evening Star acts as a bearish reversal approximately 72% of the time
• Engulfy ranks this among its highest-priority patterns

Controversy & Limitations

• Gap requirements are debated — traditional definitions require gaps between all three candles, but Engulfy's detection is tuned for modern markets where gaps are less common
• The specific body size thresholds for the star and candle 3 are implementation-specific and vary between charting platforms
• Slower to form than two-candle patterns like Bearish Engulfing — requires three candles, meaning three trading periods must pass before the signal completes