Spinning Top

A Spinning Top is a candlestick with a small body and noticeable shadows (wicks) on both sides. It signals indecision — both buyers and sellers were active during the period but neither side could gain a decisive advantage. Unlike a Doji (which has almost no body), the Spinning Top has a visible but small body, showing a slight edge to one side that isn't convincing.

Pattern Anatomy

• Small body relative to the total range — but larger than a Doji's body
• Upper shadow is noticeable relative to the total range
• Lower shadow is noticeable relative to the total range
• Body is roughly centered between the two wicks
• Can be either green or red — the color matters less than the small body and balanced wicks

How to Interpret

• Indecision signal — the market is "spinning its wheels" without committing to a direction
• After a strong uptrend: may signal that buyers are losing momentum
• After a strong downtrend: may signal that sellers are losing momentum
• In a sideways market: confirms the range-bound condition, not particularly actionable
• More meaningful in clusters — several spinning tops in a row suggest a major move may be building

Expert References

• Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques — describes spinning tops as "the market is taking a breather," a pause in the prevailing trend rather than a strong reversal signal
• Thomas Bulkowski, Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts — considers spinning tops among the least actionable single-candle patterns because they merely confirm existing uncertainty

Controversy & Limitations

• One of the weakest single-candle signals — it tells you what you can already see (the market is undecided)
• Low priority in Engulfy's ranking
• Many analysts skip spinning tops entirely and focus on the pattern that follows the indecision
• The boundary between a spinning top and "just a small candle" is subjective