Morning Star and Evening Star Candlestick Pattern

Last updated: September 2026

Disclosure: The tracking section shows how to mark and measure the pattern using TakeProfit’s drawing tools; there is no automatic Morning/Evening Star detection and alerts monitor only price levels you set, not patterns.

Quick answer: Morning Star and Evening Star are three‑candle reversal candlestick patterns. A Morning Star is a bullish reversal after a downtrend; an Evening Star is a bearish reversal after an uptrend. Classical rules require a small “star” that gaps away and a third candle that closes at least halfway into the first candle’s body, with confirmation within 1–3 days from follow‑through or volume (StockCharts ChartSchool bullish and bearish reversal guidelines).

Morning Star and Evening Star at a glance

Paired three‑candle patterns on a candlestick chart: a prior trend, a small star (a small‑bodied candle), and a third candle that closes at least halfway into the first body.

How to identify Morning Star and Evening Star

Both are three‑candle formations defined by a prior trend, a small‑bodied candle (the “star,” often separated by body gaps in classical rules), and a third candle that closes at least halfway into the first candle’s body.

Morning Star (bullish reversal pattern):
1) Prior downtrend. The star appears after a decline, not during an uptrend or a broad range (ChartSchool bullish reversal page).
2) First candle: a long bearish candle extends the decline (ChartSchool bullish reversal page).
3) Second candle: a small‑bodied candle (the “star”). Classical equity rules evaluate gaps by bodies, not shadows (ChartSchool definitions).
4) Third candle: a long bullish candle with the third candle to close at or above the midpoint of the first candle’s body (ChartSchool; Investopedia).
5) Confirmation: many technicians want 1–3 days of bullish follow‑through or volume on the third candle and beyond (ChartSchool bullish reversal guidelines). An “up breakout” is a close above the pattern’s high (Bulkowski, Morning Star).

Evening Star (bearish reversal pattern):
1) Prior uptrend. The star forms at the top of an advance (ChartSchool bearish reversal page).
2) First candle: a long bullish candle continues the rise (ChartSchool bearish reversal page).
3) Second candle: a small‑bodied candle that classically gaps above the adjacent bodies (ignore shadows) (Bulkowski, Evening Star).
4) Third candle: a long bearish candle closing at least halfway into the first candle’s body (Investopedia).
5) Confirmation: look for further downside within 1–3 days or high‑volume selling (ChartSchool bearish reversal page). A “down breakout” is a close below the pattern’s low (Bulkowski, Evening Star).

Disagreements in the literature:
– Gaps: Classical stock rules require body gaps around the star; some practitioners relax this in 24‑hour markets where gaps are rare (ChartSchool definitions).
– Third‑candle depth: “At least halfway into the first body” is a common threshold (ChartSchool; Investopedia).
– Middle‑candle type: If the star is a doji, many classify it as a Morning/Evening Doji Star variant rather than the base pattern (ChartSchool).

Why these patterns form

Authors interpret both patterns as a three‑stage control shift: continuation, indecision (the “star”), then a decisive move by the other side. This is a widely taught interpretation of candlestick formation psychology, not causal proof (ChartSchool summaries; Investopedia).

How traders trade these patterns

Traders often wait for confirmation: either a breakout close past the pattern’s extreme or 1–3 days of directionally aligned follow‑through and, ideally, strong volume on the third candle (ChartSchool guidelines). Bulkowski defines a breakout as a close above the pattern high (Morning Star) or below the pattern low (Evening Star).

• Entries: Breakout close or next‑day continuation in the signal’s direction (Tickerdaily).
• Stops: Beyond the pattern extreme—below the Morning Star low for longs, above the Evening Star high for shorts (ChartGuys; Tickerdaily).
• Targets: Nearby resistance/support or moving averages; no canonical measured move (ChartGuys; Tickerdaily).

Worked illustration (Morning Star):
– Day 1: Open = 100, Close = 92 ⇒ first‑body midpoint = (100 + 92)/2 = 96.
– Day 2: Small‑bodied candle near 90 (the star).
– Day 3: Long bullish candle closes at 97 (≥ 96), satisfying the midpoint rule.
– Plan:
– Entry: Buy on a confirmed breakout close above the pattern high, say 99 (Bulkowski).
– Stop: 89 (below the pattern’s low).
– Target: 111 at nearby resistance.
– Reward = 111 − 99 = 12. Risk = 99 − 89 = 10. Reward‑to‑risk = 1.20. Sub‑1.0 setups generally require very high win rates to be viable; most trading strategies prefer ≥1.0 to 2.0 when possible.

Adjusting for market conditions:
– In volatile markets, require a deeper third‑candle penetration (well beyond the midpoint), stronger volume on the third candle, and tighter confirmation filters. In quieter markets, some traders accept a standard midpoint close with modest confirmation. These are practitioner conventions, not hard rules (ChartSchool; Investopedia; Tickerdaily).

What the evidence says

Thomas Bulkowski’s tests on U.S. stocks report directional asymmetry and breakout context that matter to traders:
– Morning Star: Acts as a bullish reversal about 78% of the time and ranks highly overall (Bulkowski, Morning Star). He also reports a “best average move 10 days after the breakout” of −8.53% for bear‑market down breakouts, based on 108 patterns. That statistic reflects the less common opposite‑direction outcome: a Morning Star that breaks down in a bear market tends to drop sharply on average over the next 10 days. It does not describe the typical successful bullish reversal; it highlights that failed or opposite breakouts can be powerful in bear markets (Bulkowski, Morning Star).
– Evening Star: Acts as a bearish reversal about 72% of the time with a high overall performance rank (Bulkowski, Evening Star). Its “best average move in 10 days” is +8.77% for bear‑market up breakouts, based on 63 patterns—again an opposite‑direction move. Bulkowski cautions that most Evening Star performance comes from upward breakouts and warns against shorting downward breakouts in bull markets (Bulkowski, Evening Star).

Takeaways:
– These counterintuitive 10‑day statistics describe opposite‑direction breakouts, not the intended reversal. They underscore that breakout direction and market regime (bull vs bear) drive outcomes; test your rules on your data. Our fact base includes no peer‑reviewed, pattern‑specific studies isolating Morning/Evening Stars.

When the patterns fail

Failures tend to be structural, contextual, or post‑pattern:
– Wrong trend or location: Forming in ranges or against the prevailing trend—and far from support (Morning) or resistance (Evening)—raises false‑signal risk. Reversal patterns require a prior trend to reverse; stars “in a vacuum” are low quality (ChartSchool; ChartGuys).
– No confirmation: If the next 1–3 candles fail to follow through, or price closes beyond the pattern’s extreme in the opposite direction (e.g., below a Morning Star low), traders often treat it as failure (ChartSchool; ChartGuys).
– Structural miss: If the third candle does not reach at least the first‑body midpoint, stricter authors do not classify it as a valid star (ChartSchool). Classical equity definitions also expect body gaps around the star; some practitioners relax this.
– Breakout asymmetry (Evening Star): Evening Stars can break upward. Bulkowski notes that downward breakouts in bull markets underperform and advises avoiding them (Bulkowski, Evening Star).

Look‑alikes and related patterns

Knowing close relatives helps avoid mislabels.

Tracking the pattern on a chart (including in TakeProfit)

You can track these patterns on any capable platform with basic drawing, measurement, and price alerts:
– Mark context and levels: Draw prior swing support/resistance, the pattern’s high/low, and potential breakout levels. Add a horizontal line at the first candle’s body midpoint to verify the “≥ halfway” close.
– Confirm and plan: Use a measuring tool to check distance/time after the breakout and to size risk. Plan entries at the breakout level, stops beyond the pattern extreme, and targets near logical support/resistance or moving averages.
– Alerts: Set a price alert at the breakout level; an alert watches the level you specify. It does not recognize the pattern itself.
– TakeProfit note: TakeProfit supports these steps with drawing and measurement tools. Limitation: there is no automatic Morning/Evening Star detection or pattern‑specific alerts; monitoring is manual.

Morning Star and Evening Star FAQ

• Is a Morning Star bullish or bearish?
  Bullish reversal after a downtrend; stricter definitions include a small “star,” a third candle closing at least halfway into the first body, and 1–3 days of confirmation (ChartSchool).

• What does the Evening Star indicate?
  A bearish reversal after an uptrend, with a small “star” and a third bearish candle closing deeply into the first candle’s body (Investopedia; ChartSchool).

• What is the 3‑candle rule here?
  Large trend‑continuation candle, small‑bodied “star” that classically gaps away, then a large reversal candle closing ≥ halfway into the first body (ChartSchool).

• How do you trade the Morning Star?
  Wait for confirmation or a breakout close above the pattern; place a stop below the pattern low; target nearby resistance or moving averages (ChartSchool; Tickerdaily). Many traders aim to trade the Morning Star candlestick with at least a 1:1 reward‑to‑risk.

• Morning Star vs Evening Star: what’s the difference?
  Mirror images: the morning star pattern is bullish after a downtrend; the evening star pattern is bearish after an uptrend; both usually require the third candle to close beyond the midpoint (ChartSchool).

• Which candlestick pattern is “most powerful”?
  There is no consensus; outcomes vary by context, filters, and confirmation. Most sources recommend using technical analysis tools and confirmation rather than relying on any single pattern (Investopedia).

This article is educational and not investment advice. Learn the chart‑measurement tools referenced above in the TakeProfit docs: TakeProfit docs: measurement tools