Evening Star Pattern
The Evening Star is a three-candle candlestick pattern observed historically at price highs, consisting of a large bullish candle, a small-bodied middle candle, and a large bearish candle that closes well into the first session's body.
The Evening Star is the bearish counterpart to the Morning Star. It forms over three sessions at or near a price peak. The first candle is a large bullish candle consistent with the preceding uptrend. The second candle has a small body — which may be bullish or bearish — ideally gapping above the first candle's close, indicating that the advance is losing momentum at higher prices. The third candle is a large bearish candle that opens near or below the second candle's midpoint and closes at least halfway into the first session's body, indicating that sellers have taken control.
In historical candlestick analysis, the Evening Star represented a narrative of trend exhaustion. The first strong bullish session reflected continued buying enthusiasm from the prior advance. The small, indecisive second session — potentially a Doji — signaled that the pace of buying was slowing and sellers were beginning to match demand. The third session's bearish close deep into the first candle's body indicated that sellers had overwhelmed buyers and that the momentum had shifted.
Historical studies of the Evening Star emphasized the importance of the third candle's depth of penetration into the first candle's body. Patterns where the third candle closed below the midpoint of the first candle were considered more pronounced than shallow versions, as they indicated a more decisive reversal of the prior session's gains. Volume ideally expanded on the third candle.
The Evening Doji Star variant, in which the second candle is a Doji, appeared frequently in historical examples at significant price peaks and was regarded as a particularly clear manifestation of the transition from buying dominance to selling dominance.
Like all multi-session candlestick patterns, the Evening Star's historical significance was evaluated in the context of the surrounding market structure, with patterns appearing at resistance levels, after extended runs, or on high volume receiving greater analytical weight than identical patterns appearing in neutral conditions.