Spinning Top: Pause or Reversal?

A spinning top is a single-candle formation in which the open and close sit close together, leaving long wicks above and below that are roughly equal in length.

What the pattern shows

The long upper wick records price being pushed higher before sellers forced it back, while the matching lower wick records price being driven lower before buyers pushed it back. The small body between them shows that neither side could hold its advantage, leaving the session essentially undecided.

The three checks

Before treating the candle as meaningful, confirm three conditions. First, the wicks must be present on both sides and roughly the same length; a candle with only one long wick does not qualify. Second, the body must be small relative to the bodies of the candles immediately around it, so the indecision stands out. Third, the candle’s location on the chart supplies its context: the same shape can mark a pause in an established move or the first sign that control is shifting, depending on what price has done before it arrives.

How traders misread it

The common error is to treat the spinning top as an automatic reversal signal. The candle only records that agreement has broken down; it does not forecast which side will regain control next. Any follow-through must come from subsequent price action rather than from the spinning top itself.