【Candlestick Basics, Lesson 6】Bullish Engulfing: One Bullish Candle Swallows the Previous One Whole
A bearish candle is still pushing prices down, then the next day a large bullish candle completely engulfs it from top to bottom—the previous day’s selling pressure is absorbed in a single day. This pattern is called engulfing.
It appears after a decline: the previous day’s candle is bearish, and today’s is a larger bullish candle whose body completely covers the previous day’s body. The name literally means “swallowing.” Everyone who wanted to sell yesterday has been absorbed by buyers today.
On the chart, ① is the previous day, when prices are still falling, showing that selling pressure is indeed present. ② is today: a larger bullish candle completely covers the previous day’s body. Buyers aren’t just present—their strength has also outweighed the sellers’. The engulfing pattern’s strength depends on how much it covers: barely covering the previous body is just a pass; the candle body needs to be more than twice as large as the previous one to carry real weight.
But this pattern is used to watch for the possibility of a reversal, not as a signal to act immediately. A valid bullish engulfing pattern usually comes with two things: it appears near a clear support level, and the day’s volume is higher than in the preceding days. It’s worth paying closer attention only when both conditions are met.
When can it fool you? An engulfing pattern in a sideways market is meaningless—prices are already moving back and forth, so it’s normal for one candle to engulf another. Also, an engulfing body doesn’t mean the reversal has succeeded: after the first engulfing pattern in a downtrend, prices still go on to fall quite often. It’s worth a closer look, but not worth betting your position on.
Engulfing marks a handover of strength, not a guarantee of direction.
#engulfing
A bearish candle is still pushing prices down, then the next day a large bullish candle completely engulfs it from top to bottom—the previous day’s selling pressure is absorbed in a single day. This pattern is called engulfing.
It appears after a decline: the previous day’s candle is bearish, and today’s is a larger bullish candle whose body completely covers the previous day’s body. The name literally means “swallowing.” Everyone who wanted to sell yesterday has been absorbed by buyers today.
On the chart, ① is the previous day, when prices are still falling, showing that selling pressure is indeed present. ② is today: a larger bullish candle completely covers the previous day’s body. Buyers aren’t just present—their strength has also outweighed the sellers’. The engulfing pattern’s strength depends on how much it covers: barely covering the previous body is just a pass; the candle body needs to be more than twice as large as the previous one to carry real weight.
But this pattern is used to watch for the possibility of a reversal, not as a signal to act immediately. A valid bullish engulfing pattern usually comes with two things: it appears near a clear support level, and the day’s volume is higher than in the preceding days. It’s worth paying closer attention only when both conditions are met.
When can it fool you? An engulfing pattern in a sideways market is meaningless—prices are already moving back and forth, so it’s normal for one candle to engulf another. Also, an engulfing body doesn’t mean the reversal has succeeded: after the first engulfing pattern in a downtrend, prices still go on to fall quite often. It’s worth a closer look, but not worth betting your position on.
Engulfing marks a handover of strength, not a guarantee of direction.
#engulfing