Three white soldiers and three black crows are mirror-image candlestick patterns made of three candles in a row. The first shows three strong rising candles, often read as a sign that buyers are taking control. The second shows three strong falling candles, often read as sellers taking over. They are easy to spot, which makes them popular with beginners, but like all patterns they need context to be useful.
Three white soldiers
Three white soldiers appear after a fall or a period of sideways trading. In the classic form:
- There are three bullish candles in a row, each closing higher than the one before.
- Each candle opens within, or close to, the body of the previous candle.
- Each closes near its high, with small upper wicks.
- The candle bodies are fairly long, showing steady buying through each session.
The message is that buyers have pushed prices up firmly for three sessions running, rather than in one sudden burst. If you need a refresher on candle bodies and wicks, our guide on how to read a candlestick chart covers the basics.
Three black crows
Three black crows are the opposite and usually appear after a rise:
- There are three bearish candles in a row, each closing lower than the one before.
- Each opens within, or near, the body of the previous candle.
- Each closes near its low, with small lower wicks.
- The bodies are long, showing persistent selling.
The suggestion is that sellers have taken charge steadily over three sessions. Because markets often fall faster than they rise, three black crows can sometimes form quickly and with larger candles, so a calm head matters.
Why location matters
Both patterns mean more when they appear in the right place. Three white soldiers after a clear downtrend, perhaps near a known support level, carry more weight than the same three candles appearing in the middle of an existing rally. Likewise, three black crows near a previous high mean more than three red candles in the middle of a slump.
Earlier in the day, our guide to the tweezer top pattern made a similar point. Context does most of the work.
Warning signs within the pattern
Not every set of three candles is a strong signal. Traders often look for clues that the move is tiring:
- Shrinking candle bodies, which may suggest momentum is fading.
- Long wicks against the direction of the move, showing pushback.
- A third candle that stretches very far, which can leave price overextended and prone to a pullback.
Some traders also compare the pattern with related reversal shapes, such as the morning star, to see whether several signals point the same way.
Confirmation and risk
Many traders wait for the next candle before acting, looking for evidence that the move is continuing rather than reversing straight away. Because the pattern covers three full sessions, price may already have moved a long way by the time it is complete, so the distance to a sensible stop loss can be large.
That makes position sizing especially important. Work out where the idea would be wrong, perhaps beyond the start of the first candle, and size the trade so that the loss at that point fits your plan. If the stop needs to be so far away that the position becomes tiny, that is useful information too.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating any three candles of the same colour as the pattern.
- Ignoring the trend and levels on a higher time frame.
- Chasing the move after an overextended third candle.
- Expecting the pattern to work most of the time.
Bringing it together
Three white soldiers show three strong rising candles and three black crows show three strong falling ones. They can hint at a shift in control between buyers and sellers, especially after a clear trend and near meaningful levels. Confirmation, careful stop placement and honest position sizing are what turn a pattern into a plan.
If you want to see how confidently you read candlestick patterns, our free trader assessment is a good next step.
