The short answer
A gravestone doji opens and closes at or very near the low of its range, leaving a long upper wick and effectively no body. Everything gained during the session was given back, which after an advance marks a clean rejection of higher prices.
Drawn to the real proportions the formation rules describe. Lead-in candles are dimmed; the pattern itself is bracketed.
- Traditional bias Bearish
- Type Reversal
- Built from One candle
- Context After an advance
How to spot it
- Open and close are at or extremely close to the same price.
- That price sits at or very near the low of the candle's range.
- A long upper wick, and effectively no lower wick.
- Most meaningful at the top of an advance or at a level price has failed at before.
What it actually means
This is the cleanest possible rejection candle. Price spent the session climbing and finished exactly where it began, at the bottom of the range. Unlike a shooting star, there is no body at all, so there is not even a residual gain to argue about. Every buyer who acted during that session ended it underwater.
What confirms it
The following candle closing below the doji's low. Because a doji has no body, confirmation carries proportionally more weight here than on patterns that close directionally.
What invalidates it
A close above the doji's high, which converts the rejected level into support.
Where people get it wrong
Exact dojis are rare on liquid instruments and common on thin ones, so a gravestone on an illiquid asset or a very short timeframe is often a liquidity artefact rather than a decision by the market. It is also frequently confused with the shooting star, which has a small but real body; the distinction matters less in practice than the location on the chart does.
Common questions
- Is the gravestone doji bullish or bearish?
- The traditional reading is bearish. This is the cleanest possible rejection candle. It carries that reading only after an advance.
- What confirms a gravestone doji?
- The following candle closing below the doji's low. Because a doji has no body, confirmation carries proportionally more weight here than on patterns that close directionally.
- When does the gravestone doji stop working?
- A close above the doji's high, which converts the rejected level into support. Beyond that, exact dojis are rare on liquid instruments and common on thin ones, so a gravestone on an illiquid asset or a very short timeframe is often a liquidity artefact rather than a decision by the market.
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Formation rules follow Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques by Steve Nison. Reviewed 2026-09-14.