Definition

Wick

The territory a candle reached beyond its body but did not hold through the close.

Full Explanation

A wick records price territory that was reached during the candle but given back before the period closed. An upper wick shows that price traded above the body and returned. A lower wick shows that price traded below the body and returned.

Wicks are often labeled 'rejection,' but a wick alone does not prove a durable rejection. It tells you that relocation reached that area and did not remain there through that particular close. What happens afterward determines whether the move was actually rejected or simply paused before continuing.

This is why Trade the Mechanics reads wicks in sequence rather than as isolated shapes. A wick followed by continued relocation through the same territory means the first attempt was given back temporarily. A wick followed by sustained movement away and failure to re-enter the area carries more evidence that the opposing side gained control.

In the Book 1 chapter

Chapter 10 · Reading the Current Market

Bodies and Wicks

If friction is how you read the relationship between candles, bodies and wicks are how you read what’s happening inside a single candle. They’re two different scales of the same conversation — one zoomed out, one zoomed in — and you need both to get a complete picture of what the market is doing.

From the Blog 2 posts

Describing vs. Predicting: The Trader's Discipline

Learn why describing what price is doing beats predicting what it will do next—and how this shift transforms your trading.

What a Candle Is Actually Telling You

Most traders learned to read candles as signal generators. A hammer means potential reversal. An engulfing candle means momentum shift. A doji means indecision. Learn the shapes, recognize the patterns, place the trade.