Technical Glossary / Candlestick Patterns
Three Black Crows
Three bearish candles in a row, each closing lower, with opens inside the prior body.
Teaching sketch. It shows the shape, not a live quote and not a trade signal.
Definition
Three black crows is the bearish mirror of three white soldiers. Three long down bodies step lower. Each opens inside the prior body and closes near its own low. Long lower wicks weaken it, because they show buying.
How to identify it
Three consecutive down closes, substantial bodies, closes near the lows, each close under the last. A gap down between them is not required and can mark a different event.
Bullish reading
If the sequence is a cliff after a one-day spike, the next trade may be a bounce rather than a short. The pattern is cleaner when it breaks a rally, not when it extends a crash.
Bearish reading
After an advance, three heavy down closes say supply persisted for three periods. The high of the first crow is the level a bounce has to reclaim.
Common mistakes
Labeling three small declining candles inside a range. Size and closes near the low are part of the definition.
Limitations
By the third close the move is already obvious, and the easy risk point is far away. Chasing the third crow is a common way to sell the low.
This note explains the term. A sketch shows the shape of the idea. Neither is a recommendation, a signal, or a comment on any security. Indicator settings and exchange conventions differ. Check the live chart and the contract specification before you use a number.