A Spinning Top is a small-bodied candle with upper and lower wicks roughly equal in length. The candle tells a story of indecision: price moved both up and down during the session, but neither side gained control by the close. The body is small relative to the total range — sometimes barely visible.
It’s not a directional signal on its own. It’s a pause indicator. The market is undecided. Whoever pushes next, breaks the pattern. The trade is in the resolution, not the spinning top itself.
Three identifying features:
• Small body — less than 30% of the candle’s full range
• Upper and lower wicks of similar length — rough symmetry, both longer than the body
• Body colour doesn’t matter much — green or red is incidental given the small body
The closer the open and close are (the smaller the body), and the more equal the wicks, the “truer” the spinning top.
Indecision. Buyers pushed price up. Sellers pushed it back down. Neither won by enough to close decisively in their direction. The session was a tug-of-war that ended in a draw.
By itself, that’s not actionable. But spinning tops change meaning based on where they appear:
• In a strong trend: a spinning top is a possible exhaustion signal. The trend has been one-sided; suddenly indecision shows up. Worth watching for a reversal.
• At a key level: the indecision at a level shows the level is being respected. Direction of the next bar tells you which side won.
• In chop: just more chop. No edge.
Spinning tops and dojis are cousins. The difference is body size:
| Candle | Body | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Doji | Almost zero (open = close) | Pure indecision — perfect balance |
| Spinning Top | Small but visible | Indecision with a slight lean |
| Pin Bar | Small at one extreme | Strong rejection — not indecision |
Practically: dojis are stronger indecision signals than spinning tops, because their bodies are even smaller. Both are pause patterns; the doji is just the strict version.
The spinning top alone is not a direct entry. The trade comes from the resolution — whichever side breaks the indecision next.
The most common spinning-top failure: a clean resolution in one direction immediately reverses on the bar after. The indecision broke one way, then immediately broke back the other. This is common in chop and at false levels — both reasons to be selective about which spinning tops you act on.
The other failure is over-identification. Almost any small-body candle gets called a spinning top in casual content. Be strict: small body, similar-length wicks both sides. Lots of candles look kind of like spinning tops without being the strict pattern.
Key insight: The spinning top is not a signal — it’s a flag. It says “something is happening, watch the next bar.” Traders who try to trade the spinning top itself end up taking 50/50 coin flips. Traders who use the spinning top to identify pause points and then act on the resolution get a much higher hit rate. The candle marks the inflection; the next bar gives you the direction.
Spinning tops are everywhere on intraday charts. Daily charts produce them sparingly, which is part of why daily-chart spinning tops carry more weight. If you trade them on 5m charts, be VERY selective about context — otherwise you’ll trade dozens per week and break even at best.