# Rare Candlestick Formations Rare Candlestick Formations is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®. Rare Candlestick Formations screens for the long tail of the candlestick catalog (advance block, three stars in the south, concealing baby swallow, stick sandwich, ladder top and bottom, and ten more) enforcing each strict definition with adaptive body, shadow, and price-match thresholds plus a 10-bar trend-context filter. Labels, per-formation alerts, and a count dashboard watch the whole catalog. - Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Jun 2, 2026. - Access: free. - Concepts: [Rare Candlestick Formations](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/rare-candlestick-formations/) (primary) - Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=wuuv5xhk5co9hpb6q6keb9ns - Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/rare-candlestick-formations/ **Rare Candlestick Formations** watches the long tail of the candlestick catalog in one screener: fifteen [rare candlestick formations](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/rare-candlestick-formations/), advance block to concealing baby swallow to the new-price-lines exhaustion count. Each detection enforces the strict classical sequence of body sizes, colors, gaps, and shadows, with thresholds scaled to the recent average body and ATR; a prior-trend rule gates every formation except the count-based new price lines: no qualifying advance or decline, no signal. ## How to Trade the Rare Candlestick Formations? - **Bullish reversals in a decline**: three stars in the south, unique three-river bottom, concealing baby swallow, stick sandwich, homing pigeon, ladder bottom. - **Bearish warnings in an advance**: advance block, deliberation, descending hawk, ladder top, upside gap two crows. - **Continuations**: side-by-side white lines, separating lines, three-line strike, filed with the prior trend. - **New price lines**: eight consecutive record sessions by default warn a run is overextended. Every formation has its own alert, two catch-alls cover any bullish or bearish print, and the dashboard counts occurrences. ## Rare Candlestick Formations Settings - **Prior Trend Rule** (default EMA) and **Trend Length** (default 10): the context filter; None disables it. - **Body Average Length** (default 14) with **Long Body ×** (default 1.0) and **Small Body ×** (default 0.5): adaptive body classification. - **Long Shadow ×** (default 0.5) and **Marubozu Shadow Tolerance %** (default 5): the shadow conditions. - **Price Match Tolerance % ATR** (default 10): the equal-price conditions. Keep it tight. - **Require Confirmation Close** (default disabled): signals wait for a close beyond the formation's extreme. - **New Price Lines Count** (default 8), fifteen catalog toggles (all enabled), plus dashboard and style inputs. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How is this different from the Candlestick Patterns indicator? [Candlestick Patterns](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candlestick-patterns/) covers the mainstream catalog: the engulfing, doji, and hammer families. This build handles the rarities whose strict extra conditions make screening the only practical way to catch them. ### Why do some formations almost never appear? Their strict definitions stack conditions that seldom coincide, so candidates thin fast. The concealing baby swallow and upside gap two crows also need true opening gaps and appear only on instruments that close between sessions. ### Should I enable the confirmation close? Classical sources generally want the next candle to close beyond the formation's extreme before the pattern counts. Enabling it trades a one-bar delay for fewer failed prints; the new-price-lines warnings are count-based and exempt. ## Related indicators - [On-neck / In-neck / Thrusting](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/on-neck-in-neck-thrusting/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/on-neck-in-neck-thrusting.md - [Rising/falling Three Methods](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/rising-falling-three-methods/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/rising-falling-three-methods.md - [Swing Highs/Lows & Candle Patterns](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/swing-highs-lows-candle-patterns/) (Hammer): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/swing-highs-lows-candle-patterns.md - [Reversal Candlestick Structure](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/reversal-candlestick-structure/) (Hammer): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/reversal-candlestick-structure.md - [Candlestick Structure](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candlestick-structure/) (Doji): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candlestick-structure.md - [Evening Star](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/evening-star/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/evening-star.md - [Hanging Man](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/hanging-man/) (Chart & Candlestick Patterns): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/hanging-man.md - [Candlestick Channels](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candlestick-channels/) (Hammer): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/candlestick-channels.md --- Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/rare-candlestick-formations/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/