# Spinning Top Tags candles whose small centered body sits between shadows each longer than the body (the classic indecision bar) under adjustable body, shadow-ratio and centering rules. A 20-bar trend SMA classifies each pattern as printing after an advance, after a decline or in range, and resolution markers flag the close that breaks its extremes, for traders who want indecision graded rather than eyeballed. - Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Jun 14, 2026. - Access: free. - Concepts: [Spinning Top](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/spinning-top/) (primary) - Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=odjdenbahiwxz1w4jnd0mdfe - Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/spinning-top/ **Spinning Top** applies a measurable rule set to the candle every trader recognizes but scanners disagree on, the definitive clean detector for the [spinning top](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/spinning-top/). A qualifying bar needs a real body inside the size band, both shadows longer than that body by the required ratio, and a body midpoint inside the central portion of the bar's range; each hit is tagged ST, colored by its trend context, with a tooltip quoting its body and shadow proportions. ## How to Trade the Spinning Top? - **After an advance**: a spinning top above the trend SMA (bear-colored) marks momentum stalling. Watch the next candle for exhaustion or continuation. - **After a decline**: below the SMA (bull-colored), the same shape reads as selling pressure pausing, a potential stabilization. - **Resolution markers**: a triangle prints when a following close clears the pattern's high or low inside the resolution window. The direction of that close is the information. - **In range**: neutral-colored tops are routine noise; the Context Filter can hide them. The pattern itself is a pause, never a direction call. The resolving candle supplies the direction. ## Spinning Top Settings - **Maximum Body Size %** (default 33): largest real body allowed as a share of the bar's range. - **Minimum Body Size %** (default 5): bodies at or below this are treated as doji and skipped. - **Shadow / Body Ratio** (default 1): each shadow must exceed the body times this ratio: 1 is the textbook rule. - **Body Centering Band %** (default 33): confines the body midpoint to the middle share of the range. - **Context Filter** (default Any) and **Trend SMA Length** (default 20): which contexts are marked and how the prevailing trend is defined. - **Resolution Window (bars)** (default 1) with **Resolution Markers** (default on): how many candles may resolve the standoff. - Style: **Show Trend SMA** (default off), **Color Pattern Candles** (default off), **Label Size** (default Tiny). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What separates a spinning top from a marubozu? They are opposite records of a session: a [Marubozu](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/marubozu/) is one solid body without shadows (a bar one side owned from open to close), while the spinning top is mostly shadow, travel in both directions that settled near where it began. ### Why is there a minimum body size? To keep the doji out: a body under the threshold belongs to a different pattern with its own reading, and where the line falls between the two species is a convention that differs between scanners. The default hands bodies of 5% of range or less to the doji category. ### Can it fire alerts by context? Yes, five: any spinning top, tops after an advance, tops after a decline, and the two resolution closes. ## 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/spinning-top/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/