Hi,
I just got started with trading and am confused about why the open and close are so different from the variation in price over a given range. The open and close give the candle stick its body size based on which a lot of people call it different names. But what makes those two instants so different from the normal price variation like in a bar chart?
First and foremost as a newbie you need to google out pictorials of this candlesticks and study them, do not get confuse with open, close, high and low of a candle, the distance between the open and close forms the body of a candlestick the bigger the body the higher the momentum.
Also try and study the different patterns of candlesticks like bullish engulfing bar (BUEB), bearish engulfing bar (BEEB), morning and evening stars, bullish and bearish haramis, dark stars and pin bars, this are tools that can enhance your trading to be profitable when formed at support or resistance.