Fourth house in astrology
- Theme
- Home and roots
- Kind of house
- Angular
- Corresponds with
- Cancer
- Depends on
- Birth time, birth place and house system
The fourth house begins at the Imum Coeli, or IC, the point opposite the Midheaven, directly beneath the chart. Together with the Ascendant, the Midheaven and the Descendant it makes up the four angles of the chart, and the four houses that start at them are called angular.
In tradition the fourth house is the house of home, family roots and the private base from which a person acts, and also of ancestry and the place a person comes from. It corresponds by analogy with Cancer and with the Moon. Planets there are read as colouring the sense of belonging.
In the chart wheel the fourth house sits at the bottom. Houses one to six lie below the horizon, the part of the sky that was out of sight at the moment of the chart, and houses seven to twelve lie above it.
The Imum Coeli is always exactly opposite the Midheaven.
Planets in the fourth house
- Sun in the fourth house
- The Sun in the fourth house is read as identity rooted in home and family: a private light that shines brightest among one's own.
- Moon in the fourth house
- The Moon in the fourth house, its traditional home, is read as deep roots: a need for a private place, strong family memory, and comfort in the past.
- Mercury in the fourth house
- Mercury in the fourth house is read as a thinking life at home: family stories, a private study, and a mind that works best in its own place.
- Venus in the fourth house
- Venus in the fourth house is read as love of home: beauty in the private space, strong family affection, and comfort as a form of love.
- Mars in the fourth house
- Mars in the fourth house is read as energy at home: a busy household, defence of family, and a temper that shows most in private.
- Jupiter in the fourth house
- Jupiter in the fourth house is read as a generous home: a large or open household, faith rooted in family, and comfort in one's origins.
- Saturn in the fourth house
- Saturn in the fourth house is read as duty at home: a reserved family life, responsibility for one's roots, and a private place built with effort.
- Uranus in the fourth house
- Uranus in the fourth house is read as an unusual home: moves and changes in family life, and an unconventional idea of roots.
- Neptune in the fourth house
- Neptune in the fourth house is read as a dreamlike home: an idealised or elusive family past, and a private life rich in imagination.
- Pluto in the fourth house
- Pluto in the fourth house is read as deep roots and buried history: a powerful tie to family, and transformation that begins at home.
Astrology is a tradition of interpretation. What is written here is traditional, offered for reflection and entertainment, not advice and not a prediction.