General Meaning of 4th House in your Star Chart

In House 1 we learn about being something, in House 2 about our physical limits and in House 3 that we are someone who is part of the whole.

Now, in the 4th house, is the time to gather all the clippings we have collected and assemble a base for development. Many people keep gathering information and never reach the moment of consolidation of what they can be.

This can be seen when we see someone so busy with the outside, be it working, going out, watching a movie, consuming social media and never actually reflecting. The 4th house is the place we go to when we turn inward. Interested? See more details below.

4th house and its influences

The 4th house is about privacy, it is the life we lead out of sight. It brings a concept of home, a place where we put down roots. The more influence we have in this house, the greater our need to follow traditions and family routines.

Everything that touches on the subject of tradition is also dealt with here: social conventions, cultural norms. It is also to this house that we look when we think of our parents, the influence of paternal figures can be analyzed here. Learn more details about the 4th house in the sequence.

The House 4

The 4th house talks about the subjective, about our deepest formations, about our parents, our ancestry, about the traditions on which our beliefs and perceptions were based.

Its function is to maintain some individual characteristics in a stable way, as if they were a regulator of emotions. It is the base from which we leave, the place to which we return. That is why this relationship is so close to home, to house, to family.

It also talks about the way we finish things, how the closings will be. It is the house that reflects our emotional capacity, our ability to recognize and feel sensations and feelings, like satisfaction, happiness.

Imum Coeli or Bottom of Heaven

The Sky Bottom signifies the influence on us of our family of origin, the family in which we were raised and on which we base many of our perceptions about life. We come into the world without any knowledge of what that place is, what society is.

Childhood is our first contact and generally the family is the great catalyst of experiences, signs and symbols. Our interpretation of the environment is our basis for forming opinions and we bring this to the world. This is what the bottom of the sky represents, these essential truths that are particular to each one.

The sense of "I" in the 4th house

Living is necessary in order to know oneself, there is no way to understand our tastes and our realities if not through experiences, through living. There will not always be successes and perhaps the journey outward will be long until one realizes that the future, in some way, has always been present.

The 4th house connects with our second half of life, after having experienced some things, we begin to realize and understand better what we want. We come across very deep motivations that we didn't even know were there.

In this context, therapy, reflection, meditation, potentiate the energies of the 4th house and allow us to access these desires. With a conscious look at these wishes, we can advance these desires, instead of being distracted by what is outside.

Family influences and inherited backgrounds

A well aspected 4th House will bring family riches, either through inheritance or through a strong tie with our ancestry. They will be stories that bring back good memories, and are capable of intense nostalgia.

The planets and signs that make up this house will reveal the atmosphere we felt at home, what kind of nutrition we received, or even education. These are the psychological heritages we inherited from our family. In a deeper way, we can even have access to genealogical qualities, such as ethnic or racial heritages.

On the other hand, psychological heritages will be responsible for creating the sense of home, they are the ones that will take us close to what is familiar, that will take us back, either back to somewhere or close to someone. Here, the meaning of home is very particular to each one.

House 4 and the Home

House 4 still has a lot of influence over the home. It connects with our deepest perception of what a safe place is. Our home will bring environments that create a recognizable atmosphere in some way.

Something that made us feel safe, that gave us a sense of home in childhood, will likely manifest in some way in our home, because they resonate within us.

Depending on the astrological chart of the subject, home is not always a physical space, or even a specific bond. Depending on the values the person has collected in the previous Houses, we may be talking about someone who sees home in a sense of adventure, in the habit of traveling or exploring the world.

House 4 and the Father

There are two lines of study about the relationship of the 4th house. One of them relates this house to the mother, and it was the only one to be considered until recently, until an astrologer, based on her clients, presented another view about this house, relating it to the father.

There are also those who relate the 4th house with the most present figure, which is more related to present the child to society. From this last understanding, it is important to say that this house does not talk about how this mother or father were, but how they were perceived by the child.

Someone with Saturn in the 4th house, for example, is more inclined to perceive Saturn's traits in the model figure, so no matter how much of the time they have received love and affection, they will register better the bad moments, even if they were few.

Discovery of one's own shy identity

It is in the 4th house that we experience the deepest discovery of who we are. It is in it that we form the real image we have about ourselves, that perception that is formed in our unconscious.

It is also where the validations we had from our childhood are kept and under which we build our values and our desires. By turning and delving into the unconscious, we begin to get a glimpse of who we really are and what our real wishes and desires are.

Moreover, when the outside (what happens outside of us) ceases to have meaning and ceases to be fuel for our search, we have the opportunity to turn inward and slowly discover the identity that asks to come out, that seeks recognition and acceptance, not from others, but from ourselves.

The Houses, groupings and classifications in the Astrological Chart

The Astrological Houses are divisions made by astrologers of positions in the sky. There are 12 divided areas and each one of them corresponds to the 12 signs. Each one of these Houses are grouped among themselves and have their own meanings which correspond to different aspects of our life.

This division helps to read aspects and specificities of our personality. The groupings can be Hemispherical, there are also Quadrants, Angular Houses, Succeeding or Falling Houses.

Another classification that is also present in astrological interpretations is by elements: Houses of Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Each of these elements brings its own conditions to the houses. Read on and learn more about how the 4th house is influenced by all these variations.

The Astrological Houses

The Astrological Houses bring characteristics about specific areas of our life. While the 2nd House talks about our relationship with the material, for example, the 4th House talks about how we will deal with our family relationships and traditions.

The Houses will be influenced by the signs to which they are connected, and the planets or other elements which inhabit them, will bring their own characteristics to that area of our life. Planets in aspect with each other, or the relationship of a particular planet in a particular house, also generate other meanings.

So, each variation between the relationship of the elements can bring very different traits among people. In this way, the meanings of the 4th house will be subject to the relationships it makes in our birth chart, as well as to the influences of the planets that inhabit it.

The Hemispheres and Quadrants

The Astrological Chart is divided into 12 Houses, but that is not all. The Astrological Houses can be grouped into Hemispheres: North, South, East and West. Each of these hemispheres will work together to govern certain areas of our life.

The number of planets in one sector or another will help us to identify which areas of our life are receiving more influence from the stars. In this way, in an Astral analysis, we will find more points of attention and reflection.

In the Astral Mandala we will identify the Northern Hemisphere in the lower half of the Map and the Southern Hemisphere in the upper half. In the same way, the East will be in the left half and the West in the right.

The quadrants are four divisions formed from the horizontal and vertical axes. They begin in Houses 1, 4, 7 and 10. Each one is composed of three subsequent houses, so, Quadrant 2, by the houses 4, 5 and 6, Quadrant 3 by the houses 7, 8 and 9. And so on. The 4th House, then, is in the Northern Hemisphere as well as in the West and in the second quadrant.

Second Quadrant: Houses 4 to 6

The Second Quadrant represents the Astrological Houses 4, 5 and 6. They relate to what concerns the growth of one's own personality. All the learning of the first three houses is internalized and it is in the 4th House that we understand how these bases can be identified in our own personality.

In the 5th House we try to express these values that have been absorbed and transformed, and in the 6th House we try to improve more and more these characteristics in our identity.

Generally, those who have this second quadrant very populated by planets seek to maintain a relationship with closer people, like to care and serve. They can also be somewhat insecure, shy, often needing others' opinions to validate their own.

Angular, Succedent and Cadent Houses

The astrological Houses are also grouped as Angular, Succeeding and Cadent. The Angular Houses are positioned right after the four angles, they are: the House of the Ascendant which is 1, the House of the Lower Heaven which is 4, the House of the Descendant which is 7 and the House 10 being the Midheaven.

Each of these houses is represented by opposite signs, so it is very likely that they represent the areas of our life which will be in conflict with each other. The energies born from these conflicts are usually worked out in the Succeeding Houses.

Furthermore, it is in the "Cadent Houses" that we will transform everything worked on in the Succedent Houses. They are the first ones that reorganize symbols and meanings, that transform values and through this decide what changes we will make in our lives.

The angular houses 1, 4, 7 and 10

The Angular Houses are responsible for our dilemmas, they are the oppositions of the signs in the chart which cause paradoxes that often seem impossible to solve.

These Houses correspond to the cardinal signs which generate or stimulate the creation of energies: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. As the signs have this function of combustion, so do the houses.

The 1st House talks about personal identity, the 4th House about our family environment, the 7th House about our personal relationships and the 10th House about our career. In the same way that the signs oppose each other and create conflicts, the houses, and consequently their meanings, also do so.

The elements of the Houses

The Astrological Houses also have meanings related to the four elements: fire, earth, air and water. Each one of these elements brings its characteristics to the sign it rules and consequently to the houses.

Fire is related with creation, it is the fuel needed to create, it is present in Houses 1, 5 and 9. Earth Houses are more related with the material world, they mean our spiritual in the concrete plane, they are in Houses 2, 6 and 10.

The Air element is more connected with the ability to see and analyze something objectively; they are represented in Houses 3, 7 and 11. The Water houses, on the other hand, speak of feelings, the ability we have to see through the veil; they are in Houses 4, 8 and 12.

The Houses of Water: 4, 8 and 12

The Water element is related to emotions. The three Water Houses, the 4th, 8th and 12th are concerned with what cannot be seen on the surface. They are related to the symbols we created in the past and which now present themselves as a reflection, as instinctive behavior.

The 4th house is about feelings deeply rooted in us, they are the influences of our first home, of our ancestral culture. This is where we feel our own joy and pain. The 8th house is where feelings are strengthened or shaken by an intimate relationship with another person. When two ancestral cultures come into conflict.

Two universes, two houses that try to inhabit only one. We feel the pain and the joy of someone else. In the 12th house we amplify the concept of inhabiting the ancestry of the other (which was strengthened in the 8th house), it's where we begin to have a notion of the collective unconscious. We become conscious that we are not made of one. We feel the joy and the pain of the world.

The Signs in the 4th House

The 4th house leads us to look at what structures our deepest foundations. It speaks about ancestral traditions, about our parents, about the family. It is from here that we start to see the world and to here that we return when we need a warmth.

Each sign related to the 4th house elaborates specific aspects in our life, bringing us obstacles or facilities. To know more about the positions and their meanings, read on!

Aries

Aries in the 4th house of your horoscope is usually someone who can be seen as a calm, quiet and even diplomatic person outside the home. But from the door in, all your frustrations fall on your family members. Often you don't even take the fight that seriously and you may even find the argument amusing.

They usually leave home as soon as possible, they don't like to depend on the family for a long time. They are people who like their individuality and get irritated when their private space is invaded. They usually decide everything inside their home, they take responsibility for deciding everyone's tasks.

At the deepest level, there is an enormous need to find who you are in yourself, not leaving this role to family or ancestral traditions. The more you explore within yourself, the more energy you will find. It is generally only in the second half of life that you will feel free to ask yourself what you really want.

Taurus

Those who have Taurus in the 4th house want comfort and security at home. They prefer a well-decorated house, with quality furniture. Whenever possible they will have plenty of food and drink.

In addition, these are people who probably had a good childhood, were nurtured materially and emotionally. This positioning brings people with a taste for a comfortable material life, with a large role for material pleasures.

They seek financial stability to feel secure. They are people who like routine, believe in an absolute truth and a perfect way of everything being. They can become fundamentalists when they cling to a very seductive set of principles.

Twins

The 4th House with Gemini gives us a person who probably moved a lot when they were in childhood. Generally, they are people who had their intellectual characteristics highly valued within the family, and are usually very important to the family nucleus.

Because they move and inhabit many places from an early age, knowing many different cultures, they have difficulty staying in a place that is too conservative or that are too intellectually repetitive. They like to show off their intellect to people who think in a similar way to them.

Usually these are people who have a large family and who have a great appreciation for family traditions. So people with this aspect in the Star Chart are used to talking a lot about their feelings, so that in this way they can elaborate, understand and absorb what they feel.

Cancer

Cancer usually indicates areas where we will have more sensitivity or a stronger connection to our roots. This sign in the 4th house is in your natural home. Natives with this aspect are usually very sentimental people about family. They like to keep family traditions and rituals.

They may have moved around a lot throughout their lives, but regardless of where they live or how long they stay in one place or another, they will always make the place their home. They are people who need to have roots and usually connect intensely with the place where they were born.

They usually have a very close bond with their mother, but not necessarily a good relationship. It will depend a lot on where the moon is positioned in the chart. It is very likely that they will use the very way they were brought up to raise their own children.

Lion

Leo is a sign that likes light and attention. When in the 4th house they will have a home worthy of a magazine. Even if they don't have many financial resources, they will make their home the best they can. Good food, good drink, good furniture and good clothes. They will strive to own their own space.

Your home will be your stage, it is there that you will feel more creative. They are people who as children were taught to be exemplary in their attitudes. Thus, they will take this learning into adulthood and will always seek to respect the image of the family, making it an icon.

In addition, they seek to make their own contribution to the family heritage, complementing tradition and history with their own individual brand. They can do this through asset management, some contribution to the community or any activity that brings more prestige to the family name.

Virgo

Those who have Virgo in the 4th house in their horoscope are often perfectionists in the house. They are detail oriented, organized and even demanding with all the details related to the home.

This trait can be the cause of many arguments with people who don't take organization as seriously as they do. In childhood they may have had a mother who was very organized with household things like cleaning, schedules and everything else that relates to the functioning of the home, but who was not very loving.

They are very studious people, who are likely to have more than one diploma hanging on their wall. They value knowledge and see education as the basis for all kinds of training, feeling very proud of themselves with their achievements in this regard.

Libra

Those who have Libra in the 4th house avoid problems at home at all costs. They need harmony and tranquillity within the family environment so they feel there is emotional stability. Thus, dialogues tend to take place around justice and clarity. Natives cannot be happy if they know there is some kind of oppression around them.

This feeling expands from the family level into the community. They need to establish many connections, often getting involved in volunteer projects for the community in which they live. They seek to use their position in society to implement plans for the social good.

The native's home will be beautiful, organized and well decorated. Another aspect of this sign in the 4th house is that they are restless and tend to move quite often.

Scorpio

Those born with Scorpio in the 4th House of their birth chart bring a complicated aspect to their childhood life. Traumatic experiences may inhabit what should have been a moment of safety and security. They may have been abandoned during or childhood or have lost their parents in some tragic event, or have suffered some kind of abuse.

The relationship with parents may have been surrounded by secrets, even some power struggle. All these issues make natives complicated people to live with. They are people with little peace of mind, they confuse parental love with possessions, they resent if a sibling gets a gift they consider better, for example.

Furthermore, they have a great need to maintain control within their home so that they can feel secure. This aspect within the 4th House makes it crucial that these issues are resolved throughout one's life so that one does not reach old age with too many regrets or in loneliness.

Thus, a break with the place of origin can be important for the reconstruction of the relationship with the past. It is a transit that indicates that some kind of therapy would be of great value.

Sagittarius

Sagittarius natives in the 4th house probably grew up in a very big house, full of domestic animals being part of the family. With a constant transit of very different people, it may happen that one of the parents is a foreigner or that they grew up abroad.

They are people who have very well-defined ethical and moral values since forever and realize the importance of being true in the things they do and speak. They are defenders of human and animal rights, as well as always seek to respect cultures they do not understand.

They like to move around a lot and find it difficult to stay for a long time in the same place. Freedom is essential for them to be happy and they will not hesitate to cut any kind of tie that threatens this freedom.

Capricorn

Capricorn in the 4th house forms people who need to be mature since ever, without much room to be children at some point. They grow up in a very materially well structured place, with a very regulated environment, where everybody needs to take their responsibilities.

There was probably not much joy in childhood. A sense of affective detachment from the parents in which the child felt on his own even in their presence. The parental relationship may have been based on a set of very well defined rules, and there was not much room for the spontaneity so common to childhood.

This position in the sky generally makes for very disciplined, determined and self-contained people. They can be very melancholy at the same time. They will probably be the people within the family to whom everyone turns to solve household situations.

Aquarium

People born with Aquarius in the 4th house generally do not identify very much with their family of origin. The native's values tend to be very dissonant with their parents. They are people who possess an originality which does not always have a place within the family tradition.

They may also have been brought up by many people, or have moved around too often so that they had no time to form attachments to one place or another. They are intelligent and curious, disciplined in their study of the subjects that interest them.

In the formation of their own home, they are people who need their own space within the house. They can find it difficult to put down roots and may even prefer to live alone. Often their friends are their adoptive family, with them they can better express their potentials and feel very secure in their presence.

Fish

Those born with Pisces in the 4th house of their birth chart tend to be pillars within the family environment, they make themselves available without charging anything for it. They tend to forgive their relatives without holding grudges. They form a psychic bond with the family that nourishes the feeling of security within the home.

They often sacrifice themselves for their family because they can't bear the thought of seeing someone suffering next to them. They like to meditate, be in silence and in this way feel the reality of being who they are. They can be very scattered, though very social and friendly.

The home of the native with Pisces in the 4th house is their refuge from the world, where they feel protected from what is outside. They often seek a higher knowledge to feed their spiritual dimension, they do not usually understand material goods very well.

The Planets in the 4th House

The 4th house represents our deepest state, it is in it that symbols become actions, become instincts. It also reflects our competence in recognizing feelings and perceiving emotions.

Planets bring specific aspects to the houses they inhabit. They can bring traits that will facilitate or hinder, that will expand capacities or retract. If your 4th house is inhabited by a planet, read below what it means in your life.

Moon

Natives with the Moon in the 4th House probably have a great need to feel secure. Those born with this transit probably feel that home security is related to strong and deep roots with home and in their relationships.

They may find it difficult to let go of childhood objects with which they have created an emotional connection. Many end up turning their home into a workplace, as this increases their sense of well-being.

They are people who generally prosper and gain an important place in society, they will usually have an abundance of food and comforts. They are people who have good luck. They are very patriotic and connected to their social group of origin. Natives with this aspect are likely to seek some kind of career with public visibility.

Mercury

Mercury in the 4th House suggests a relationship with a greater exchange of experiences and learning with the parents, which facilitates contact with the family of origin. You may have a disorganized home as it is the stage for many events.

In general, they remember their childhood or events related to their roots in a nostalgic way. They are skilled in manual work. This position also suggests luck in a career in real estate, or in buying and selling vehicles.

When parents acquire the ability to explain in a pedagogical way, they become excellent educators. They are patient and knowledgeable. They feel it is their responsibility to contribute to passing on the values of their family. This influence also indicates marked intelligence, great comforts in the material world and a large social circle.

Venus

Venus in the 4th house indicates beautiful, intelligent and kind looking natives. This planet in this position is considered one of the best, with a great family relationship. Often the born are owners of land, vehicles and houses.

You will have a great education, enjoy the arts, and feel very passionate about life. Men tend to be very fond of women and in a marriage relationship this could be a problem. But in general they are conservative about the kind of family they wish to build.

You have the ability to be great hosts and therefore have the desire to have a home that is welcoming, where your guests feel comfortable. You can spend a lot of money to get the space you imagine. This transit also indicates happy endings, including the end of your own life.

Sun

Natives with the Sun in the 4th house may be people who place more value on the home, on issues related to spiritual growth, and above all, seek to differentiate who they are from what their family is.

Well-positioned, the Sun signifies a good relationship with the father or mother, but in tension it can mean building barriers to protect you from emotional vulnerability. Still in tension, this aspect can represent an exaggerated attachment to parents, compromising love relationships.

In the professional sphere, they need to learn to function without the problems of home interfering, they tend to mix things up, which negatively affects their career. In general, they are proud people and not very sociable. You will be a pursuer of happiness, and will not have many material resources or comforts.

Mars

Those born with Mars in the 4th house don't usually have an easy beginning, the family relationship is not very favorable, neither in a closer sphere (father or mother), nor with relatives in general.

They are people who do not possess many material goods. They have a drive for militancy, fanaticism or even some kind of idolatry. They are patriotic, but very critical of traditions, ways of doing things and are usually against established authorities. Often this positioning indicates people born in war areas.

They are innovative people, who will often launch some new line of thought in their field. And even though they have possibilities to acquire very good living conditions, they will switch careers to do so.

Jupiter

Jupiter in the 4th house brings good aspects to the native. They are usually people with good intellect, wise and happy. They usually have a nurturing relationship with their father or mother, and the relationship has a crucial feature in the formation of the subject. In general, it brings good aspects in what concerns roots.

Generally they are people who have had a good education and will have a profession in which they will be successful, with a good reputation. Perhaps they are a person with an interest in spiritual, religious or even philosophical subjects.

They are people who feel protected by what they have inside, which will also bring security to the home. Prosperity reaches him later in life, a large and comfortable house to receive everyone is one of his greatest desires.

Saturn

Those born with Saturn in the 4th house probably dealt with many difficulties in childhood. Their home as a child had something of a coldness or lack of love. Children with this placement may feel that life is not for them, because for some reason they did not find the security or love they needed in childhood.

They feel that no one is there for them when they need it most. In this way they can become emotionally immature adults who cultivate a resentment towards their father or mother. The upbringing they received in childhood can make this native mature very early on.

All of this can culminate in someone longing for a solid, well-structured home while at the same time struggling with the fear of starting a family. You need to stabilise yourself emotionally in order to cope with all the responsibilities that a home of your own demands.

Uranus

Natives with Uranus in the 4th house have a certain limitation imposed by their family of origin. They feel they are an invader in their family or that they could just as well have been adopted. Uranus then brings the need to find a place in which they feel they really belong.

This positioning may also mean that the home unit was used in some other way, as a place to exchange ideas, or for groups or organizations to meet. Represents people who saw, throughout their childhood, one of their parents having mental breakdowns.

These are people who express themselves in a more spontaneous way, they like to renew their home. When Uranus is in opposition, on the other side of the Mandala, you may have the impetus to change your life abruptly.

Neptune

Neptune in the 4th house configures a childhood which impressed the native very much, and which presents itself recurrently in adult life. Often those born with this transit have difficulty in letting go of memories and are always regretting their present life, and fantasizing about how much better things were "before".

They may dream of building a perfect family and the realization of daily challenges drive the native into the escapism of memory, they create an imaginary world where there is no conflict.

This planet in good aspect gives us someone willing to hear that things are not as perfect as he would like, already in disharmony we can have someone confused or with manias. Still in tension, we can see someone who always puts himself as a victim and who will have to work hard to individualize himself in relation to his parents.

Pluto

Those who are born with Pluto in the 4th house are usually someone who has had a turbulent childhood. They tend to stifle their innermost feelings and continually strive to control their own emotions, defending themselves against them.

In addition, they feel that something dangerous is underneath themselves. It is necessary that the monster is brought to the surface. Thus, the natives of this sign will have to dig through all their layers to find their deepest emotions and work on them. Usually this feeling is connected to things they experienced when they were still babies and didn't have the cognitive capacity to perceive what they saw.

So it is important that these experiences are worked through, if they are not, they can surface again later in life and cause great damage. A positive aspect of this transit is a very good ability to regenerate and rebuild oneself after any collapse.

Earth

The positioning of the planet Earth in the astrological chart has a karmic meaning. It represents the mission of each person. Those born with Earth in the 4th house are people very connected with their biological past, of extracorporeal experiences.

It is necessary for this native to integrate his emotions, to become one. This soul has come to experience his relationship with his family, his relationship with his parents and with his origins and traditions.

North Node

The North Node in the 4th house brings the understanding that growth will happen through inner work, perception of the self. These are beings that need to understand that their concerns with the external, with what other people do or do not do will not enrich them.

Their concentration on themselves, their private life and their home is what will elevate them. It is not material riches that will feed their soul.

South Node

Natives with the South Node in the 4th house are beings that need to venture out of doors to balance their sick introspection. It would be interesting that they seek professions that serve the collective.

Why should we stop and assimilate what we learn when we reach the 4th house?

The 4th House gives us understanding about who we really are and what we really want. Many people seek this answer in external values, in the values that others give or in what society and culture impose.

The truth is that the answer to what we desire and what we seek lies within us. Even if the answers are not what we were expecting or what others expected, we need to understand that there is room for everything and for everyone.

Making peace with who we are is a very important step we take in pursuit of our happiness and also in favor of our place within the world.