House Four

The fourth house

• Analogous Sign of the Zodiac: Cancer
• Associated ruling Planet: Moon
• Element: Water
• Quality: Cardinal
• Quadrant: Second, nocturnal half

Interpretation

The fourth house stands for an individual's roots: origin, childhood experiences, family background and home. Like the Imum Coeli - the cusp that marks the beginning of this house) - the fourth house symbolises the depths of an individual's inner being and early emotional influences. It describes a person's private sphere, as opposed to the Tenth House lying opposite which is associated with an individual's public life.

The sign in which the Imum Coeli falls together with any planets in the fourth house indicate how and where a person feels at home, and in a more concrete sense, it tells something about the actual home circumstances.

The fourth house used to be associated purely with the mother and the tenth house with the father. However, the astrologer Liz Greene believes that the exact opposite should be the case. Howard Sasportas suggests "that the most influential parent - the one who spends the most time with the child and has the greatest effect on how he/she adapts to social surroundings - should be associated with the tenth house, whereas the more reserved parent, who remains more of an unknown quantity, should be associated with the fourth house."

See also

• House
• House Ruler
• House System

Weblinks

• 4th House - Ways to Stability in Your Personal Life (Dane Rudhyar, 1952; Rudhyar Archival Project)
• The Fourth House (Dana Gerhardt, 2003)
• The Fourth House (House Rulerships in Practice; Deborah Houlding)