Fourth House

The Fourth House shows your home and how you tend to act there. It also shows relationship with the parent of lesser influence, usually the father, the first few years of your life, and, paradoxically, the last years of your life, what we become as we get older.

The Sun in the Fourth House: gives a need to rule the roost. The tendency is to have a home that is as showy as one can afford. Luck and prosperity should steadily improve during the middle and declining years, although this one makes for a slow start in life. Unless something else interferes, Daddy was definitely NOT the shy type.

The Moon in the Fourth House: Daddy was probably the moody type. There is probably a strong emotional need to look upon home as a place of refuge (your shell). Watch out for emotional swings getting stronger with time.

Mercury in the Fourth House: Home is a place of communications. When you are home, the TV and computer are going while, at the same time, you’re on the phone and reading.

The older you get, the more you are likely to talk and/or write. Daddy either talked a lot or moved around a lot.

Venus in the Fourth House: needs a “charming” home life, surrounded by items in “good taste”. Nothing gaudy or showy like the Sun will do here. Just a little beauty and harmony. Unless Venus is afflicted, the last third of your life gets easier. This one can give a comfortable retirement, but watch out for a sweet tooth developing as you get older. Daddy was either a charmer, self-indulgent, or both.

Mars in the Fourth House: When others your age are slowly moving around with canes and walkers, you will be rollerblading around the neighborhood with your grandchildren. Yes, you get stronger and more assertive with time. At any point in your life, home will be where you are most active, energetic, AND argumentative. Robert Shanks in an article in American Astrology Magazine years ago, claimed that women with this placement were less likely to get married and more likely to get divorced because of strong aversion to anything that even looks like male domination. It certainly tends towards arguments with Daddy, who was probably and active and aggressive type himself.

Jupiter in the Fourth House: will either be the parents favorite or a spoiled only child. This placement is the most likely of all to retire in their 20’s or 30’s and lie on the beach in some tropical paradise. If you have this one, I hate you. You really need a larger than normal home (or one with a great view) or you’ll feel claustrophobic. Later in life, you will tend to travel, study, or both. Aside from the fact that he thought he understood everything, Daddy was a jovial type.

Saturn in the Fourth House: gives deprivation of “normal” contact and affection of at least one parent, usually the father. It can do this through divorce, death, or other forms of separation. Perhaps the parent had to work long hours or their job involved travel. If the parent was around, they may have been aloof or very strict. This can lead to a fear of domestic instability which can make you really want to have a stable, permanent home. There is that Saturn desire to control again. Don’t count on early retirement with this placement. If you take it too easy, your body starts to fall apart, so after retirement, get another job (even if is volunteer work). The plus side is that as long as you keep going, you’ll keep going for a long time. Home and family usually require extra effort to keep things right.

Uranus in the Fourth House: There will probably be something unusual about the home. Jaques Cousteau had this placement, and he lived on a ship a good portion of the time. The early home life may have involved more than the normal amount of sudden shifts. Daddy was very independent, brilliant, or just plain crazy. Your home will have to have eccentric touches that make visitors take notice, or the latest electronic gadgets. One of my clients with this placement had a chair that had two large pieces of butcher block for “arms” and a transparent Plexiglas center. The older you get, the more likely you are to have strange opinions that shock everyone, but you won’t care what they think.

Neptune in the Fourth House: Neptune “rules” the sea, so whenever possible, live near salt water. This planet also governs orphans and orphanages (places of restriction in general). No, it doesn’t mean you were adopted, but it indicates that as a child you probably FELT adopted. One client reported that, as she was growing up, her mother always asked her “Where are you from. You’re not like the rest of us”. Daddy may have been a nebulous and confusing person who seemed to “dissolve” on you when you need him. If afflicted, Neptune here can give a parent with a substance abuse problem. When positive, Neptune here gives a sensitive, sympathetic parent. Your instincts and intuitions tend to get stronger with time. Do some sort of charitable volunteer work as you get older. If you use the Neptune in that way, it reduces the chances that you will spend your declining years as the recipient of such charity.

Pluto in the Fourth House: Don’t mess with Daddy. He may have been strong to the point of being overwhelming. Pluto shows where we can regenerate when we are hurt or drained. Go home to recharge. At the same time, home may be a place of power struggles. If you ever have a disagreement with someone, ask them to come over to your place to discuss it. They will give way on point after point. You can be strong at home. The older you get, the more likely it will be that the power of your personality increases (except for the very end, of course).