Fourth House

The fourth house, along with the fifth and sixth houses, is part of the second quadrant of self expression. In particular, it represents our home and the nurturing parent, whether that be the mother or father. It relates to the roots we set down to anchor ourselves and feel secure. It is an angular house.

In addition to the home, the fourth house represents our deepest, hidden self that we only share with our loved ones, and even then we can be hesitant. In this way, the fourth house is also related to the past and memories of early childhood. Its qualities are similar to Cancer, hence the shyness and need for privacy and protection. It is also ruled naturally by the Moon. The fourth house rules the breasts, stomach, imagination, and deep-seated emotions.

A planet found here will often describe a story within the home, especially if it is conjunct or close to the fourth house cusp (a.k.a. the nadir or Imum Coeli, meaning “low point” or “bottom of the heavens”).

The nadir is a very sensitive point on the horoscope that hardly gets any attention, but it is crucial in understanding the development of one’s mode of self-expression. It begins the second quadrant of the horoscope of integration of self with others and marks how secure we are in ourselves before sharing it with others through the fifth house.

Signs on the fourth house cusp describe the native’s personal experience of the nurturing parent, and what home of their own they seek to manifest in adulthood. It relates to how he summarizes his past experiences.

The nadir‘s effects can easily be ignored or undetected. Therefore it is important to take into account any fourth house planets or aspects to the nadir as they can have profound consequences on a person’s ability to feel comfortable enough to share himself genuinely with the world around him.